Medical experiments were present in few concentration camps. Dr. Mengele conducted his experiments in Auschwitz-Birkenau . Identical twins were separated from the rest of the prisoners.  The Nazi’s thought twins held the key to unlock genetic engineering. Twins had the best living conditions until they were loaded into the truck that was taking them to the experiments.  Twins were measured and examined everyday to see any difference. Experiments done on twins were cruel and disgusting.

Dr.Mengele

Dr. Mengele was a Nazi doctor at Auschwitz. He was in charge of conducting experiments on twins (Mengele). Starting in May 1944 twins were picked from the people on the ramp that was headed either into the camp or the gas chambers.(Mengele) Mengele was at the top of the ramp dividing groups of people to two separate lines. He got the nickname “Angel of Death” because he got to pick who died and who lived. (victims) When twins were present they were sent to a special barrack. He did cruel experiments on twins for in his mind to benefit science. Mengele wanted to have and create habilitation. When Auschwitz was discovered he fled from the camp to Argentina.(Victims) He was the most wanted  Nazi doctor at the numenburg trial. " The results of some peoples ambitious and zealousness to the Nazi vision of Ayran supremacy"( Medical experiments)

                                                                                     Richard Baer, Dr. Josef Mengele, and Rudolf Höss

                                                                                                                   Barracks

Living conditions of Twins

When the train would stop and the people got out, there was a guard yelling “ Zwillinge”.(rosenburg) Zwillinge means twin in German.  Twins were taken to a special barrack, where all the twins were kept. Unlike all the prisoners they got to keep their hair and clothes. (rosenburg) They were given special number sequence to establish they were part of the experiments. (rosenburg) Every morning roll call for the twins was at six in front of the barracks.(rosenburg)  Once they were dismissed from roll call they had a small breakfast.  They attended makeshift classes to get further instruction.( Rosenburg) Twins did not have to do hard larbor, instead they had jobs like messenger .  “The living conditions for the twins were the best in Auschwitz until they had to load into the truck for experiments” ( Rosenburg).

                                                    Twins that were part of the twin experiments ;Yehudit and Lea

Genetic experiments

Dr. Mengele was obsessed with heredity. He believed twins held the key to forming a master race (Mengele). He conducted cruel experiments on identical twins.  He was fascinated with Heterochromia; this is two different eye colors. To try to get a certain eye color, he injected chemicals into their eyes. (Mengele) This caused severe pain, infections, and temporary and permanent blindness. (Mengele)  Mengle would inject one twin with a chemical and after they died, he would kill the other one to compare the effects the chemical had on the body.(Mengele)  Once, he had all the data he needed on a twin, he would puncture their heart with a needle and inject chloroform into their heart.  “One day Mengle brought chocolate and special clothes. The net day an SS man, on Mengele’s  instructions , took away two children , who happened to be my favorites : Guido and Nino,  aged about four. Two perhaps three days later the SS man brought them back in a frightening condition. They had been sewn together like Siamese twins. The hunchbacked child was tied ti the second one on the wrist the back and wrists. Mengele had sewn their veins together. The wounds were filthy and festered. There was a powerful stretch of gangrene. The children screamed all night long. Somehow their mother managed to get hold of morphine and put an end to their suffering.”(Auschwitz)

References

barracks. N.d. national holocaust museum. Web. 19 May 2010. <http:/‌resources.ushmm.org/‌inquery/‌uia_doc.php/‌photos/‌12579?hr=null>.

mengele. N.d. national holocaust museum. Web. 19 May 2010. <http:/‌www.ushmm.org/‌lcmedia/‌viewer/‌wlc/‌photo.php?RefId=34753>.

“mengeles children.” ask.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2010. <http:/‌history1900s.about.com/‌od/‌auschwitz/‌a/‌mengeletwins_2.htm>. # one

Rosenburg, Jennifer. “mengeles twins.” holocaust survivors. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2010. #4

twin auschwitz survivors. 2009. youtube. Web. 5 May 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/‌watch?v=MWJyjAYyF8E&feature=related>. #3

“victims of mengele.” auschwitz. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2010. <http:/‌www.auschwitz.dk/‌mengele/‌id24.htm>. # 2

Yehudit and Lea . N.d. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. national holocaust museum. Web. 19 May 2010. <http:/‌resources.ushmm.org/‌inquery/‌uia_doc.php/‌photos/‌14997?hr=null>

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