Nazi Human Experiments Were Nothing but Sadism

Many people probably believe that the human experiments conducted in Nazi Germany had considerable medical value and actually contributed to the advancement of medicine. The usual view is that, while obviously inhumane and unethical, they still had some impact on medical technology. I would like to introduce a perspective that differs from that “conventional wisdom”: namely, that the Nazis’ “medical experiments” were nothing more than an expression of sadism (Sadism: deriving sexual pleasure from physically abusing or mentally tormenting others).

The medical experiments of the Nazis are one example of such sadism. Even when concentration camp inmates or prisoners of war were used as human guinea pigs, the scientific benefit was not all that significant. — William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich 4

Here is an introduction to what those experiments involved. Reconstructing the experiments described in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, they are as follows.

Collection of Skull Specimens

Professor August Hirt, director of the Institute of Anatomy at the University of Strasbourg, possessed a collection of skulls from nearly every people and ethnic group. However, he had too few specimens of Jewish, Bolshevik, and commissar (Soviet military officer) skulls. Professor Hirt did not want skulls from those already dead; he wished to “measure their dimensions while they were still alive.” He also requested that, after the “specimens” died, their heads be severed from their bodies and sent in metal containers so that the skulls would not be damaged. (And that demand was in fact carried out.)

Human Skin

The skin of “prisoners” executed in concentration camps had decorative value. Skin with tattoos was treated as especially rare and valuable. Tattooed inmates were injected and killed, and the portions of skin bearing the desired tattoos were cut away and processed. The “finished products” were used as lampshades and other decorations in the homes of Nazi Party officials.

Resuscitation Using “Animal Body Heat”

Test subjects were pulled out of the water when their rectal temperature had dropped to 30 degrees. They were placed on a wide bed between naked women, who were instructed to press themselves tightly against the chilled subjects. They were then all wrapped together in blankets. At the same temperature, some were also made to have sexual intercourse.

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Original title: 나치의 생체 실험은 새디즘일 뿐이었다

Author: Jayujuui Ipmun Dokseotoronmoim

Date: 2023-04-26

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=reading01&pn=3&idx=25556