Victims and Survivors of Nazi Human Experiments : Science and Suffering in the Holocaust

While The Coerced Human Experiments Are Notorious Among All The Atrocities Under National Socialism, They Have Been Marginalised By Mainstream Historians. This Book Seeks To Remedy The Marginalisation, And To Place The Experiments In The Context Of The Broad History Of National Socialism And The Holocaust. Paul Weindling Bases This Study On The Reconstruction Of A Victim Group Through Individual Victims' Life Histories, And By Weaving The Victims' Experiences Collectively Together In Terms Of Different Groupings, Especially Gender, Ethnicity And Religion, Age, And Nationality. The Timing Of The Experiments, Where They Occurred, How Many Victims There Were, And Who They Were, Is Analysed, As Are Hitherto Under-researched Aspects Such As Nazi Anatomy And Executions. The Experiments Are Also Linked, More Broadly, To Major Elements In The Dynamic And Fluid Nazi Power Structure And The Implementation Of Racial Policies. The Approach Is Informed By Social History From Below, Exploring Both The Rationales And Motives Of Perpetrators, But Assessing These Critically In The Light Of Victim Narratives-- 1: Exploring Experiments -- Part 1. Eugenics To Experiments, 1933-1941 -- 2: Nazifying Medical Research -- 3: On The Slippery Slope: From Eugenics To Experiments -- 4: Nazi Psychiatry -- 'euthanasia' Research -- 5: Racial Research -- 6: First Ss Experiments 1939-41 -- Part 2. Peak Years 1942-1944 -- 7: Prisoner Of War Experiments -- 8: Experiments And Extermination -- 9: Infectious Threats 1942-44 -- Part 3. Targetting Victims -- 10: Psychiatric Patients -- 11: Anatomical Victims -- 12: Gypsies -- 13: Jews -- 14: Prisoners Of War And Forced Labourers -- Part 4. Experiments In Perspective -- 15: Relentless Research -- 16: Scale And Structure -- 17: Resistance And Sabotage. Paul Weindling. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover page......Page 1 Halftitle page......Page 2 Title page......Page 4 Copyright page......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 ILLUSTRATIONS......Page 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 9 ABBREVIATIONS......Page 10 PREFACE......Page 12 Researching victims......Page 15 Note on names and identities......Page 17 Concealed depths......Page 20 Experiments as exploitation......Page 23 Nameless victims......Page 26 Experiments as experience......Page 27 The meaning of ‘an experiment’......Page 31 PART ONE Eugenics to experiments, 1933 to 1941......Page 34 The experimental impulse......Page 36 Man and beast......Page 38 The new German healing......Page 39 Nazifying medical research......Page 40 Sterilization as a research opportunity......Page 44 Reproductive experiments......Page 46 Hormones and reproductive research......Page 47 The ‘Rhineland Bastards’......Page 48 SS research and camp castrations......Page 49 Of apes and men......Page 52 Harvesting brains......Page 54 An unstable science......Page 62 Racial research......Page 64 Sinti and Roma studies......Page 65 Researching POWs......Page 66 Researching Jews......Page 67 Race and infection......Page 68 SS medicine......Page 70 Historical roots......Page 71 Blood sampling......Page 73 Ancestral research......Page 75 A ‘New German Healing’......Page 76 The SS Hippocrates......Page 77 A faltering advance......Page 78 Comparing tuberculosis therapies......Page 80 Shoe testing......Page 82 Crete......Page 83 PART TWO Peak years, 1942 to 1944......Page 86 Himmler’s medical vision......Page 88 SS command and organization......Page 92 Deadly medicines......Page 95 Rascher and rapid descent......Page 98 Rascher and freezing experiments......Page 101 Wound infection......Page 105 The Ravensbrück Rabbits......Page 107 The Dachau final series......Page 111 Fleckfieber......Page 112 The Dachau malaria experiments......Page 120 IG pharmaceuticals: Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Mauthausen......Page 124 Japanese incentives......Page 127 PART THREE Targetting victims......Page 128 Selecting victims......Page 130 Research children......Page 131 At the Spiegelgrund, Vienna......Page 134 Hereditary pathology......Page 135 A glut of bodies......Page 138 Research for destruction......Page 146 Racial immunology......Page 147 Gypsy twins......Page 148 Seawater drinking and water purification......Page 151 From live typhus vaccine to yellow fever......Page 154 Sterilization......Page 156 Schumann and X-ray sterilization......Page 158 Sealing wombs......Page 164 Goebel and Schering......Page 167 Dr Samuel......Page 171 Jewish skeletons......Page 173 Jewish twins......Page 176 Blood research......Page 184 Infectious diseases......Page 185 Malingering and feigned wounds......Page 189 Racial types......Page 190 ‘Russian’ POWs......Page 191 Forced labour......Page 192 Reproductive research......Page 194 PART FOUR Experiments inperspective......Page 196 To the bitter end......Page 198 Staunching blood......Page 200 Hallucinogenics......Page 201 Curing homosexuals......Page 202 Nerve gas......Page 203 Jewish children......Page 204 The City of Mothers......Page 205 Ravensbrück sterilization......Page 206 Chemical defences......Page 207 Forced labour......Page 208 Cover