BALACHOWSKY: We have actually made a more complete document—which is in
the possession of the American Psychological Service—as we have the
entire record, and this represents only one page of it.
M. DUBOST: I ask the Tribunal to take note that the French Prosecution
submits this document, Document Number RF-334, as appendix to the
testimony of Dr. Balachowsky.
BALACHOWSKY: [_Continuing_] In 1944, experiments were also made on the
effects of vaccines. One hundred and fifty men lost their lives in these
experiments. The vaccines used by the German Army were not only those
manufactured in our Block 46, but also ones which came from Italy,
Denmark, Poland, and the Germans wanted to ascertain the value of these
different vaccines. Consequently, in August 1944 they began experiments
on 150 men who were locked up in Block 46.
Here, I should like to tell you how this Block 46 was run. It was
entirely isolated and surrounded by barbed wire. The internees had no
roll call and no permission to go out. All the windows were kept closed,
the panes were of frosted glass. No unauthorized person could enter the
block. A German political prisoner was in charge of the Block. This
German political prisoner was Kapo Dietzsch, an asocial individual who
had been in prisons and in camps for 20 years and who worked for the SS.
It was he who gave the injections and the inoculations and who executed
people upon order. Strangely enough, there were weapons in the block,
automatic pistols, and hand grenades, to quell any possible revolt,
either outside or inside the block.
I can also tell you that an order slip for Block 46, sent to the office
(Geschäftszimmer) at Block 50 in January 1945, mentioned three strait
jackets to be used for those who refused to be inoculated.
Now I come back to the typhus and vaccine experiments. You will see how
they were carried out.
The 150 prisoners were divided into 2 groups: those who were to be used
as tests and those who were to be the subjects. The latter only received
(ordinary) injections of the different types of vaccines to be tested.
Those used for testing were not given any injections. Then, after the
vaccination of the subjects, inoculations were given (always by means of
intravenous injections) to everybody selected for this experiment, those
for testing as well as the subjects. Those used for tests died about two
weeks after the inoculation—as such is approximately the period
required before the disease develops to its fatal issue. As for the
others, who received different kinds of vaccines, their deaths were in
proportion to the efficacy of the vaccines administered to them. Some
vaccines had excellent results, with a very low death rate—such was the
case with the Polish vaccines. Others, on the contrary, had a much
higher death rate. After the conclusion of the experiments, no survivors
were allowed to live, according to the custom prevailing in Block 46.
All the survivors of the experiments were “liquidated” and murdered in
Block 46, by the customary methods which some of my comrades have
already described to you, that is by means of intracardiac injections of
phenol. Intracardiac injections of 10 cubic centimeters of pure phenol
was the usual method of extermination in Buchenwald.
THE PRESIDENT: We are not really concerned here with the proportion of
the particular injections.
BALACHOWSKY: Will you repeat that please?
THE PRESIDENT: As I have said, we are not really concerned here with the
proportions in which these injections were given, and will you kindly
not deal with these details?