Here again the defendants were studying how to kill, and the scene is
Buchenwald. Poisons were administered to Russian prisoners of war in
their food, and German doctors stood behind a curtain to watch the
reactions of the prisoners. Some of the Russians died immediately, and
the survivors were killed in order to permit autopsies.
The defendant Mrugowsky, in a letter written in September 1944, has
provided us with a record of another experiment in which the victims
were shot with poisoned bullets, and I quote (_NO-201_):
“In the presence of SS Sturmbannfuehrer Dr. Ding, Dr. Widmann
and the undersigned, experiments with aconitin nitrate
projectiles were conducted on 11 September 1944 on 5 persons who
had been condemned to death. The projectiles in question were of
a 7.65 mm. caliber, filled with crystallized poison. The
experimental subjects, in a lying position, were each shot in
the upper part of the left thigh. The thighs of two of them were
cleanly shot through. Afterwards, no effect of the poison was to
be observed. These two experimental subjects were therefore
exempted.
* * * * *
“During the first hour of the experiment the pupils did not show
any changes. After 78 minutes the pupils of all three showed a
medium dilation, together with a retarded light reaction.
Simultaneously, maximum respiration with heavy breathing
inhalations set in. This subsided after a few minutes. The
pupils contracted again and their reaction improved. After 65
minutes the patellar and achilles tendon reflexes of the
poisoned subjects were negative. The abdominal reflexes of two
of them were also negative. After approximately 90 minutes, one
of the subjects again started breathing heavily; this was
accompanied by an increasing motor unrest. Then the heavy
breathing changed into a flat, accelerated respiration,
accompanied by extreme nausea. One of the poisoned persons tried
in vain to vomit. To do so he introduced four fingers of his
hand up to the knuckles into his throat, but nevertheless could
not vomit. His face was flushed.
“The other two experimental subjects had already early shown a
pale face. The other symptoms were the same. The motor unrest
increased so much that the persons flung themselves up and then
down, rolled their eyes and made meaningless motions with their
hands and arms. Finally the agitation subsided, the pupils
dilated to the maximum, and the condemned lay motionless. * * *
Death occurred 121, 123, and 129 minutes after entry of the
projectile.”