Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume IVarious
Philosophy
Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume I
Various
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946; War crime trials -- Germany -- Nuremberg
MR. MCHANEY: Now, Witness, before the recess, you had been telling the
Tribunal about the high-altitude experiments which you stated began on
22 February 1942, and you had related how early in March Rascher had
experimented upon some 15 Russians who were killed and you stated that
neither you nor the defendant Romberg were present on that occasion and
you then had gone on to relate that an SS man in Dachau named Endres had
brought in the tailor at the camp and wanted him to be experimented upon
and how you recognized the tailor and interceded with Romberg and had
this man returned. Now, before you continue with your story, I would
like to put some specific questions to you. It is true, is it not, that
concentration camp inmates were experimented on during these
high-altitude experiments?
WITNESS NEFF: Yes.
Q. About how many concentration camp inmates were subjected to these
high-altitude experiments?
A. There were 180 to 200 inmates who were subjected to the high-altitude
experiments.
Q. When, to the best of your recollection, did the high-altitude
experiments end?
A. The incident of the dead—I am afraid I didn’t quite get your
question. Will you repeat it?
Q. I am asking you, Witness, when the high-altitude experiments ended,
that is, when they were completed.
A. During the course of June—maybe the beginning of July, the
low-pressure chambers were taken away. I don’t recollect the exact date,
however.
Q. And you state that between 22 February 1942 and the end of June, or
the beginning of July 1942, approximately 180 to 200 concentration camp
inmates were experimented on?
A. Yes.
Q. What nationalities were the experimental subjects?
A. I cannot say that with certainty but I think that approximately all
nations were represented there; that is, all nations that were in the
camp, mostly Russians, Poles, Germans, and Jews belonging to any nation.
I do not remember any other nationalities being represented there.
Q. Were any of these experimental subjects prisoners of war?
A. Yes.
Q. What nationalities were they? Do you recall?
A. They were Russians.
Q. Now, will you tell the Tribunal how these experimental subjects were
selected?
A. The experimental subjects who had to be subjected to severe
experiments, experiments that would end in death, were requested by
Rascher from the camp administration and then furnished by the SS;
however, this procedure differed with the so-called series of
experiments and a number of other experiments. For those experiments,
the people were brought into the experimental station straight from the
camp, that is, from the blocks.
Q. Now, did they, to your knowledge, make any effort in the camp to
secure volunteers for these experiments?
A. There were certain volunteers for these experiments. That was because
Rascher promised certain persons that they would be released from the
camp if they underwent these experiments. He sometimes promised them
that they would be detailed to more favorable work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account