Dr. Sigmund Rascher's Unethical Medical Experiments

In 1933 German politician Adolf Hitler led a genocide known as the Holocaust, which eventually led to “The Final Solution”, throughout this time over 6 million Jews were persecuted due to the fact that “The Nazi ideology was predicated on the concept of racial supremacy. At the top of the tree was the Aryan race; at the foot were the ‘untermenschen’: blacks, gypsies, homosexuals and Jews” (Bogod). During this time German doctors performed a number of unethical medical experiments in order to advance in medicine, these crimes were committed against individuals, without consent. Recently, I read Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account, a novel written by Dr. Miklos Nyiszli, the information documented in the novel was difficult to digest due

While researching about the experiments I learned that at least 26 different medical procedures were conducted on Jewish prisoners, and one that repeatedly stood out was Dr. Sigmund Rascher's hypothermia experiment. The purpose for Rascher’s hypothermia experiment was to test human resistance during harsh weather, because during war “luftwaffe pilots who were shot down and had to bail out over the North Sea” (Bogod). To begin his research he would “[use] about 300 prisoners”(Cohen) and “[immerse them] in ice-cold water, or strapped naked to a stretcher in the Polish winter, while rectal temperature, heart rate, level of consciousness and shivering were meticulously monitored and charted” (Bogod). In many cases, more than half of the victims died within “53–100 minutes after immersion” (Bogod) and those who rarely survived were usually in oblivious states, since they were severely malnourished, however this did not stop the researchers from continuing experiments, they utilized the surviving victims to test different techniques such as revivals by “rewarming the frozen victims” (Cohen). However, when Dr. Leo Alexander came across Dr. Sigmund Rascher’s hypothermia experiment and analyzed it, not all of Rasher’s records were consistent, “According to Rascher's official report to Himmler, it took from 53 to 100 minutes to kill the frozen prisoners. Alexander's

Nonetheless, any information released should clearly state that the data displayed was performed by German doctors during the Nazi experimentation, researchers who decide to utilize the medical information, must display some aspect of respect regarding the victims who suffered from the experiments, so that the victim still receives respect while constantly informing the public about the violations that took place.

Ultimately, publishing Nazi medical data can have the potential to improve today’s advancing medicine and possibly save lives. However, if family requests to not publish data, the decision should be respected, aside from that as long both the victims and the crimes committed are adequately acknowledged, Nazi medical data should be released for the purpose to further improve the medical