Sterilization and medical experiments in Auschwitz | DW Documentary

foreign [Music] we arrived at a Transit camp in vestiborg but we didn't stay there they then put us into Freight cars and we were transported to Auschwitz the Germans came and asked if we were married I was but I didn't know what to say then I admitted that I was married I had to step aside the others were immediately gassed but we didn't know that we finally came to a Barrack of women all with shaved heads and then we came to the testing block foreign they were gruesome painful treatments beastly the intense pain erased all feeling could have just been pleased and done his research but he thought he should be in the front row [Music] my name is Professor Carl clauberg I performed forced sterilizations from March 1943 to January 1945 I subjected 280 women to trials 150 were sterilized according to my method in 1955 Chancellor Conrad adnauer negotiated the return of 10 000 German prisoners of war from Soviet captivity causing a sensation in the young Federal Republic of Germany [Music] Kia gynecologist Carl klauberg was among those freed he soon became the subject of news reports he too hoped to start anew in the new Republic but the central Council of Jews in Germany filed charges against him in November 1955 of conducting medical trials on numerous female prisoners in Auschwitz trials that led to serious health consequences and even death [Music] many victims could no longer be questioned others were too ashamed to speak out the women who dared to testify were subjected to degrading procedures to medically verify their statements foreign courts doubted their reports Professor claubach had been a luminary in his field Kai klaubach is Kyle klauberg made medical history in reproduction research that fit very well with Nazi ideology and politics and that enabled him to perform these experiments in Auschwitz he enjoyed significant advantages and gained a lot of personal privileges for the price of becoming a criminal foreign I was born on January 7th 1921 we were the first house in the street with a telephone and telephone and house because I was about to be born while and my father was a merchant with the money for a telephone my mother had three children I was born in Warsaw and was very young when I came to Brussels parents migrated from Eastern Europe we were a very very happy family [Music] I have an ageless I had a very good childhood in Batman we were very close back then I was born in 1898 in viperhof near zollingen I started school in Keel when I was six years old I graduated in November 1916 and was drafted the next day I began University after I was freed as a pow I studied medicine in Kiel Hamburg and Graz e [Music] my dissertation dealt with death by air embolism and was recognized as very good scientific work [Music] foreign we lived in a very small apartment before the war in the 19th District a working-class area of Paris my mother was in the resistance but still took care of me until she could no longer do both back then there was an organization that looked after children and placed them with families [Music] thanks to them I lived sometimes here sometimes there whenever it became too dangerous they took me further away in the end I lived in a small Village near Chateau tiri called Mo sanper where I stayed until the end of the war I grew up in hiding [Laughter] [Music] I met my wife when she was 19. she was brought to the women's hospital with tuberculosis related ovarian swelling on both sides foreign at the end of her treatment she told me she first hated me then loved me and one day knew that if she ever gave herself to a man it would be me [Music] they married five years later but since his wife was infertile claubach began an affair with his secretary irza Gaia she gave birth to two children and eventually lived with the cloudbergs in a three-way relationship my research during that period was very significant I studied female hormones and the menstruation cycle I published a progestogen test that could confirm fertility in keeping with scientific practice the test was called the cloudbag test is certainly made medical history with his reproductive research with the sharing company those were exciting years I built the foundation for producing synthetic estrogen and progesterone together with Sharon kalbaum [Music] of course yeah of course yes Hitler was already in power after my birthday in January I had to go back to school and the teacher told me to sit down and not talk to anyone Hitler was already having an impact and there were fewer kids in the class my aunt emigrated with me after I finished school on Easter Austin she found an apartment for us in the Netherlands I'm coming in Holland on May 10 1940 Germany invaded the Netherlands Luxembourg Belgium and France the entire West on the same day people didn't realize them what a danger Hitler posed but we had been dealing with it since 1933 because we were hosting German refugees then Spanish refugees after 1936. the resistance didn't start for me in 1940 when Belgium was invaded But in 1933 there was a raid and they took all the Jewish men we heard terrible screens from our neighbor's yard I had been researching