Ethical ProblemsThe Dachau Human Hypothermia Experiment is one of the many recognized experiments performed on prisoners of German Concentration camps during World War II in pursuit of medical research advancement. Due to the brutality in nature of the experiments endured by the participants, there are questions that raise concern in regards to ethical conduct.
One of which includes the use of the results obtained from the research. |
Broken Procedures
The participants of these experiments were prisoners who were at risk of being subjected to unethical treatment. The hypothermia experiments birthed many ethical problems, beginning with knowingly exposing participants to conditions that could cause harm. The Nazi scientist and doctors knew that they would be exposing the prisoners to conditions that could potentially cause harm or death. The Nazi scientist and doctors failed to protect the prisoners from physical or psychological harm. The second ethical problem exercised in the experiments was the use of participants without proper consent. In order for the experiment to have been ethically conducted, the participants would have had to be informed of the possible risks of participating in the study,
The Nazi scientist and doctors failed to relay that pertinent information to the prisoners.
The Nazi scientist and doctors failed to relay that pertinent information to the prisoners.
Nazi doctors conducted dozens of medical and other experiments on concentration-camp inmates, who often died as a direct result of the studies.
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Reproduction of a letter dated April 5, 1942 that Dr. Sigmund Rascher sent to Heinrich Himmler. The letter accompanied a report detailing the first findings from Rascher's high-altitude experiments on prisoners at Dachau.
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Dachau, Germany, A prisoner wearing flying equipment during a Hypothermia experiment in the camp.
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"We cannot imply any approval of the methods. Nor, however, should we let the inhumanity of the experiments blind us to the possibility that some good may be salvaged from the ashes."
—Kristine Moe, journalist |