Dr. Josef Mengele By Sarah Bibbey December 2, 2011

Transcript:Dr. Josef Mengele By Sarah Bibbey December 2, 2011:
Dr. Josef Mengele By Sarah Bibbey December 2, 2011 Term 2 His Early Life His name was Josef Rudolf Mengele He was born on March 16, 1911- Died on February 7, 1979 Josef was the oldest of 3 children. His family included: his brother Karl Junior, his sister Alois, and his parents Karl and Walburga Mengele. Later in Life Married Irene Schönbein on July 28, 1939 He and Irene had one child named Rolf, who was born March 11, 1941 In 1949, his wife Irene divorced him Mengele remarried Martha Mengele who was his younger brother’s widow. They had no children with each other His Studies In 1935, Mengele earned a PhD in Anthropology from the University of Munich. 1937 he became the assistant to Dr. Otmar Freiherr Von Verschuer was known for his research in genetics Also Mengele studied under Theodor Mollison and Eugen Fischer who were involved in medical experiments on the Herero tribe in South-West Africa Military Service In 1937 Mengele joined the Nazi Party Mengele was drafted into the army in 1940 Just before he was transferred to Auschwitz, Mengele was promoted to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer (Captain) in April 1943. Auschwitz May 1943 Mengele replaced another doctor who had fallen ill Became Chief Medical Officer of the main infirmary camp at Birkenau Mengele earned the nickname "Angel of Death" for the cruelty he visited upon prisoners Human Experimentation Mengele used Auschwitz as an opportunity to continue his research on heredity, using inmates for human experimentation. Mengele's experiments also included attempts to change eye color by injecting chemicals into children's eyes He had a long life fascination with identical twins After Auschwitz The SS abandoned the Auschwitz camp on January 27, 1945, and Mengele transferred to Gross Rosen camp in Lower Silesia, again working as camp physician. The unit hurried west to avoid being captured by the Soviets and were taken as prisoners of war by the Americans. Mengele, initially registered under his own name, was released in June 1945 with papers giving his name as "Fritz Hollmann". In South America In Buenos Aires, Mengele at first worked in construction, but soon came in contact with influential Germans, who allowed him an affluent lifestyle in subsequent years. Mengele practiced medicine, specializing in illegal abortions, and was briefly detained by police on one occasion for the death of a patient during an abortion. He was doing well