Who was Josef Mengele?
Dr. Josef Mengele was a Schutzstaffel (SS) officer and physician in World War 11. Mengele enrolled in the Nazi Party in 1937, he then joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) in 1938. After receiving some basic training with the Gerbirgjager (mountain infantry), Mengele began his service in the Wehrmacht (German armed forces), in June 1940. He quickly volunteered for medical service in the Waffen-SS (combat arm of the SS), where he became a SS-Untersturmfuhrer (second lieutenant) until November 1940. In June 1941, Mengele was transferred to Ukraine, where he earned his Iron Cross Second Class. In January 1942, Mengele became a battalion medical officer. During this period, he rescued two fellow soldiers and was awarded the Iron Cross Class One, the Wound Badge in Black, and the Medal for the Care of the German People. In mid-1942, Mengele was seriously injured in action near Rostov-on-Don. Mengele was no longer fit enough to serve in action service, which resulted in him transferring to the Race and Resettlement Office in Berlin. In 1943, Mengele applied for a transfer to the concentration camp service, as he saw it as a chance to perform genetic experiments on human subjects. His application was accepted and Mengele began his infamous career at Auschwitz.
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What Experiments did Josef Mengele conduct?
During his reign of terror, Mengele was particularly interested in experimenting on identical twins, individuals with heterochromia iridum, dwarfs, and those with physical abnormalities. Mengele reportedly took around 3,000 twins (mostly children); approximately, only 200 survived. Mengele would treat his twins differently than other prisoners, as they were known as "Mengele's children". He allowed them to keep their hair and clothes and would be given extra food rations, freedoms that other individuals would never encounter. The children would also refer to him as "Uncle Mengele", as he gave them sweets and would occasionally play with them. However, it came with a costly price. Mengele would perform a variety of experiments on them, including his infamous sewing-together of two Gypsy twins. Other experiments included unnecessary limb removal, blood transfusions between twins, and purposely infecting one twin with a disease. After an experiment, if the victim/s didn't die, they would be murdered and dissected. Those who had heterochromatic eyes would be murdered and had their eyes gouged out, they would be sent to Berlin for further study. Dwarfs and individuals who faced physical abnormalities would be measured, have blood taken, and had healthy teeth extracted. After two weeks, Mengele's victims would often be sent to the gas chambers. Their skeletons would then be sent to Berlin, again, for further study.