Josef Mengele "Angel of Death"

 Although Josef Mengele is today recognized as the embodiment of the pseudoscientific SS physician who conducted his bestial experiments in complete seclusion, it must not be forgotten that he was closely associated with the community of German scientists. Known as the "Angel of Death", Mengele was not only a sadistic psychopath but also a trusted and respected representative of his field. According to David Marwell, author of Mengele. The Angel of Death from Auschwitz Unmasked, what Mengele did was consistent with research conducted by members of the "scientific establishment". He often stood on the ramp and selected newly arrived prisoners. Together with the SS men, he searched for victims for his experiments. He was especially interested in twins and dwarfs. Unaware mothers usually handed over their children quickly, believing that a better fate awaited them with Dr. Mengele. If everything had gone as Karl Mengele had planned, the history of World War II would have been different. Surely the world would not have heard of Dr. Mengele's monstrous experiments, whose name still shudders to this day. "The Doctor" became the most famous murderer from Auschwitz. Who would he have been if the sick, Nazi ideology of Nazi Germany had not been born?

• On January 27, 1945, Red Army soldiers opened the gates of the German concentration camp. They found extremely exhausted prisoners, of whom there were still about 7,000. There were half a thousand children among them
• One of the criminals of the Second World War was Josef Mengele. In a concentration camp, he conducted pseudoscientific and cruel "research" on prisoners
• After the war, Mengele hid in South America. He had contact with his son who was a lawyer in Germany. He never gave away his father's whereabouts

The Angel of Death was born in 1911 in Günzburg as the eldest son of Walburga and Karl Mengele. The spouses are respected in the city to this day, and before the Second World War, their plant was the largest employer there. Josef Mengele's father even has a street named after him, one of the city's most important thoroughfares, and his monument commemorating him and his wife Warburg.

The Mengele family saw in the eldest son their heir who would take over from his father and extend the family. From an early age, it was evident that Josef is smart and is very good at science. “Josef was a very ambitious young man with a great need for success. He wanted to build a reputation for himself independent of his family's: he wanted to outgrow his surroundings. Fame was a drug for him. One day he told me that one day I would read about him in encyclopedias, 'Mengele's friend from the school bench recalled years later.

Mengele's family home was cold. Relationships were based not on love, but on respect, sometimes quite severely forced. The parents were constantly arguing, but they had three children in total - Josef had two younger brothers, Karl Jr., and Alois. The worst relationship for a long time was between Josef and Karl, who were only 16 months apart. They competed with each other for years, but after time they managed to find a common language.

At school, young Mengele, who still had to be a top student, was the best at science. One of the teachers infected him with a passion for them. Josef became interested in biology, zoology, physics, natural philosophy, and - for which he was most passionate - anthropology. In addition, he started working in the structures of the Red Cross and a patriotic youth organization. He was not overly religious, although he grew up in a deeply Catholic Bavarian family, and both his parents and his nanny tried to instill his faith in him.

After graduating from high school, Mengele went to study in Munich. At first, he thought about becoming a dentist but eventually chose medicine and philosophy. During his studies, he focused on genetics and anthropology. He was convinced that this would allow him to better understand all medical knowledge.

While Mengele was studying at the University of Munich, the Nazi party was gaining more and more influence in the city. Even Karl Mengele, Josef's father, felt the wind of history and bribed the National Socialists. His eldest son, however, focused on his studies. The influence of the Nazi ideology was already visible at German universities. One of Mengele's lecturers and his mentors was Dr. Ernst Rudin, who openly said that doctors should destroy "life without values" and drafted racial laws that laid the foundation for the German criminal system. The ambitious student became even more interested in genetics and the more and more fashionable racial theories in Germany.

In 1935 Josef Mengele obtained his doctorate. He left the thresholds of the university shaped by people who helped Hitler to create laws on compulsory sterilization for some of the citizens. According to people like Rudin, people with hereditary deafness, blindness, mental illness, alcoholism, epilepsy, and other hereditary ailments were not allowed to reproduce. Such sick ideals of "purity of race" were also shared by Mengele.

