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
“When the cavity of the chest was opened the pericardium was
filled tightly (heart tamponade). Upon opening of the
pericardium, 80 cc. of clear yellowish liquid gushed forth. The
moment the tamponade had stopped, the right auricle of the heart
began to beat heavily, at first at the rate of 60 actions per
minute, then progressively slower. Twenty minutes after the
pericardium had been opened, the right auricle was opened by
puncturing it. For about 15 minutes, a thin stream of blood
spurted forth. Thereafter, clogging of the puncture wound in the
auricle by coagulation of the blood and renewed acceleration of
the action of the right auricle occurred.
“One hour after breathing had stopped, the spinal marrow was
completely severed and the brain removed. Thereupon, the action
of the auricle of the heart stopped for 40 seconds. It then
renewed its action, coming to a complete standstill 8 minutes
later. A heavy subarachnoid oedema was found in the brain. In
the veins and arteries of the brain, a considerable quantity of
air was discovered. Furthermore, the blood vessels in the heart
and liver were enormously obstructed by embolism.”
(_1971-A-PS._)
After seeing this report Himmler ironically ordered that if a subject
should be brought back to life after enduring such an experiment, he
should be “pardoned” to life imprisonment in a concentration camp.
Rascher’s reply to this letter, dated 20 October 1942, reveals that up
to the time the victims of these experiments had all been Poles and
Russians, that some of them had been condemned to death, and Rascher
inquired whether Himmler’s benign mercy extended to Poles and Russians.
(_1971-D-PS._) A teleptyped reply from the defendant, Rudolf Brandt,
confirmed Rascher’s belief that Poles and Russians were beyond the pale
and should be given no amnesty of any kind. (_1971-E-PS._)
The utter brutality of the crimes committed in conducting this series of
experiments is reflected in all the documents. A report written in May
1942 reflects that certain of these tests were carried out on persons
described therein as “Jewish professional criminals.” In fact, these
Jews had been condemned for what the Nazis called “Rassenschande,” which
literally means “racial shame.” The crime consisted of marriage or
intercourse between Aryans and non-Aryans. The murder and torture of
these unfortunate Jews is eloquently reflected in the following report:
“Some of the experimental subjects died during a continued
high-altitude experiment; for instance, after one-half hour at a
height of 12 kilometers. After the skull had been opened under
water, an ample amount of air embolism was found in the brain
vessels and, in part, free air in the brain ventricles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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