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
The cold-water freezing experiments began on 15 August 1942 and
continued until the early part of 1943. They were performed by
Holzloehner, Finke, and Rascher, all of whom were officers in the
Medical Service of the Luftwaffe. Holzloehner and Finke collaborated
with Rascher until December 1942. As Rascher said in a paper on his
medical training: “By order of the Reich Leader SS and
Generaloberstabsarzt Professor Dr. Hippke, I conducted ‘Experiments for
the Rescue of Frozen Persons’ (started on 15 August 1942), in
cooperation—for 4 months—with the Professor Dr. Holzloehner and Dr.
Finke both of Kiel University.” (_NO-230, Pros. Ex. 115._) Rascher also
said that: “Since May 1939 till today I have been in military service
with the Air Force.” The memorandum was dated 17 May 1943. It should
therefore be borne in mind that during all of the high-altitude and
substantially all of the freezing experiments, Rascher was on _active
duty_ with the Luftwaffe, not the SS. It was not until after May 1943
that he went on active duty with the Waffen SS. He was of course
supported by both the Luftwaffe and the SS in these experiments.
The witness Neff, who was an inmate assistant in the experiments,
testified that freezing experiments in the concentration camp Dachau
started at the end of July or in August 1942. They were conducted by
Rascher, Holzloehner, and Finke. In October, Holzloehner and Finke left
and Rascher proceeded alone to conduct freezing experiments until May
1943. Rascher, Holzloehner, and Finke used ice-cold water for their
freezing experiments. The experimental basin had been built 2 meters
long and 2 meters high in Rascher’s experimental station, Block 5. (_Tr.
pp. 626-8._) The experiments were carried out in the following manner:
The basin was filled with water and ice was added until the water
measured 3° C. The experimental subjects, either dressed in a flying
suit or naked, were placed into the ice water. Narcotics were frequently
not used. It always took a certain time until so-called “freezing
narcosis” made the experimental subjects unconscious, and the subjects
suffered terribly. The temperature of the victims was measured rectally
and through the stomach by galvanometer. They lost consciousness at a
body temperature of approximately 33° C. The experiments actually
progressed until the experimental persons were chilled down to 25° C.
body temperature. An experiment on two Russian officers who were exposed
naked to the ice-cold water in the basin was particularly brutal. These
two Russians were still conscious after 2 hours. Rascher refused to
administer an injection. When one of the inmates who attended the
experiment tried to administer an anaesthetic to these two victims,
Rascher threatened him with a pistol. Both experimental subjects died
after having been exposed at least 5 hours to the terrible cold. (_Tr.
pp. 629-631._) Approximately 280 to 300 experimental subjects were used
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