The epidemic jaundice experiments, which took place at Sachsenhausen and
Natzweiler concentration camps, were instigated by the defendant Karl
Brandt. A letter written in 1943 by Grawitz stresses the enormous
military importance of developing an inoculation against epidemic
jaundice, which had spread extensively in the Waffen SS and the German
Army, particularly in southern Russia. In some companies, up to 60
percent casualties from epidemic jaundice had occurred. Grawitz further
informed Himmler that, and I quote:
“The General Commissioner of the Fuehrer, SS Brigadefuehrer
Professor Dr. Brandt, has approached me with the request to help
him obtain prisoners to be used in connection with his research
on the causes of Epidemic Jaundice which has been furthered to a
large degree by his efforts. * * * In order to enlarge our
knowledge, so far based only on inoculation of animals with
germs taken from human beings, it would not be necessary to
reverse the procedure and inoculate human beings with germs
cultivated in animals. Casualties (Todesfaelle) must be
anticipated.”
Grawitz also had been doing research: on this problem with the
assistance of a Dr. Dohmen, a medical officer attached to the Army
Medical Inspectorate. Himmler made the following reply to the Grawitz
letter (_NO-011_):
“I approve that eight criminals condemned in Auschwitz (eight
Jews of the Polish Resistance Movement condemned to death)
should be used for these experiments.”
Other evidence will indicate that the scope of these experiments was
subsequently enlarged and that murder, torture, and death resulted from
them.