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Scientific Murder Essay

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Scientific Murder:

Human Experimentation in Nazi Germany

The Nazi's were infamous for their cruel and unusual experiments on humans. Although they played a small part of Nazi Germany's attempt at racial hygiene, these experiments desecrated and exterminated thousands of humans (Lifton 269). "The Nazi medical experiments of the 1930's and 1940's are the most famous example of recent disregard for ethical conduct " (Polit & Hungler 127). For the sake of science, thousands lost their lives "I have no words. I thought we were human beings. We were living creatures. How could they do things like that?" (Auschwitz survivor as quoted in Lifton 269). Was it really science, or was it murder? …show more content…

Friedlander quotes Henrich Bunke saying, "It provided the opportunity to collaborate with experienced professors, to do scientific work, and to complete my education." as his excuse for joining T4 (127). Autopsies were the greatest opportunity for these young physicians. As a result, human organs were available for research (Friedlander 127).
With the beginning of this program, scientists made the decision to utilize the killing program to benefit research. Two institutes for research took a great part in benefiting from the killings. "The clinic for Psychiatry and Neurology of Heidelberg University, directed by Professor Carl Schneider, and the observation ward and research station at the state hospital in Brandenburg-Gorden, headed by Hans Heinze" (Friedlander 127).
The experiments done on the camp prisoners can be divided into two categories. The first was created to help the war effort and was performed by the medical services of the German military. The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) performed high altitude experiments on camp prisoners to test conditions experienced by pilots. Other examples of military experiments were inducing hypothermia, human toleration of seawater ingestion, and immunization experiments against several diseases (Friedlander 132). Women were used in military experiments to test treatment of combat

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