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

to the truly horrendous experiments performed in the camps, and it led me to think about the violation of humankind for the sake of medicine. The use of Nazi experimental records continues to be a popular debate in today's medical field, countless of innocent lives were lost due to medical experiments conducted, leading to numerous inquiries on whether or not that data should be utilized to further improve the medical field. Many doctors and researchers have positive intentions for the data’s use, however, the use of the data deeply rely on how it is utilized, meaning the research is done with the purpose to benefit everyone.
Primarily, the use of data would lack respect towards the victims of the experiments, several of the victims of these experiments have came forward to discuss their past experiences in Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp, in which they “were treated like a commodity. . . [and] used as guinea pigs” (Caplan, Kor 7). The living victims feel that today’s researchers and doctors are waiting “like vultures” (Caplan, Kor 7) to use the tainted data, also known as “the only thing left by these victims” (Caplan, Kor 7). By taking the only thing they have is considered invading their privacy, and by accepting that the data collected can be utilized we are placing medicine and science before the lives of the ones who suffered.
In addition, it has been mentioned that not all the information gathered during the experiments is accurate.

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

inspection of Rascher's personal lab record revealed that it actually took from 80 minutes to five or six hours to kill the subjects” (Cohen), suggesting that Rascher’s hyperthermia data is undependable and inaccurate. Having one experiment out of the many be proven false raises questions on the authenticity of the rest of the procedures.
During the 1946 Doctors Trial, a lot of the information collected from the Nazi examinations were announced and accessible to analysts, having that said, several assumed that since the data was collected in an unethical manner, it automatically labeled it as incorrect or useless, whereas, it could have the potential to save lives if manipulated the right way, “If good can come . . . in the future from using the data, then its use is surely justified” (Gilliam).
Regardless that the experiments were collected unethical and inhumane, there still is a chance that within all the data obtained, some information could possibly be put to use to possibly save peoples lives. Kristine Moe was researching Rascher’s hypothermia experiment when she discovered that “experiments blind us to the possibility that some "good" may be salvaged from the ashes"(Cohen), meaning that since the data was collected unlawfully we tend to avoid it, even if “no further harm can be done to those who died”(Gilliam). However, knowing that the data does exist creates a degree of tension between researcher and victim.
Since publicizing any Nazi medical information leads to approval, it is important to remember that it is still impolite to victims who suffered through the wicked experiments.

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

field.