Biography of a Josef Mengele - Essay Example

?FINAL DRAFT Sattam Aljurayyad English100-05 Josef Mengele was a German Schutzstaffel (SS) officer and physician in the Nazi concentration camp called Auschwitz. He was also known as the Angel of Death (German: Todesengel). Mengele was born on March 16, 1911 in Gunzburg, near Ulm, and later became a member of the German SS and a Nazi supporter. He earned his doctorate in anthropology from Munich University and an additional degree in medicine from Frankfurt University. Mengele inflicted harm to many through torture and used many prisoners to conduct experiments. These experiments included but were not limited to: shooting chloroform through the hearts of patients and throwing babies up so high that their eyes and brains would explode from the pressure and lack of oxygen. As a teenager, Mengele proved to be a very brilliant person, and was often praised by his instructors for his great control and self-discipline. He was very delightful, assertive, and good looking. Mengele’s favorite subjects at school included zoology, physics, and biology, but his most favorite subject was anthropology, which is the study of humans. After graduating in 1930 and wanting to make a name for himself, Mengele left the family business and ventured into medicine. This was the beginning of his infamous career. Mengele soon joined the Nazis and immediately applied for the highest position in society, the SS. The SS was an elite squad that controlled Germany’s racial cleanliness and strictly adhered to the Nazi beliefs. In the period building up to WWII and during the war, Mengele was drafted and served as a soldier. In addition to fighting on the battlefield, he was able to practice his medical skills and given power to make choices. Mengele was awarded many medals during his service, including the First Class, Second Class, and two Iron Crosses, for bravery and courage. Later, after becoming wounded on the battlefield, Mengele was sent back to Berlin to conduct his medical experiments, through which he earned the name “Angel of Death.” Mengele was recognized as the angel of death, inflicting harm and spreading hate to all, including many innocent Jews who were unlucky to encounter him. “Usually 70 to 90 percent of all new arrivals had been condemned to die without even a passing glance from their judge and jury at Auschwitz. The handsome officer who held omnipotent sway over the fate of all the camp's prisoners was Dr. Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death” (trutv). Josef was called the Angel of Death for many reasons. One of them was that he would kill large crowds of people without hesitation. Once there was an infestation of lice in the women’s section of Auschwitz camp, and Josef came up with an idea to fix the problem. He gassed all 750 of the women, killing them in order to solve the lice pandemic without hesitation. He was never reluctant to kill and did not think twice about the human cost of his experiments. He specifically conducted experiments on twins, the procedures of which were gruesome and torturous. These experiments included gutting and removing the reproductive organs of his patients (Auschwitz), and injecting chloroform into the hearts of a set of twins at the same time in order to instantly paralyze and then kill them. His nickname, “Angel of Death,” suited him very well. He lived up to his title through conducting numerous inhumane experiments. Josef Mengele fled from Auschwitz on January 17, 1945 (Mengele) as the Soviet army advanced toward Berlin. During the first few years of the post-war era, Mengele remained in hiding on a farm near his native Gunzburg. He took on a fake identity and began working as a farm hand. Mengele was kept informed of recent political events through his secret contacts with old friends in Gunzburg. Although he still hoped to conduct his research and experiments, it became increasingly apparent that the Allies would not let such a notorious villain escape. Eventually, he died while on the run in a drowning accident in Brazil, after which the body was checked to verify it was Mengele. Josef Mengele was a notorious inhumane scientist who conducted experiments on the innocent and weak. He tortured and killed thousands of people and permanently scarred the lives of the very few who survived his wrath. During his time at Auschwitz, he inflicted harm upon many, and eventually his bad deeds forced him to run and hide. While on the run from his evil past and the law, he died an accidental death far from home. His death does not undo the pain he caused and bring justice to those who survived his evil, but the evil deeds of the man who was once called the “Angel of Death” will never be forgotten. Mengele will always be remembered as the man who single-handedly killed thousands of souls and left deep scars for the millions of people who know his name and his actions. One of his most noted experiments entailed continuous experimentation on human subjects, particularly young twins, who would be subjected to a series of experiments and observations that were regarded as bizarre and unusual. According to a diary entry from a prisoner recollecting his experience, "Three times a week we were marched to Auschwitz to a big brick building, sort of like a big gymnasium. They would keep us there for about six or eight hours at a time - most of the days... We would have to sit naked in the large room where we first entered, and people in white jackets would observe us and write down notes. They also would study every part of our bodies. They would photograph, measure our heads and arms and bodies, and compare the measurements of one twin to another. The process seemed to go on and on" (Jewish Virtual Library). While his experimentation on human subjects was undoubtedly eerie and revolting, there was indeed an ironic twist to the fate of those twins selected