Joseph Mengele and his Atrocities

2149 Words5 Pages

Three thousand twins entered Auschwitz between 1940 and 1944. Only two hundred and fifty pairs of twins ever had the smell of freedom again. Why did this unfortunate event occur? It occurred because the Nazis party was in control and Adolf Hitler was the Fuhrer and he wanted a perfect race. "Right, left", what kind of a man could send people to their death with a flick of a cane, without one scent of remorse or one inkling of guilt? -his name was Josef Mengele. (Nazi304) Hitler gave Mengele all the resources he could and this is the main reason why he went to Auschwitz, because the of the availability of the victims he could do his work on. The stories and pictures of Auschwitz tell a gruesome tale of death and torture. Josef Mengele performed horrific experiments on twins, justified by official Nazis party policies to try and create the "perfect human being". To this day, he serves as a warning signal of the evil, man is capable of doing by trying to do good for one's own race with the exclusion of others.

Josef Mengele was born March 16, 1911 in Gunzburg, Germany and his parents were Karl (1881-1959) and Walburga (?-1946) Mengele. He had two younger brothers; Karl (1912-1949 and Alois (1914-1974). He had several nicknames, one of them being Beppo. He was a bright and cheerful child in his early days. (Mengele32) He was full of ambition and had high hopes for his future. In 1930 he graduated from the Gymnasium and in 1935 he was awarded a PhD from the University of Munich. In 1937 he was appointed a research assistant at the Third Reich Institute for Heredity, Biology, and Racial Purity at the University of Frankfurt; worked with Professor Otmar Freiherr von Vershuer. (Mengele54) In May 1938 he joined the SS (Schutzstapple - elite unit which protected Hitler and his important dignitaries) and in 1940 he joined the medical corps (Sanitatsinspektion) of the Waffen SS. (an actual army unit that fights on the front lines made up of the SS - they were very widely feared) (grandparents2) In July 1939 Mengele married Irene Schoenbein.

Although Mengele may have been considered evil, in January 1942 he earned a Iron Cross second class and he also earned an Iron Cross first class by pulling two of his fallen comrades out of a burning tank while under enemy fire. He also earned a Black Badge for the Wounded and the Medal for the Care of the German People; wound...

... middle of paper ...

...he flow of traffic to die or work. He would immediately stop everything if he spied a set of twins. Often, though, twins would volunteer themselves, figuring it was better to be with Mengele then die in a chamber. Unfortunately at Auschwitz the Nazis had perfected the use of gas chambers and crematoria, along with being a laboratory for Josef Mengele. Today the word "Auschwitz" is synotmous with evil and terror. One point one million people die in Auschwitz, a large percent due to Mengele. This number is comparable to one third of Los Angeles being murdered. (flames304)

Josef Mengele performed horrific experiments on twins, justified by official Nazis party policies to try and create the "perfect human being". To this day, he serves as a warning signal of the evil man is capable of doing by trying to do good for one's own race with the exclusion of others. In some ways Mengel was a mythological creature, he would suddenly appear out of thin air, regardless it being day or night

to take tests on his subjects. Maybe he had the right idea but went about doing it the wrong way. Whatever he did wrong he was the symbol of the Nazis, evil, lurking, and always there. (Mengele 450)

Open Document