The medical profession was not what he was called to do. Instead of curing, he preferred to investigate. Thanks to the recommendation of one of his professors, he found his way to the team of prof. Otmar von Verschuer. The young scientist became an assistant at the Institute of Heredity, Biology and Racial Purity of the Third Reich at the University of Frankfurt am Main.

Mengele abandoned the values ​​of the Hippocratic Oath. Now he was at the center, where the criminal racial ideas on which the Third Reich was based were forging. In 1937 he joined the Nazi Party. Together with Verschauer, they prepared anthropological studies that were to help distinguish the Jews. By law, they were not allowed to maintain relationships with people of "Aryan" blood. It was a crime of desecrating the race for which there was a prison sentence.

Mengele underwent a breed verification process (his family tree was checked four generations back), which opened the door for him into the ranks of the SS. However, he was not content with this and fought for admission to the elite Waffen-SS units, which he managed to do. He even underwent military training in the Wehrmacht. After that, he returned to university to continue his research on inheritance and eugenics. Steeped in racism, he believed in Hitler, who, in his opinion, "wanted to save humanity from self-destruction."

Mengele, however, was unlucky and fell in love with Irene, whose racial purity could not be proven up to the fourth generation back. He himself was an advocate of the cleanliness and hygiene of the breed. Meanwhile - ironically - neither his wife nor his children could count on a certificate confirming her or on being entered into the book of families that could prove their racial purity from 1750. It must have been a blow and a real shame for him.

After Germany's invasion of Poland, Mengele, who was seriously ill as a child, developed his kidneys. As a result, to his disappointment, he could not go to the front and destroy the "enemy". He actually took part in combat for the first time in 1941. Admittedly, he wasn't hiding in the rear. He won the Iron Cross very quickly. In 1942 he entered the medical service of the fanatical SS division "Viking", which penetrated very deep into the territory of the USSR. It was while serving in its ranks that he received another Iron Cross (first class). Mengele rushed to help the crew of the burning tank and managed to give them first aid, all under constant enemy fire.

If the criminal research and experiments conducted by Josef Mengele were born solely in his crazy head, due to the lack of barriers that normally inhibit the temptations of many scientists, he could be considered a madman and a sadistic pseudoscientist. However, the research methods and their scope were no deviation from what the science of that time was concerned with. Josef Mengele was part of a respected institution that readily used the exhibits he collected and the results of the research he conducted in Auschwitz.

The Angel of Death was born in 1911 in Günzburg as the eldest son of Walburga and Karl Mengele. The spouses are respected in the city to this day, and before the Second World War, their plant was the largest employer there. Josef Mengele's father even has a street named after him, one of the city's most important thoroughfares, and his monument commemorating him and his wife Warburg.

The Mengele family saw in the eldest son their heir who would take over from his father and extend the family. From an early age, it was evident that Josef is smart and is very good at science. “Josef was a very ambitious young man with a great need for success. He wanted to build a reputation for himself independent of his family's: he wanted to outgrow his surroundings. Fame was a drug for him. One day he told me that one day I would read about him in encyclopedias, 'Mengele's friend from the school bench recalled years later.

Josef Mengele came to Auschwitz on May 30, 1943, at the urging of his university patron, prof. Otmar von Verschuer. In Oświęcim, he conducted research on multiple pregnancies, nome, heredity, and racial traits (the last two types of research were conducted in agreement with the Institute of Anthropological and Biological-Racial Research).

Twins were of particular interest to Mengele. He believed that similarities are inherited features, and the differences between them arise as a result of the influence of time and external conditions. He started his first experiences in a Gypsy camp for children. He was very kind, gentle towards them, took care of their food, and distributed sweets to them. The children called him a good uncle.

On the territory of the Gypsy camp, in barracks 29 and 31, Mengele ordered the construction of a Kindergarten, in which he placed all the children. These blocks were in slightly better condition than the other barracks - whitewashed and decorated with paintings. The area behind building 31 has been turned into a playground.

Later it turned out that it was from this "kindergarten" that the Angel of Death obtained "living material" for his experiments. Nearby, he set up a laboratory where he made anthropological measurements and descriptions of the shape of the mouth, eye color, and skin color.

