Angel
of Death
The Holocaust was a horrible time in history where
Germany methodically exterminated approximately six million Jews. By the end of
World War 2, it is estimated that two out of three European Jews died (The
Holocaust). Many of these would perish at the hands of Dr. Josef Mengele in Auschwitz’s
death camp. Mengele was one of several doctors working at Germany’s
concentration camps, but he never treated the sick or wounded, but instead
performed inhumane experiments on Jewish people who were brought to Auschwitz
earning him the nickname “Angel of Death” (Angel of Death).
Josef Mengele was born March 16, 1911 to a well-to-do
family. Before joining the Nazi party, he studied philosophy at Munich and
medicine at Frankfort University earning a doctorate by age 24 (Angel of Death).
He joined the Nazi party in 1937 followed by the SS in 1938. While fighting in
World War II, he was wounded at the Russian front in 1942 and declared to be
unfit for active duty. It was at this time that he volunteered to be assigned
to a concentration camp. He was sent to Auschwitz where he spent his time performing
lethal experiments (Among the most infamous). In 1945, when the war ended, he
escaped the Allies by posing as a simple solder and working as a farmhand (Pavia).
During the twenty-one months that Mengele worked in
Auschwitz, he was the principal supplier for the gas chamber and the crematoria
(Angel of Death). He continued his interest in genetics by performing many
experiments on the prisoners that were brought there. These included both
physical and psychological, many performed without the use of anesthesia. He
would intentionally infect the prisoners with diseases and would document how
things progressed, and would end by autopsying them. While he carried out
genetic experiments on many prisoners, his preference was twins (Mengele’s
twins). All the documentation that Mengele kept on his lethal “scientific”
experiments where secreted away before the war ended and shipped to the Kaiser
Wilhelm Institute (Angel of Death). Unfortunately, all of these records were
destroyed by Dr. Von Verschuer (Angel of Death).
When Auschwitz was released from German occupancy, Mengele
and other officers had already left the camp (Minster). He posed as farmhand
before fleeing to South America in 1949 with the assistance of his father’s
wealth and power. While Mengele was in South America, he lived under many
aliases moving from country to country, preferring to keep to rural towns where
he continued his interest in medicine, specifically genetics (Angel of Death). He
is thought to have posed as a vet during the 1960’s in the small town of
Candido where a large number of twins were born between 1960 and 1975, most who
have blue eyes and blond hair (Mengele’s twins). There is also evidence that he
treated women with new types of drugs whom he assisted during their
pregnancies. He spoke about artificial insemination in humans and claimed he
could produce male twins in cows (Did the Nazis). While Mengele was in South
America, continuing his interest in medicine, he also continued writing diaries
documenting his travels, and thoughts regarding politics, science and humanity
(Mengele diaries). After his death in 1979, some 31 notebooks were recovered,
auctioned and were donated to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Israel
(Mengele’s diaries sold).
While there is no official documentation regarding the
atrocities that were carried out at Auschwitz by Mengele and other SS officers,
there are numerous survivors who have given testimony to what they endured and
witnessed. Quite a few of these survivors have suffered from health issues
because of Mengele’s “scientific” experimentation. In addition, there are many
who are still angry some sixty plus years later because of their barbaric
treatment and loss of their family members.
Works
Cited
“Among the most infamous of
Nazi war criminals was Dr. Josef Mengele.” First
Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and
Public Life 191 (2009): 66. Academic
One File. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Angel of Death, Josef
Mengele. Web 3 May 2014.
The Holocuast, Crimes,
Heroes and Villains. Web. 3 May 2014. http://auschwitz.dk/#.
“Mengele’s diaries sold—to
an American Jew.” World War II Nov-Dec.
2011: 15. Academic One File. Web. 30
Apr. 2014.
“Mengele’s twins.” History Today 59.3 (2009): 9. Academic One File. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Minster, Christopher. “Josef Mengele, Nazi War Criminal.” Web.
3 May 2014. http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofargentina/p/Josef-Mengele- Nazi-War-Criminal.htm?p=1
Minster, Christopher. “Ten Facts About Josef Mengele, The
Auschwitz “Angel of Death”.” Web. 3
May 2014. http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/thehistoryofargentina/tp/Ten-Facts- About-Josef-Mengele.htm
Pavia, Will. “Mengele diaries tell of journey from horror
into hiding.” Times [London, England]
20 July 2011: 28. Academic One File. Web.
30. 2014.