up......Page 209 Victim cohorts......Page 212 Concentration camp locations......Page 217 Perpetrators......Page 219 Funding......Page 221 Conducting research......Page 222 Selection of victims......Page 225 Consent......Page 227 Evasion......Page 230 Deception......Page 231 Pain......Page 233 Solidarity......Page 234 Publicizing the experiments......Page 236 Irresolution......Page 238 APPENDIX......Page 242 NOTES......Page 250 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 310 INDEX......Page 318 Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 CONTENTS 6 ILLUSTRATIONS 8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 9 ABBREVIATIONS 10 PREFACE 12 Researching victims 15 Note on names and identities 17 CHAPTER ONE Exploring experiments 20 Concealed depths 20 Experiments as exploitation 23 Nameless victims 26 Experiments as experience 27 The meaning of ‘an experiment’ 31 PART ONE Eugenics to experiments, 1933 to 1941 34 CHAPTER TWO Nazifying medical research 36 The experimental impulse 36 Man and beast 38 The new German healing 39 Nazifying medical research 40 CHAPTER THREE On the slippery slope: From eugenics to experiments 44 Sterilization as a research opportunity 44 Reproductive experiments 46 Hormones and reproductive research 47 The ‘Rhineland Bastards’ 48 SS research and camp castrations 49 CHAPTER FOUR Nazi psychiatry – ‘euthanasia’ research 52 Of apes and men 52 Harvesting brains 54 CHAPTER FIVE Racial research 62 An unstable science 62 Racial research 64 Sinti and Roma studies 65 Researching POWs 66 Researching Jews 67 Race and infection 68 CHAPTER SIX First SS experiments, 1939 to 1941 70 SS medicine 70 Historical roots 71 Blood sampling 73 Ancestral research 75 A ‘New German Healing’ 76 The SS Hippocrates 77 A faltering advance 78 Comparing tuberculosis therapies 80 CHAPTER SEVEN Prisoner of war experiments 82 Shoe testing 82 Crete 83 PART TWO Peak years, 1942 to 1944 86 CHAPTER EIGHT Experiments and extermination 88 Himmler’s medical vision 88 SS command and organization 92 Nutrition 95 Deadly medicines 95 CHAPTER NINE Wartime expansion 98 Rascher and rapid descent 98 Rascher and freezing experiments 101 Wound infection 105 The Ravensbrück Rabbits 107 The Dachau final series 111 CHAPTER TEN Infectious threats, 1942 to 1944 112 Fleckfieber 112 The Dachau malaria experiments 120 IG pharmaceuticals: Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Mauthausen 124 Japanese incentives 127 PART THREE Targetting victims 128 CHAPTER ELEVEN Psychiatric patients 130 Selecting victims 130 Research children 131 At the Spiegelgrund, Vienna 134 Hereditary pathology 135 CHAPTER TWELVE Anatomical victims 138 A glut of bodies 138 CHAPTER THIRTEEN Gypsies 146 Research for destruction 146 Racial immunology 147 Gypsy twins 148 Seawater drinking and water purification 151 From live typhus vaccine to yellow fever 154 Nerve gas 156 Sterilization 156 CHAPTER FOURTEEN Jews 158 Schumann and X-ray sterilization 158 Sealing wombs 164 Goebel and Schering 167 Dr Samuel 171 Jewish skeletons 173 Jewish twins 176 Blood research 184 Infectious diseases 185 Malingering and feigned wounds 189 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Prisoners of war and forced labour 190 Racial types 190 ‘Russian’ POWs 191 Forced labour 192 Reproductive research 194 PART FOUR Experiments inperspective 196 CHAPTER SIXTEEN Relentless research 198 To the bitter end 198 Staunching blood 200 Hallucinogenics 201 Curing homosexuals 202 Nerve gas 203 Jewish children 204 The City of Mothers 205 Ravensbrück sterilization 206 Chemical defences 207 Buchenwald hygiene 208 Forced labour 208 Psychiatry 209 Cover up 209 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The structure of coerced research 212 Victim cohorts 212 Concentration camp locations 217 Perpetrators 219 Funding 221 Conducting research 222 Selection of victims 225 Consent 227 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN Resistance and sabotage 230 Evasion 230 Deception 231 Pain 233 Solidarity 234 Publicizing the experiments 236 Irresolution 238 APPENDIX 242 NOTES 250 BIBLIOGRAPHY 310 INDEX 318 "While the coerced human experiments are notorious among all the atrocities under National Socialism, they have been marginalised by mainstream historians. This book seeks to remedy the marginalisation, and to place the experiments in the context of the broad history of National Socialism and the Holocaust. Paul Weindling bases this study on the reconstruction of a victim group through individual victims' life histories, and by weaving the victims' experiences collectively together in terms of different groupings, especially gender, ethnicity and religion, age, and nationality. The timing of the experiments, where they occurred, how many victims there were, and who they were, is analysed, as are hitherto under-researched aspects such as Nazi anatomy and executions. The experiments are also linked, more broadly, to major elements in the dynamic and fluid Nazi power structure and the implementation of racial policies. The approach is informed by social history from below, exploring both the rationales and motives of perpetrators, but assessing these critically in the light of victim narratives"-- Provided by publisher