Out of all of the people in Germany, Josef Mengele was the most twisted person that they could have chosen for the role of an experimenter. Before the war ever started he was a popular  boy in his hometown. He got excellent grades and was kind to others. He was loved by his family and in turn loved them(3). When the war started he was in the Nazi party and went to the S.S(3). The S.S. stands for Schutzstaffel(2). Schutzstaffel translates to protective squad in English. Eventually the S.S. turned into a second German army(2). He was in the S.S. for six years before he was wounded(1). He was said to be unfit for duty and so he was volunteered to go to Auchwitz. Here he would conduct horrible experiments on unknowing children,which primarily consisted of twins, and others who had genetic disorders, such as dwarfs, giants, people with club feet, etc. 

~Dr.Josef Mengele~                                            ~Children that were held at a concentration camp~

Josef Mengele was born in 1911 in Gunzburg Germany(3). He had two other siblings, him being the oldest. His parents names are Karl and Walburga Mengele. 

He studied  medicine at Munich University and philosophy at Frankfurt  University(2). In 1935 he studied jaw structure in different races(2). After getting his educaton in Munich and Frankfurt University he went under the tutelage of Dr. Freiherr Von Verschuer (4). Dr. Vershuer worked in genetics and had a certain interest in the biology of twins(5). Researches have found that, "From this association, Mengele probably developed his life-long fascination with the study of twins"(Early Years) He was a exceptional student. He was a popular, smart, and refined man with so much ahead of him.

Two years after he studied jaw structure he joined the Nazi Party. In 1938 he received his degree in medicine and joined the Schuzstafffel also known as the S.S. Two years later he joined the Waffel-S.S. (“Armed S.S.) where he made it known that he was a very valuable soilder. The following year  he was awarded a medal for his work at the Ukranian front. In 1942 he received two more awards. One for pulling his fallen bretheren from a burning tank and then the other was for taking care of them after.

During battle he was wounded and could no longer be in the front lines. He was sent to a recuperating facility in Berlin where he reunited with his old mentor.

Becoming the          

Mengele did not just jump right into Auschwitz he actually started in Birkenau in May 1943. He was replacing another doctor who had become ill and could no longer work. On the 24^th of May he became the official doctor at a “Gypsy Camp”(4). Not long after the camp was to be closed and all the captives gassed, killed by poisonous gass(4). Therefore, he became the chief medical practitioner at Birkenau. Although he was the chief of the infirmary in Birkenau did not make him the chief of Auschwitz. The actual chief was a man by the name of Eduard Wirths.

His title of “The Angel Of Death” was given to him because his cruelty to his prisoners(4). Researches found that, “When it was reported that one block was infested with lice, Mengele gassed every single one of the 750 women assigned to it”(Aushcwitz). Believe it or not he came to that name fairly quickly. Although we know him as the angle of death the inmates referred to him as “Der Weiße Engel”, or “the White Angel”(4)

He received this title for when he was directing the new prisoners to the left or right he wore a white coat with his arms outstretched gave people the image of a white angel, even though he was anything but an angel. Something more like the devil. 

Many of Mengele's operations resulted in death(1). They would often die of infections after the operations. Most of his so called operations dealt with changing parts on humans.

Many of his patients were operated on then killed just to see the results of his experiments.

He once tried to change the eye color of children. He made this attempt by putting chemicals into their eyes(2). They resulted in severe pain and either permanent or temporary blindness(2). These attempts all failed, yet he never gave up(1).

One of his lesser known acts was when he removed the eyes of one twin and attached them to the back of the others head. His perpose was to create better fighters. Seeing as how they would now be able to see behind them they would be able to fight more efficiently. Needless to say this operation did not turn out to be successful.

Another one of his experiments was to create conjoined a pair of Roma twins. He sewed together their bodies but their hands became horribly infected. Where he had reconnected the veins in their hands and infection had begun to grow. This resulted in the children getting gangrene.

According to Louis Bülow, "Once Mengele's assistant rounded up 14 pairs of Roma twins during the night. Mengele placed them on his polished marble dissection table and put them to sleep. He then injected chloroform into their hearts, killing them instantly. Mengele then began dissecting and meticulously noting each and every piece of the twins' bodies." (Bϋlow)

There was a family of dwarves that had arrived at the camp. They were the Ovitz family. Out of ten children seven were dwarfs. Now this interested Mengele and he referred to them as his little dwarf family.

Other things he tried to do was sterilize women. He would even resort to shock treatments in which many died. Also they would contract diseases from his tools and would die.

~when people died they were cremated in giant ovens~

Most information on the living conditions for his patients can not be found (3). But, what has leaked out is that his sick obsessions with twins made him treat them with more care.

Everyday they would line up outside their housing units and then take roll call (3). After that, they had a small breakfast. Some days, they were aloud to play games and eat candy(2). Mengele would come around at about noon and would talk to them, give out toys, candy, and sometimes even play with them. Many of the children were actually fond of Mengele(2). None of them actually knew what he was doing even when being operating on. Of course later on they would figure out what his intents were, but at that time they saw him as "Uncle Mengele" as many children called him that.

 Historians have found that, "The subjects of Mengele's research were better fed and housed than ordinary prisoners and were..."(His Experiments, Wikipedia)

They were even excused from hard labor (1). They were given jobs as messengers. Many times they were excused from punishment because Mengele wanted his patients to be nice and uncut or harmed in any way.

So overall you could say that their living conditions were not that bad at all. Actually they were some of the best of conditions to be living in, especially being in the concentration camps.

References! 

B, S U. HOLOCAUST AUSCHWITZ. 1 Jan. 1945. apimages. The Associated Press, n.d. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://apimages.ap.org>.

Bülow, Louis. “Josef Mengele.” mengele.dk. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2010. <http://www.mengele.dk>. 2

Day, Mathew. Poland sends prisoners to Auschwitz. 9 May 2009. telegraph. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk>.

Dr. Josef Mengele. N.d. weird worm. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://www.weridworm.com>. 1

“Josef Mengele.” auschwitz. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://www.auschwitz.dk>.

“Josef Mengele.” wikipedia the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.wikipedia.org>. 5

Lawton, Clive A. Auschwitz. Cambridge, Massachusettes: Candlework Press, 2002. Print. 3

Ovens in a German concentration camp. 2005. discoveryeducation. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://www.discoveryeducation.com>.

Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Mengele’s Children - The Twins of Auschwitz (Page 2).” about.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 May 2010. <http://history1900s.about.com/‌od>. 4

Created by Pluto

Return to Homepage (: