Dear Comrade Sievers,
I refer to your inquiry of 9 March 1942 B/151/r1 S/Wo—concerning Dr.
Rascher.
Reference is made to the subatmospheric pressure experiments which are
being carried out on concentration camp inmates in the Dachau camp by
the air force. The Reich Leader SS has approved these experiments under
the condition that SS Untersturmfuehrer Dr. Rascher, who is an
Obersturmfuehrer of the air force, takes part in them. I am sure that
Dr. Rascher will be able to give you further details.[22]
Heil Hitler!
[Signed] BRANDT
SS Sturmbannfuehrer
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT 1971-A-PS
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 49
LETTER FROM RASCHER TO HIMMLER, 5 APRIL 1942, AND REPORT,
UNDATED, ON HIGH-ALTITUDE EXPERIMENTS
Sigmund Rascher, M. D.
5 April 1942
[Marginal note] Very interesting. 8-4-42.
[Apparently by Himmler]
Highly esteemed Reich Leader:
Enclosed is an interim report on the low-pressure experiments so far
conducted in the concentration camp of Dachau. May I ask you
respectively to treat the report as secret?
A few days ago Reich Physician SS [Reichsarzt SS] Professor Dr. Grawitz
made a brief inspection of the experimentation plant. Since his time was
very limited, no experiments could be demonstrated to him. SS
Obersturmbannfuehrer Sievers took a whole day off to watch some of the
interesting standard experiments and may have given you a brief report.
I believe, highly esteemed Reich Leader, that you would be
extraordinarily interested in those experiments. Is it not possible that
on the occasion of a trip to southern Germany you have some of the
experiments demonstrated to you? If the results so obtained by the
experiments are confirmed by further experimentation, entirely new data
will be secured for science; simultaneously, entirely new aspects will
be opened to the Luftwaffe.
I hope that, thanks to the intended efforts of SS Obersturmbannfuehrer
Sievers, the Luftwaffe will make no difficulties from now on. I am very
much indebted to Obersturmbannfuehrer Sievers as he has shown a very
active interest in my work in every respect.
I thank you respectfully, highly esteemed Reich Leader, for the generous
realization of my proposition to conduct such experiments in the
concentration camp.