Josef Mengele's Twin Experiments

The twin experiments at Auschwitz were pioneered by Dr. Josef Mengele, who arrived at Auschwitz in May of 1943, and he chose to perform his twin experiments on the Jewish children (Rees, 2005). The children called him “Good Uncle,” because Mengele would bring sweets, toys, and new clothes for his “guinea pigs” every morning (Rees, 2005). This was a manipulative tactic used by Mengele that caused the innocent, yet ignorant, children to trust and cooperate with their, “Good Uncle,” Dr. Mengele. During the experiments, some children would have their arms tied up up to three times a week to restrict blood flow and then blood would be drawn, at times enough blood would be drawn that the children would lose consciousness (Rees, 2005). As they were

It is said that some assistants and other victims changed the temperature readings and timings of blood samplings in an attempt to save lives (Berger, 1990). Sigmund Rascher was an infamous medical scientist at the Dachau Concentration camp. He insisted on human medical experimentation, and set up not only the Hypothermia experiments, but other experiments such as the experiments to test Polygal were extremely brutal as well (Berger, 1990). Polygal promoted blood clotting. which meant that victims went through amputations or brutal shootings, often through the neck and chest, without anesthesia, to test the new product (Berger, 1990). Some victims also had pus injected into their legs as another aspect of the experiment (Berger, 1990). These victims, again, were taken advantage of and given no rights of consent to any of the experimentations they were put through. Rascher was one of the most brutal doctors of the era, and his experiments were completely unethical. All of these experiments were very unprofessional, contained less than adequate methods, and were performed in a less than gentle manner. The doctors also showed signs of dishonesty throughout not only their professional lives but their personal lives as well. There was proof of data falsification and fabrication in these experiments, and the science

The Reich government’s guidelines were supposed to protect the Jewish people, but they were so overlooked and unpowerful that they might as well have not even been there. The Nazi doctors were going to do what they wanted because they saw no consequences in their actions because of the situation that was the Holocaust. If another Jewish person died, to the Nazis that mean one step closer to reaching their goal. It is said in the guidelines that written documentation of the experiment and the experimental process itself were required before each clinical trial (Vollmann, 1996), but judging by how little information was presented after each one of these experiments, we know that the doctors involved in these experiments did not follow up on their end of the agreement. Doctors involved in these 20th century experiments were not thinking of their patients, but of themselves, and it is highly disappointing that our medical practices and systems of ethical treatment had not evolved whatsoever after experiencing and dealing with the horrible medical exploitation of black slaves in the 19th century. Even more unethical and unconsented experiments took place after the