LETTER FROM HIMMLER TO RASCHER, 13 APRIL 1942, REQUESTING A REPETITION OF HIGH-ALTITUDE EXPERIMENTS ON PRISONERS CONDEMNED TO DEATH The Reich Leader SS Fuehrer Headquarters, 13 April 1942 SS Untersturmfuehrer Dr. Rascher Munich 27, Trogerstrasse 56 Dear Dr. Rascher: I want to answer your letter with which you sent me your reports. Especially the latest discoveries made in your experiments particularly have interested me. May I now ask you the following: 1. This experiment is to be repeated on other men condemned to death. 2. I would like Dr. Fahrenkamp to be taken into consultation on these experiments. 3. Considering the long-continued action of the heart the experiments should be specifically exploited in such a manner as to determine whether these men could be recalled to life. Should such an experiment succeed, then, of course, the person condemned to death shall be pardoned to concentration camp for life. Please keep me further informed on the experiments. Kind regards and Heil Hitler! Yours [Signed] H. HIMMLER 2. Chief of the Security Police and SD. 3. SS Brigadefuehrer Gluecks. Copy for your information. by order [I. A.] [initialed] BR. [Rudolf Brandt] SS Sturmbannfuehrer TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1971-D-PS PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 52 TELETYPE FROM RASCHER TO RUDOLF BRANDT, 20 OCTOBER 1942, REQUESTING CLARIFICATION ON THE PARDON GRANTED BY HIMMLER REICH SECURITY MAIN OFFICE Communication Communication No. 11194 Urgent RFSS Munich—Teletype No. 2020, 20 October 1942, 5:25 p. m. To: SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Dr. Brandt Field Command Post [Feldkommandostelle] Hegewald Highly esteemed Obersturmbannfuehrer: Will you please clarify the following case with the Reich Leader SS as soon as possible? In communication RFSS [Reich Leader SS] of 13-1-42 under paragraph 3 it is ordered that if prisoners in Dachau condemned to death live through experiments which have endangered their lives, they should be pardoned. As up to now only Poles and Russians were available, some of whom had been condemned to death, it is not quite clear to me yet as to whether the above-mentioned paragraph also applies to them, and whether they may be pardoned to concentration camp for life after having lived through several very severe experiments. Please answer by teletype via Adjutant’s Office, RFSS, Munich.