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
The evidence is overwhelming and not contradicted that experiments
involving the effect of low air pressure on living human beings were
conducted at Dachau from the latter part of February through May 1942.
In some of these experiments great numbers of human subjects were killed
under the most brutal and senseless conditions. A certain Dr. Sigmund
Rascher, Luftwaffe officer, was the prime mover in the experiments which
resulted in the deaths of the subjects. The prosecution maintains that
Ruff, Romberg, and Weltz were criminally implicated in these
experiments.
The guilt of the defendant Weltz is said to arise by reason of the fact
that, according to the prosecution’s theory, Weltz, as the dominant
figure proposed the experiments, arranged for their conduct at Dachau,
and brought the parties Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher together. The guilt
of Ruff and Romberg is charged by reason of the fact that they are said
to have collaborated with Rascher in the conduct of the experiments. The
evidence on the details of the matter appears to be as follows:
In the late summer of 1941 soon after the Institute Weltz at Munich was
taken over by the Luftwaffe, Hippke, Chief of the Medical Service of the
Luftwaffe, approved, in principle, a research assignment for Weltz in
connection with the problem of rescue of aviators at high altitudes.
This required the use of human experimental subjects. Weltz endeavored
to secure volunteer subjects for the research from various sources;
however, he was unsuccessful in his efforts.
Rascher, one of Himmler’s minor satellites, was at the time an assistant
at the Institute. He, Rascher, suggested the possibility of securing
Himmler’s consent to conducting the experiments at Dachau. Weltz seized
upon the suggestion, and thereafter arrangements to that end were
completed, Himmler giving his consent for experiments to be conducted on
concentration camp inmates condemned to death, but only upon express
condition that Rascher be included as one of the collaborators in the
research.
Rascher was not an expert in aviation medicine. Ruff was the leading
German scientist in this field, and Romberg was his principal assistant.
Weltz felt that before he could proceed with his research these men
should be persuaded to come into the undertaking. He visited Ruff in
Berlin and explained the proposition. Thereafter Ruff and Romberg came
to Munich, where a conference was held with Weltz and Rascher to discuss
the technical nature of the proposed experiments.
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