Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume IIVarious
Philosophy
Trials of war criminals before the Nuernberg military tribunals under control council law no. 10, volume II
Various
Nuremberg Trial of Major German War Criminals, Nuremberg, Germany, 1945-1946; War crime trials -- Germany -- Nuremberg
Without seeking sensation I offered to undergo an experiment on myself
as proved, and that without any surgical safety measures, as soon as the
first opportunity arose. My responsibility for the execution of the
experiments carried out with good intention, and especially for those
who were my subordinates, I have emphasized. I have a further criticism
and responsibility, which I spoke of not only now in the dim light of my
own defense but already in May 1945 on the day when Himmler released us
from our oath and from our orders, and he himself left his post without
reserve. It was my endeavor with others to prevent any illegal
continuation of an SS conception, and for that purpose to take the
burden off the shoulders of our credulous youth by making the SS
generals responsible.
Today as a private individual I can only repeat what I am ready to do,
at least as far as my former professional standing is concerned.
Where, in spite of my earnest endeavors, reproach and guilt seem to
cloud the picture in the sphere for which I was responsible, may the
consequences affect me in such a way that I may make the path easier for
the younger men who, believing in me, also joined the SS as surgeons. I
believe that this pile of rubble, Germany, with its wasted biological
material, cannot afford to let these fine young doctors perish in camps
and in other inactivity. Also I know every measure which would make the
work easier for the old German universities and their respected
teachers.
I have summarized my point of view in order to help avoid possible
mistakes. From unwholesome social conditions it is a pathological and
deceptive escape, then as well as today—here and everywhere, to unite
and combine spiritual with economic and political concepts. It is a
disastrous error to confuse the organized unanimity of voices with
harmony. Destructive criticism only brings intolerant lack of
cooperation, which interrupts all cohesion. The private as well as the
public conscience cannot be subjugated to any official virtue, nor to
any temporal moral principles. It can only find its place within a
God-given order.
In the spirit of “earthly constructive pessimism”, as I wrote before the
war, in this alone consideration for the painful reality of this social
catastrophe seems to be found.
My last sentence is to express our personal gratitude to Dr. Seidl who
has stood by the side of my colleagues and myself so conscientiously and
with such human kindness.
G. Final Statement of Defendant Blome[39]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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