Medical Experiments of the Holoucaust
Medical Experiments of the Holocaust
As a society we place those in the medical profession on a pedestal. They are people to be looked up to and admired. In many ways they are Gods, right here with us on earth. People put the hope and faith in doctors hoping they can perform miracles. Throughout history, doctors have indeed preformed many wonders. There were, however, some doctors that betrayed this belief and peoples trust. These doctors could be found in concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau. These doctors committed unspeakable acts against the Jews and other minorities, believing that they were conducting helpful experiments. Following the holocaust, however, they were punished for their actions. Between 1939 and 1945, more than seventy medical research projects and medical experiments were conducted at Auschwitz and Dachau. (Auschwitz Medical Experimentation). Over two hundred doctors participated in such research projects and experiments, sentencing between 70,000 and 100,000 people, held against their will, to death through experimentation. These were mostly Jews, but also gypsies, homosexuals and other minorities. They were thought to be inferior to the human race. Such practices became widely accepted and embraced by the Germans, due to the Nazis propaganda. The experiments conducted were diverse, but could be categorized in three classes. The first class of experiments was conducted for the Nazi High Command. These experiments dealt with survival and rescue. They involved freezing and extreme temperatures as well as the ingestion of seawater and altitude changes (Auschwitz Medical Experiments). The freezing experiments were divided into two parts. The first was to see how long it would take to lower body temperature, and the next to decide how to best resuscitate a frozen victim. The doctors would submerge a naked victim in an icy vat of water. They would insert and insulated thermometer into the victim's rectum in order to
As a society we place those in the medical profession on a pedestal. They are people to be looked up to and admired. In many ways they are Gods, right here with us on earth. People put the hope and faith in doctors hoping they can perform miracles. Throughout history, doctors have indeed preformed many wonders. There were, however, some doctors that betrayed this belief and peoples trust. These doctors could be found in concentration camps such as Auschwitz and Dachau. These doctors committed unspeakable acts against the Jews and other minorities, believing that they were conducting helpful experiments. Following the holocaust, however, they were punished for their actions. Between 1939 and 1945, more than seventy medical research projects and medical experiments were conducted at Auschwitz and Dachau. (Auschwitz Medical Experimentation). Over two hundred doctors participated in such research projects and experiments, sentencing between 70,000 and 100,000 people, held against their will, to death through experimentation. These were mostly Jews, but also gypsies, homosexuals and other minorities. They were thought to be inferior to the human race. Such practices became widely accepted and embraced by the Germans, due to the Nazis propaganda. The experiments conducted were diverse, but could be categorized in three classes. The first class of experiments was conducted for the Nazi High Command. These experiments dealt with survival and rescue. They involved freezing and extreme temperatures as well as the ingestion of seawater and altitude changes (Auschwitz Medical Experiments). The freezing experiments were divided into two parts. The first was to see how long it would take to lower body temperature, and the next to decide how to best resuscitate a frozen victim. The doctors would submerge a naked victim in an icy vat of water. They would insert and insulated thermometer into the victim's rectum in order to