PARTIAL TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NO-371
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 186
AFFIDAVIT OF DEFENDANT RUDOLF BRANDT, 14 OCTOBER 1946, CONCERNING
EXPERIMENTS TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF EPIDEMIC JAUNDICE
I, Rudolf Brandt, being duly sworn, depose and state:
* * * * *
_Experiments to Determine the Cause of Epidemic Jaundice_ (_Hepatitis
Epidemica_)
3. About the middle of 1943, Dr. Grawitz, Reichsarzt SS, wrote to
Himmler that Dr. Karl Brandt wished to obtain prisoners for
experimentation on the causes of a jaundice epidemic. He had been doing
research on this problem with the assistance of Dr. Dohmen, a medical
officer attached to the Army Medical Corps and the Robert Koch
Institute. Experiments had thus far disclosed that contagious jaundice
is transferred by a virus and human beings were desired for inoculation
with germs which had been cultivated in animals. Grawitz advised that
death of some of the experimental subjects must be expected. He wanted
to know if Dr. Dohmen could be permitted to carry out the experiments at
the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, as desired by Dr. Karl Brandt.
4. Himmler wrote Grawitz that Dr. Dohmen had his permission to conduct
the experiments at Sachsenhausen, and for that purpose he had Oswald
Pohl of the WVHA allocate a number of prisoners to be used as
experimental subjects. I know that these experiments were carried out
and that some of the prisoners died as a result.
5. Dr. Eugen Haagen, Oberstabsarzt and consultant in hygiene for the
Luftwaffe, had also been doing research work at the Natzweiler
concentration camp in an effort to discover an effective inoculation
against epidemic jaundice. As I recall, Dr. Dohmen collaborated with
Haagen in 1944 at Natzweiler and experiments on involuntary human beings
were conducted which resulted in deaths.
6. These experiments were of course well known to Karl Brandt as he was
personally furthering them. Handloser and Schroeder must also have known
of them because Dohmen and Haagen were doctors in the Medical Services
of the Army and the Luftwaffe respectively. Generalarzt Paul Rostock was
also well informed on all research work of this nature.
I have read the above statement in German, consisting of two (2) pages,
and it is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I
have had the opportunity to make any changes and corrections in the
foregoing statement. This statement was given by me freely and
voluntarily, without promise of reward and I was subjected to no duress
or threat of any kind.
[Signed] R. BRANDT
TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT NO-011
PROSECUTION EXHIBIT 188
NOTE FROM HIMMLER TO GRAWITZ, 16 JUNE 1943, CONCERNING EPIDEMIC JAUNDICE
EXPERIMENTS AT CONCENTRATION CAMP SACHSENHAUSEN
The Reich Leader SS
Day Book No 1652/43, RF/BN
XIa-/-43
Field H. Q., 16 June 1943
Subject: Investigation of the cause of the infectious jaundice
(hepatitis epidemica)
Reference: Yours of 1 June 1943—Az.: 420/IV/43—Diary No. 6/43 g.Kdos.