fertility and infertility since 1925. I started with the assumption that there wasn't yet a non-surgical infertility treatment or sterilization method Professor clauberg is considered one of the most important researchers in the field of ovarian hormones most of Professor clauberg's scientific research has been carried out in close cooperation with researchers from our Central Laboratory yes he was one of the many gynecologists who was talented in recognizing a situation and making discoveries by being in the right place at the right time the chemical industry support certainly played a role in what he developed my successes were widely recognized and also rewarded in the form of handsome fees from sharing the war was the only reason I didn't make it to a university he certainly made a career for himself and even made it to medical director but he had even greater ambitions Himmler had heard of my plans I was summoned to Berlin on March 22 1940 for a private talk with him in the end I told him about my problem of non-surgical sterilization which I had been working on for 15 years Himmler asked me if my clinics were sufficiently equipped with research facilities if not he would set them up for me that the Nazis were planning and carrying out in Eastern Europe [Music] without trying to supersede your decision I would like to suggest that the necessary experiments as well as facilities be carried out in the Auschwitz concentration camp Heil Hitler you're very respectful professor klauberg when I arrived at Auschwitz the commandant was not even 30 years old in a black uniform and cap he was looking for women I didn't realize it at the time but my husband said he'd never see me again I told him to keep his chin up not give up he just shook his head no no we didn't know where we were we had no idea what would happen to us what struck us was the terrible stench not a single tree not a single bird complete silence we all got a number on our arms no and from then on we were only numbers then we were put in the testing block we remember the block okay block 10's main purpose was a secondary genocide or in other words killing The Unborn so there would be no more undesirable races we got clothes that weren't ours some of them were striped prison clothes I was already very thin by then so they fit me I was glad that I found a dress rather than prison clothes we went into block 10. we were taken to the first floor and shown the beds women climbed up to the top bunks and those who were 35 or 40 took the lower beds we each had our own bed a mattress with a little straw and a blanket and then we waited every day ten women were called by their numbers I was number 62 501. a special call came one day we were standing in rows of five and clauberg chose those of us he wanted he wasn't terrifying he was short and stout with a tyrolean hat white stockings and heavy walking shoes not at all how you imagine an SS man imaginary [Music] the rooms I needed for my intended activity as well as the hygienic facilities were on the Block's lower floor [Music] the women were housed on the Upper Floor my assistance four or five of whom had been technical assistants were selected from these 250 women [Music] we were called by number um and then claudberg or some other guy injected something into our vaginas and then he said no more children [Music] I had no idea I was in perfect health I'd never seen an x-ray machine before I remember exactly what it was like a huge machine with two frames with wooden blocks you stood between the two racks with one wooden block in front and one in the back yeah non-surgical sterilization was only one method the SS tried SS Dr Hoss Truman also experimented with x-ray radiation at the same time for the first ones it went very quickly I was the second I didn't notice anything bad just a little redness the first woman showed nothing at all but it started to take longer and longer The Third Woman had visible marks the fourth even more the last ones were doubled over in severe pain nauseous vomiting almost every single one had to lie on the table once that day you had to put your legs over the frame [Music] you were naked from the waist down from the wrist down and you had to be silent you weren't allowed to scream Dr clauber gave me an injection he was a fat little man as fat as he was tall or as little as he was fat [Music] foreign then they took parts of the uterus some were sent to different Laboratories in an attempt to make something scientific that was not scientific at all it was a crime he gave me an injection into the ovary in the ovary and I was sent back upstairs to my bed I had to lie there for three days and nights in pain terrible pain I explained the tasks to the assistants they would take X-rays make injections into the uterus but I never used the word sterilization I did not take any of my lab assistance from koenigsuter to the Auschwitz Camp my secretary Ms Gaia only went with Once to see the atmosphere I wanted her to see how attached to me the women in Block 10 were I also took my three-year-old daughter with me once not to gas us Dr claubach paid 50 fenugs a day for his guinea pigs foreign all these operations were done with spinal anesthetic not