Mengele employed as his assistant a prisoner, Dr. Martyna Puzyna, whose task was to help in taking measurements and segregating documentation. In addition, secretary Janina Prażmowska and painter Dina Gottliebova worked for him, who made comparative paintings of the shapes of noses, lips, and hands. In addition to comparisons, Dina painted portraits of Gypsies. 

Mengele was also interested in Jewish children, especially those with birth anomalies. Twins up to two years of age and their mothers were placed in barracks 22, while older twins, dwarfs, and cripples were in barracks 15. These children were protected against selection and mistreatment by functionaries and SS men. They were at the exclusive disposal of Mengele, who subjected them to various experiments.

The scheme of medical management included multi-stage clinical and psychiatric studies. First, a medical history was carried out, which was to help in determining past diseases, but also to indicate any hereditary diseases or encephalopathy (brain damage). The next stage was a medical examination, on the basis of which the formation of the skull (e.g. open fontanel), mandibular formations (palate anomalies), the curvature of the teeth and spine, deformations of the fingers were found, and finally, the internal organs and glands were examined. Then, the nervous system was examined: the reflexes of the eyelids, upper and lower limbs, mobility, strength, sensitivity, gait, and dysmetria were checked. After this series of studies, it was concluded whether there were signs of any degeneration, growth disturbance, or inertia.

The last part of this experiment dealt with psychiatric issues and control, so in addition to appearance and behavior, orientation was assessed (e.g., the date and place of stay where asked), perceptiveness (e.g. the speed of indicating a selected field on a marked board), memory (e.g. from the memory of the sentence read), knowledge (questions were asked, e.g. "what do you know about the current war?"), the ability to understand (e.g. "why are you here?"), verbal syllogism, school achievements, love life (ability to arouse), and instinctive perversions.

In addition to the operational efforts to unite children into Siamese twins, the Angel of Death also dealt with other operations. Inmate Moshe Ofer testified that Mengele cut testicles, injected chemicals into them, and operated on the backbones of the humped. The remaining tests were carried out by prisoners or by medical specialists in a given field on his orders. 

Ophthalmological examinations - it was checked whether the distance between the eyes of the twins was the same and the shades of the irises were compared according to the color table. In addition, the eyes were sprinkled with various preparations, and then what was happening with them. Mengele was fascinated by having different colored irises in the same person. 

In order to change the color of the eyes, they were instilled (both in infants, children, and the elderly) by means of undetermined chemicals. In adults, they caused suppuration, in children, blindness (complete or partial), and death in infants. After the experiment, the children were sacrificed and their eyeballs were dissected. Besides, Mengele killed twins whose eyes were colored differently. There is a known case where he had phenol babies because one of the twins had one blue eye and the other gray eye. In such cases, only the eyeballs counted.

Anthropometric tests - children were stripped naked and measurements of various parts of the body (ears, noses) were taken for hours, using the most accurate instruments: calipers, protractors, calipers.

Morphological tests - children had blood is taken from a finger or a vein (up to 20 cm3). It was preserved and intended for frontline soldiers. As a result of frequent retrieval, the children began to suffer from anemia. Besides, blood was transfused. In the case of twins, it was done interchangeably. This experiment was conducted to see how the body would react to the twin's blood. In addition to blood, feces, saliva, and cerebrospinal fluid were also collected. All this was sent to the Institute of Hygiene for analysis.

X-ray examinations - naked children stood in front of the X-ray machine for 5-15 minutes, during which several photos were taken. After the photo was taken, they were discussed in detail.

Teeth examinations - jaws were plaster casts and compared. In addition to the above-mentioned diagrams, there were also general analysis cards that were kept by prisoners - doctors, which contained various information, depending on the type of research, e.g. general research - questions about sociability or temperament, orthopedic tests, dwarfism, and gigantism in the family, dermatology - the general condition of the skin, dental examinations - type of bite, neurological examinations - musical sense.

Former inmate Eva Kor testified that the twins were subjected to one more experiment which involved asking questions and issuing commands to see which of the twins was leading. The medical examination lasted about 8 hours on average.

All of the above questionnaires and studies were to be only an introduction to later experimental operations. The last and most important stage of the experiments was the autopsy. Twins were killed simultaneously by phenolate. The organs secured during the autopsy were sent to the Institute of Anthropological and Biological-Racial Research with the designation: Urgent, parcel important for war purposes.

