Medical Knowledge Gained from the Holocaust

Medical Knowledge Gained from the Holocaust
During the Holocaust, the Nazis carried out many unethical medical experiments on patients without regard for their survival. Prisoners were forced to be subjects in various studies against their will. The Nazis’ victims went through indescribable pain as they were forced through high-altitude, freezing, tuberculosis, sea water, sulfanilamide, poison, and transplant experiments. Through these tragic Holocaust experiments, scientists and doctors discovered treatments used today for high-altitude sickness, hypothermia, contagious diseases, dehydration, poisoning, and war wounds.
Jews were placed in low-pressure chambers to determine the maximum altitude from which the crews of damaged aircraft could parachute safely. These chambers imitated conditions at altitudes of up to 20,000 meters (about 66,000 feet). In this, scientists found that high-altitude sickness was a result of small air bubbles developing in the blood vessels of the subarachnoid part of the brain.
Prisoners were subject to freezing experiments as scientists looked for an effective treatment for hypothermia. Scientists also wanted to discover how long German pilots downed by enemy fire could survive the frozen waters of the North Sea. Some were forced in a tank of ice water at sub-zero temperatures for up to five hours. Others were left outside to freeze in the winter cold. Numerous victims lost consciousness and died when their body temperature dropped to 25 degrees Celsius. It was also found that humans could not survive immersion in the North Sea for more than two hours. By studying the effects of this cold exposure and meticulously noting the changes in the subject’s body temperature, heart rate, and muscle response...

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...p lower the amount of deaths by preventing hemorrhages.
The medical knowledge gained from the Holocaust is morally horrible, as it was extracted from victims who endured fatal suffering. The doctors and scientists conducting these experiments had no consideration for the health of their patients. This Nazi data is not justified in any way, but is made known to reveal to others the horrific things that occurred during the Holocaust.

Works Cited

Cohen, Baruch C. “Jewish Law-Articles.” Jewish Law-Articles (The Ethics of Using Medical Data from Nazi Experiments). Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
“Medical Experiments of the Holocaust and Nazi Medicine.” Medical Experiments of the Holocaust and Nazi Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
“Nazi Medical Experiments.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, 10 June 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.