General the women were not told what was happening they were suddenly numb as if paralyzed from the pelvis down they didn't know what was happening to them or if it was reversible but they were conscious it must have been an immeasurable trauma um we were just young women and had no idea what a uterus even was even cloudberg's nurses couldn't explain it because they didn't know either they said they would do all kinds of experiments on us and the whole point was so we couldn't have any more children they were successful [Music] foreign [Music] it was vicious and sadistic a doctor is expected to have at least a little compassion it goes against what the medical profession is all about it was a group of doctors only thinking about their careers they realized it was the opportunity of a lifetime maybe it wouldn't be possible in the future it's now or never during his University Research claudback had worked with sharing to develop a drug to cure natural infertility the Fallopian tubes often don't open enough for the egg to implant in the uterus he went the opposite way by injecting formaldehyde into the fallopian tubes thinking correctly that the resulting inflammation would make them close [Music] Dear Professor claubeg four samples of contrast dye have been dispatched to you we look forward with Keen interest to your comments on the suitability of the compounds for your clinical trials German greetings signed Professor Schiller signed Dr Von Berlin a woman was brought to me who had already had children and who was about 30 years old I did a normal x-ray using iodinated contrast dye it was injected into the uterus with a 30 centimeter canola which is commonly used for x-rays the contrast die first fills the uterus then enters the fallopian tubes you can then see whether they are receptive the woman I treated did not appear to have found the injection especially painful foreign asked me almost a year ago namely how long it would take to sterilize a thousand women in this way I can safely answer today that by a suitably trained physician with perhaps 10 assistants most likely several hundred if not even a thousand in one day [Music] from 1929 on I received 400 reich's marks per month from sharing worker for research purposes in addition to these payments I once received a larger amount from sharing for an x-ray machine sharing said that they were glad to finally be able to do something personal for me [Music] in September 1940 the German research Society ordered an x-ray machine from Siemens for color claubach to be delivered to him in koenig's hutter he would later use it in Auschwitz the order confirmation States we acknowledge receipt of your order it will be delivered as soon as possible with German greetings Siemens heinekaviraka foreign [Music] starting in the fall 1944 all prisoners who were still fit for work were transferred to other concentration camps in the west that's when the doctors there begin to leave shortly before the war ended we had to assemble and walk in lines of five five on their way and anyone who couldn't walk was shot we walked for three days and nights and then I was free many prisoners were transferred to the West many women arrived in ravensburg where claubach also went off there he resumed his experiments with much younger sentient Roma children to test when sterilization was possible even before the onset of puberty foreign clauberg returned to kill from ravensburg in early May 1945 but he was arrested by Allied soldiers on June the 8th he was taken to the Soviet Union to be tried at the trial clauber confessed I confirm that I from March 1943 to January 1945 performed four sterilization experiments on the prisoners 280 of the 400 women were subjected to trials 150 of these were sterilized by my methods by looking at the facts I realized that my activity was a crime against humanity and I plead guilty to it claubach was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity just seven years later in 1955 he was among the first prisoners of War to be brought back from the Soviet Union as part of the arnowa bulgani in prisoner exchange agreement [Music] but voices abroad oppose the release of such criminals Auschwitz Survivor recognized Carl klauberg in a TV interview when he announced it is an Indescribable feeling to be home again I feel Reborn the doctor was confident he could resume his medical practice quickly and placed an ad in the Keel newspaper urgent Professor Carl klauberg MD requires several capable female typists meanwhile this small Jewish community in Germany was Seeking Justice and demanded an investigation into claubach's crimes at Auschwitz they denounced him almost daily new Witnesses came forward until an investigation was finally opened he was arrested in 1955. though he had confessed his crimes in the Soviet Court he now denied them I swear under oath I have never killed a person I have not sterilized thousands of women I have never committed atrocities or cruelties towards women or tortured them but only helped and saved them the only damage these women may have is infertility [Music] foreign [Music] died in 1957. before the trial began which was of course a bitter pill for the surviving victims for this they