Miah Diaz

Chemistry
May 8, 2014

Human Experimentation
During World War II, over 60 million were killed. About 8-12 million were German
soldiers or citizens. Adolf Hitler controlled Germany using weapons of totalitarianism such as
police terror, censorship, propaganda, and religious persecution. It has been estimated that six
million Jews were killed off under the Nazi power. Under Hitlers power, if you were Jewish, a
homosexual, a different race, or disabled, you would be sent off to concentration camps. At these
concentration camps many died due to starvation, mistreatment, and diseases. One even that
occurred at these concentration camps was human experimentation. Three experiments were
conducted which usually ended up with the result of death. These experiments were done without
the consent of the patients, and were very painful. The first category had to do with military.
Second was for medicines and methods to help injuries for soldiers. And last was to make a
perfect race (Nazi).
The Nazis did crazy experimentations on twins. They wanted to see how the genes were
different and the same and if they could manipulate it. The scientists gave twins eye drops to
change their eye color which would blind them for several days. There was a main scientist Josef
Mengele who experimented on nearly 3000 twins, only 200 survived his experiments. On some
cases he would try to do sex changes and remove organs without using any anesthesia. He had an
interest in those with disabilities such as dwarfs. He would observe them for several hours and
then once he was finished he would order them to be killed because he had no use for them
anymore and would ship off the tests for a more detailed examination. Many of these genetic
mutation experiments were done at the Auschwitz concentration camp, Mengele tried to find the
secret of multiple births. When he was done with the twins he examined he gave them a shot of
chloroform that went to their hearts (Nazi Experiments).
During the war, German soldiers would be blinded and killed by gasses that the Allies set
off. Doctors at the concentration camps performed studies to test the effectiveness of
sulfanilamide and other drugs in curbing such infections, (The Experiments). To fight the
infection doctors would get wooden shavings and glass and rub them on the infected area. One
experiment they did was on a woman named Jadwiga Dzido, a survivor, they deliberately
infected the wound with bacteria, dirt, and glass slivers to simulate a battlefield injury, (The
Experiments). These patients suffered immense amount of pain and would eventually die from
the infected area. When German soldiers invaded countries with low temperatures, many died
from hypothermia. Doctors tried to find a method to prevent dying from the cold, they would get
Jews and make them take ice baths or stand in the snow for hours and then try to find a way to
heat them back up (Background). Many would foam at the mouth and lose consciousness;
doctors would test the heart rate, body temperature and muscles. Once the patients body
temperature lowered to around 79.7F, they would try to warm the body by forcing women to

Miah Diaz
Chemistry
May 8, 2014
have sexual intercourse with the victim or using sleeping bags. Many died from these cruel
experiments (Nazi Experiments).
At many of the concentration camps experiments and tests were being done to find a cure
for diseases such as malaria, typhus, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, yellow fever, and hepatitis
(Background). As a battle strategy Nazi soldiers came up with the idea of using malaria infected
mosquitoes as a way to attack the Allies (Nazis Researched). Those who were healthier than
others in the concentration camp were used to see how malaria could be prevented. They
gathered the people and injected them with glands from the mosquito. Then doctors treated them
with many different drugs to see which worked best at fighting the infection, over 1,000 patients
died from the testing (Nazi Science). Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that affects the lungs.
To see if there was a prevention of this disease, Dr. Kurt Heissmeyer injected tubercle bacteria in
adults and childrens lungs. Over 250 people died, and Dr. Heissmeyer tried to cover up the
failed experiment before the Allies arrived at their camps (The Experiments).
The human experimentations that went on at concentration camps are a topic that many
who survived it are still scarred to this day. It has created psychological issues for many,
especially those who were participants in the experiments. Many of these tests were done
without the patients consent and many ended up losing their lives over these absurd experiments.

Miah Diaz
Chemistry
May 8, 2014

Works Cited
1. Nazi Medical Experiments: Background and Overview 2008. Jewish Virtual
Library. May 9, 2014.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/nazi_experiments.html
2. "Nazi Medical Experiments." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
United States
3. Nazis Researched Use of Mosquitoes for War at Dachau. 14 Feb, 2014. BBC
News Europe. May 9, 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26193808
4. Nazi Science. Laphams Quarterly. May 9, 2014.
http://www.laphamsquarterly.org/voices-in-time/nazi-science.php
5. Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. May 9, 2014.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005168
6. Tyson, Peter. The Experiments. Oct 2000. Nova Online. May 9, 2014
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/holocaust/experiside.html#ster