On occasions, Mengele killed children himself, especially if he wanted concrete results. Erzsebet Fleischmann admitted that she had witnessed when one of the triplets babies was ordered by Mengele, after administering the drug, cut in two lengthwise on the operating table in front of his mother's eyes. The corpse was taken to Berlin for examination.

Rudolf Diem (camp number 10022) said that if one child died of pneumonia, then the other one was killed and an autopsy was performed on him to find out if he had symptoms of the disease as well.

Ruth Elias (camp number 73643) testified that after the birth of his baby girl, Mengele ordered her breasts bandaged so that she could not feed. Ruth gave her daughter what she could, but she didn't get much food herself - just a piece of bread and black coffee. The Angel of Death visited her daily and asked how she was doing, then watched her baby and walked away. 

Water cancer is a disease that destroys the tissues of the mouth and cheeks through bacterial inflammation of the mucosa. The disease was very common in the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe but was less common in the early 20th century. In the Auschwitz concentration camp, mainly Gypsies, and especially children, suffered from the nome.

From among the patients of the nome, a few were selected and sent for treatment at the dental outpatient clinic in the mother camp. Doctors looked for the bacteria responsible for the disease and tests showed the presence of the spirochete in symbiosis with the spindle stick and other microorganisms.

The sick presented a terrible sight, because their rotting tissues fell off, which resulted in a cavity and exposure of the jaw bone. According to the description of Tadeusz Szymański (camp number 11785), the course of the disease was as follows:

"Stomatitis → a rash abscess appeared → a bluish spot appeared at the level of the teeth → a fistula was formed as a result of tissue decay → enlargement of the defect → exposed teeth, gums and jawbones, in drastic cases the defect reached the neck”.

Tissue disintegration gave off a characteristic odor, which made it possible to make a diagnosis already in the first stage of the disease. Nevertheless, Mengele devoted a lot of time to these patients: he examined them carefully, took pictures, or ordered the camp painter Vladimir Zlamal to draw the faces of the sick or to record them with watercolors.

Initially, sick children were transported to the clinic in the main camp, where treatment was limited to rinsing the mouth with hydrogen peroxide, which temporarily removed the smell of decaying tissues. Then the edges of the wound were sprinkled with prontosil and a dressing was applied.

Water cancer patients were housed in block 22, led by Dr. Bertold Epstein, a world-renowned pediatrician, and Dr. Rudolf Weisskopf, who specialized in dermatology. On the orders of Josef Mengele, they selected a small group of people from all the patients with the nome.

These children were well fed (they were given meat, vegetables, valuable bread), were kept in normal conditions (they had, among others, comfortable, nicely made beds), and they were also treated pharmacologically. The following preparations were used to treat patients: sulfamides, vitamins - especially vitamin C, and a mixture of talc with protonsil. The purpose of such proceedings was, inter alia, establishing the dependence of the disease development on living conditions and the intensity of treatment. If improvement was observed, annotation and photos were made, after which the prisoner was sentenced again to the usual camp life or transferred to another bed and it was decided not to give the nutritional diet. After this change, the condition of the patients deteriorated, which led to the opening of the cheek wound. After annotating and taking the photos, Mengele took the sick to the so-called "Sauna" from which they never returned.

From the account of Jan Češpiva, a doctor and prisoner of the camp from January to June 1943, it is known that an attempt was made to treat noma: I cut out cancer from the mouths of children and tried to be allowed to use X-rays for their treatment.

He also testified that whole heads were prepared from the corpses of children who died on the nome in order to then subject them to histopathological examination. Research on the nome ceased with the liquidation of the Gypsy camp.

Just before the end of the war, Josef Mengele was captured and placed in a POW camp near Munich. Ultimately, however, he avoided automatic arrest because he did not have a typical SS-man blood type tattoo.

Despite intensive searches and a huge financial reward of 10 million marks, the Angel of Death was not captured. He went to Argentina, then to Paraguay, and finally settled in Brazil. In 1979, while swimming in the sea, he suffered a stroke and died as a result. He was buried as Wolfgang Gerhard.

It is estimated that Mengele performed his murderous experiments on approximately 1,500 twins, of whom less than 100 survived.