for experimentation; the selection as a subject for experimentation meant much higher chances of survival as opposed to the almost certain death sentence of those who were not selected. The ability to serve as a research subject was in fact leverage that would be useful in keeping these twins alive. According to the Jewish Virtual Library website, there is qualitative and quantitative evidence to support these claims. Under the supervision of Josef Mengele’s program, over 3,000 children (or about 1,500 sets of twins) were selected to participate in his experiments. Contrary to the expectation that such experiments were terrifying and traumatic experiences for the young children, they were not terrified of him. However, these children recall often feeling intimidated by some of the experiments. They recall memories of Mengele’s temper and strong passion for his work. These were minor inconveniences and hurdles, and the children accepted his treatment as they were all aware of his role in their survival. According to one subject, "Being on Mengele’s list was better than being on no list," said Eva Mozes Kor. The site also reports that of the children involved in Mengele’s experiments, approximately 200 were still alive when the camp was liberated by the Soviet Army on January 27, 1945. While this fact tends to indicate a violation of human dignity and subjecting children to humiliation and danger, these children were in a much better position and their lives were far safer than if had they not been on the list. The sad situation of children in these camps was to be subject to a fate of either experimentation or extermination. Mengele played two opposing roles at the same time: a mad scientist and a quasi-hero of sorts. The experiments Mengele conducted were far from ethical and were downright deranged and barbaric. During the course of these experiments, Mengele performed both physical and psychological experiments, including conducting experimental surgeries without anesthesia, transfusions of blood from one twin to another, isolation endurance and measuring reactions to various stimuli. Mengele injected his subjects with lethal germs. He also engaged in the practice of sex change operations, as well as the removal of organs and limbs. Worse, Mengele would force incestuous impregnations between his subjects (Bulow). His experiments were so deranged that many of the subjects who were selected for these experiments did not survive. While some may have seen him as a savior by the selection of twins for his list, he was an extremely brutal and ruthless man. He held little regard for human life. In one horror story, he was remembered as committing an act of brutal murder without any thought. In this case, a mother’s thirteen-year-old child was selected for experimentation. The mother did not want to be separated from her child and made a public commotion as she bit and scratched the face of an SS soldier who tried to force her back into line. Her continued resistance was at her own peril, as Mengele pulled out his gun and immediately shot both the mother and the child. He did not stop there. In order to send a message that such dissension would not be tolerated, he administered a blanket punishment by sending the entire group of people in that work group to the gas chamber for extermination. Mengele said, “Away with this shit!” (Bulow). Mengele was on the run for decades after the atrocities he committed during the Holocaust and World War II. He fled to South America and held many false aliases, using different passports and identity cards. He escaped to Argentina because it was a nation that sympathized with the Nazi efforts. Despite the authorities spending a great deal of time and amassing a great deal of resources to locate him after his escape, they were unable to locate him. Due to his success in eluding the authorities, Mengele lived freely in exile for 35 years, utilizing a variety of aliases to shield his identity and prevent his capture. In addition to residing in Argentina, he lived in Paraguay and Brazil before he passed away in 1979. Although Mengele did not have any known health conditions, his life came to a sudden end one afternoon while he was living in Brazil. He went for a swim and suffered from a massive stroke, resulting in his drowning. By the time he was rescued and then dragged to shore, he was pronounced dead as he was not able to be resuscitated. While his accident occurred in 1979, his death was not formally known or announced until the mid 1980's. In the 1980s, the authorities discovered new information when they found a grave marked "Wolfgang Gerhard" at Embu. At that time, the family admitted they had hidden his death all those years, and subsequently turned over his diaries and letters to investigators. This admittance did not entirely solve the mystery, as there was still skepticism about his death and the possibility of him still being alive. In 1992, after performing DNA tests on a bone and then matching it to the DNA in blood samples taken from Mengele's son and wife, the case was solved and now the mystery of Josef Mengele, the evil Nazi scientist, was solved permanently, although the scars of his actions remain. Works Cited: Bulow, Louis. "Josef Mengele, Angel of Death." Auschwitz. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. Bulow, Louis. “Josef Mengele, The Angel Of Death.” Mengele. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. Lagnano, Lucette. Children of the Flames: Dr. Josef Mengele and the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz. New York, NY: Penguin Group Publishing, 1992. Print. Lynott, Douglas. "Josef Mengele." ?” Selection a?” Crime Library TruTV. Web. 18 Mar. 2012. . Web. 18 MarThe American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. "Josef Mengele." Jewish Virtual Library. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.  Read More