needed a trial to learn what had been done to them is they spent the rest of their lives not knowing what had caused their medical problems trials like that allow medical experts to investigate but the victims were denied this opportunity no doctor from block 10 was ultimately held accountable the exact number of women who were tortured and died in Block 10 was never determined their suffering went unpunished neither sharing nor Siemens were prosecuted although Siemens supplied the x-ray machine to clauberg no representative was available for an on-camera interview [Music] an email from the company States the Siemens historical Institute cannot accommodate your request for a personal statement because a review of our archives shows that unfortunately no material is available that would answer your questions with certainty in a telephone interview Siemens officials said that just as a car maker cannot be held responsible for accidents involving its cars Siemens cannot be held responsible for crimes committed with its devices sharing which is part of the bio group to this day reaps large profits from the results of clauberg's research synthetic hormones that he developed are available worldwide and used for infertility treatments and gender reassignment surgery by far the most common is in the birth control pill of which Carl claubach is considered the real father today Bayer uses the slogan science for a better life to highlight its scientific efforts but the company sees no link to clauberg's crimes at Auschwitz spite intensive talks no buyer representative would appear on camera instead they wrote that cloudberg's later experiments for Himmler in Auschwitz in 1943 and 1944 had nothing to do with his previous hormone research by 1940 the previous scientific interaction between claudback and sharing had ceased him they are complicit not to the extent of the murderers or the doctors but they helped them from the background but they made these crimes possible because without these companies without their research funds their support and the ability to later sell products resulting from the research these crimes might never have been committed how can I reconcile experiment results that may benefit us but which have been obtained under such completely indisputable impossible transgressive ethical conditions the survivors have said that they want this to be used for the benefit of humanity but they also wish the victims who paid for these results with their lives and health be named and honored the duty to finally tell the truth is in my eyes the least that should be done for the women who were tortured and murdered the truth must come out they cannot lie forever they cannot foreign [Music] and I was in my restaurant you were a very happy baby very happy and I was happy you have a spoon here in your hands the woman that worked for me said to me you are lucky she looks like you [Music] she was a young woman who and she wanted to you know help in the establishment of Israel and believed in it she was a Zionist but after the war it was because she met Yehuda Engel she basically told me that he married her and knowing that she couldn't have children or thinking you know she thought she couldn't have children because she had been experimented on and then it turned out that he was the one who couldn't have the children he was sterile so um my mom wanted very much to have a child one of the doctors said you know you have a good ovary you can have a child why don't you have artificial insemination and there were three doctors in this small house they they converted to a hospital you know she said well who's going to be the father and they said either any one of us three and she said no I'm not going to have that I'm going to pick the father and she did so my mother you had this Cafe Renee and was very very happy with that so she was just at the cafe and uh my father walked in and then she thought well he's good looking you know he might make he might be a good Prospect and so she said she asked him if he would help her have a child and no strings attached they went to a field under the eucalyptus trees and had boom boom and then she really she conceived right away which was amazing and then he came back three weeks later and he said well do you want to try this again do you want to see shall we try to make sure and she said no I think I'm good and she was I can't believe that she got pregnant right away [Music] I think that my mother was a very courageous woman who made our own rules and she was lucky that she got pregnant there was no guarantees but she did and he didn't win and she did [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 1,056,884

Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, documentaries, DW documentary, full documentary, DW, documentary 2022, documentary 2023, documentary, Auschwitz, Holocaust, experiments, gynecology, Nazism, women, SS, Holocaust remembrance day, Holocaust Memorial Day, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, history documentary, nazi germany, auschwitz documentary, auschwitz survivor, German history

Id: eLdnVtQ42yY

Length: 42min 26sec (2546 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 26 2023