Nazi ExperimentsDuring World War II, Nazi doctors and scientist performed medical procedures and experiments on prisoners in the concentration camps without their consent. These acts often resulted in the injury or death of the prisoner. Any human experimentation conducted on a concentration-camp site required authorization from Reichsführer Himmler. The hypothermia project was proposed by Air Force Field Marshal Erhard Milch and approved by Himmler. Dr. Sigmund Rascher was assigned as an investigator and recruited Drs. Holzloehner and Finke to assist him in experimentation. |
Dr. Sigmund RascherDr. Sigmund Rascher was the primary researcher assigned to the hypothermia experiments. He embarked on his medical studies in 1930 at the age of 21. Three years later he decided to join the Nazi party and the storm troopers. Although he lacked proper qualifications, Rascher took charge of the hypothermia experiments even though his colleagues, Drs, Holzloehner and Finke, were considered to to be more experienced and possess a higher level of expertise.
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Dachau Concentration CampThe immersion-hypothermia project was conducted at the Dachau concentration camp between August 1942 and May 1943. Its purpose was to establish the most effective treatment for victims of immersion hypothermia, particularly crew members of the German air force who had been shot down into the cold waters of the North Sea. The participants in the study were male prisoners located at the Dachau concentration camp as well as Russian prisoners of war. The participants were usually forced to participate in the experiment, but occasionally participated voluntarily in response to false promises
such as release form camp. |
The Dachau Human Hypothermia Experiment
As part of the experiment, participants were immersed into a tank of ice water ranging between 2 and 12°C. Some participants received anesthesia while other participants were conscious for the experiment. Some were naked and some were dressed as several different methods of rewarming the participants were tested. It is estimated that 360 to 400 experiments were conducted on 280 to 300 victims. Several variables such as age and level of nutrition of the participant were not provided, nor were various subgroups separated. Other aspects of the experiment such as time spent in the bath, specific body temperatures, clinical conditions, and death are also not stated. Despite fragmented data, the study was able to conclude that warm baths were the best rewarming technique. However, survival rates were disregarded in the Dachau Comprehensive therefore no judgment about the merits of the various resuscitative techniques is warranted, and the recommendation that a warm bath is the best therapy cannot be justified on the basis of the data.
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Freezing Experiments
Only a fragment of information is available that relates to the design, materials and methods associated with the hypothermia experiments conducted at the Dachau concentration camp. In attempt to conceal the atrocities that took place, most of the incriminating records were destroyed. After the war, Leo Alexander investigated the Dachau hypothermia experiments and prepared a 228-page report that included 68 pages of personal commentary about the background and substance of the study and a reproduction of a 56-page comprehensive report to Himmler on the Dachau experiments,
signed by Drs. Holzloehner, Rascher, and Finke and dated October 21, 1942.
signed by Drs. Holzloehner, Rascher, and Finke and dated October 21, 1942.