Young Mengele hoped they would be published. He hoped that when the public got to know them, people would also see his father's human face. In addition, he hoped that the publication of the materials made available to "Bunte" would be associated with a generous payment.

Later in an interview, Josef Mengele's adult son, Rolf, confessed:

"I'd rather have a different father. One advantage I can find is that this inheritance has always forced me to reflect on the essence of life and the conflict between good and evil."

Despite this, Rolf Mengele defended his father's good name for many years, disagreeing with the verdict in Nuremberg. For many years Rolf was convinced that Mengele was his uncle who lived in South America (Mengele was hiding there after the war). It was only during the trial of another Nazi criminal, Eichmann, that Josef Mengele was his father.

Rolf Mengele had many years of contact with his father, who was hiding in South America and even visited him there.

Rolf came face to face with his father in 1977. He hoped to get answers to the most important questions - he wanted to know what Mengele was doing in Auschwitz and how he would react to the accusations made against him. Josef Mengele stated that he had to fulfill his duty, obey orders, did not plead guilty or be responsible for his actions. Until the very end, Mengele did not express any remorse, his worldview has not changed since the war.

Rolf said that this meeting was very difficult for him. By then my father looked old and weak. Rolf realized that for Josef Mengele, talking to his son meant a lot. The man also mentioned that being kind to his father was a huge emotional summon for him. At the same time, he never told the police about his father's position. Josef died and was buried in the parish cemetery in Embu das Artes, a small Brazilian town in the state of Sao Paulo. He lived there under a pseudonym and was never criminally responsible for his actions.

Rolf decided not to inform the relevant services, even though he had sworn to abide by the provisions of German law, in connection with the legal apprenticeship he had completed many years earlier.

 February 7, 1979, Josef Mengele, at the urging of his friends, decides to go to the local beach to get some fresh air and enjoy the view of nature. And the latter has always aroused admiration among tourists who reside here, who in large numbers undertake trips to the Amazon River to be able to admire its beauty. 

Meanwhile, Mengele's health deteriorates. He is faced with an enlarged prostate, he has back pain, hypertension, rheumatism, and to make matters worse, he has been depressed for at least a few months. It is not difficult to guess that the "Angel of Death", as he used to be called, once a man full of energy, now has a problem enjoying life.

And no wonder. It is not easy to live when you have to be vigilant at every step so as not to get caught by the justice system. In addition, there is still very limited contact with the family. In short, the perfect recipe for depression.

Who knows, maybe today's trip to the beach will improve the mood of this sixty-seven-year-old man. Especially since the thermometers indicate a solid 29 degrees Celsius. As his friend recalled, that day Mengele returned to Germany.

A few moments later, when Mengele starts to get scorching heat, he decides to take a bath. He leaves his clothes on the shore and goes into the water. The ocean is very calm, the water surface is actually completely smooth. Anyway, nothing foreshadows any further events.

Mengele devoted a moment ago to sentimental memories and thoughts about Germany, unexpectedly feels a surge of energy. In addition, contact with cool water brings him additional relief. He finally feels alive again. And he wants to continue living! Oh yes! Carried in a state of euphoria, he moves away a few meters from the shore. Only then does he begin to understand that something is wrong with his body.

It is likely at this point that he suffered a stroke, caused by unexpected bleeding. Mengele knows it's over. It is too far from the shore to return to land on its own. In the distance, he only hears someone shouting for him to come back quickly because where he is, there are strong currents. Unfortunately for him, it is too late.

The body of a sixty-seven-year-old man refuses to obey, his mind loses control over the surroundings. The fight for life is actually over. This is perfectly illustrated by Mengele's contorted face, expressing pain. Andreas Bossert, one of the people who accompanies him that day, approaches the old man, he tried to save his life. When he tried to bring him back from the sea, he was still alive. The chances of saving Mengele are close to zero. Now the only question that remains is whether the body will be able to get out of the water or will a group of local divers have to do it in a few hours? Bossert, however, does not give up. He fights the resistance of the water and the inert body of an old man that no longer shows signs of life. To his delight, he manages to swim to the shore, dragging the corpse with him. Several rescuers run up to them quickly and help him pull Mengele ashore.