2. Already today it could be put to practical use in the course of our
_regular_ eugenic sterilization and could thus replace the operation.
As to the question which you, Reich Leader, asked me almost one year
ago, i. e., how much time would probably be required to sterilize 1,000
women by using this method. Today I can answer you with regard to the
future as follows:
If my researches continue to have the same results as up to now—and
there is no reason to doubt that—then the moment is not far off when I
can say:
“_One_ adequately trained physician in _one_ adequately equipped
place, with perhaps 10 assistants (the number of assistants in
conformity with the speed desired) _will most likely be able to
deal with several hundred, if not even 1,000 per day_.”
Please permit me to postpone my report about the other part of my
researches (positive population policy) because it will take some time
until something decisive can be said in this field.
Reich Leader! The main reason for my reporting to you today, shortly
before the possibility of even more final results, is the following:
I know that the settlement of the last part of this particular complex
of problems—in contrast to the external forces which determined the
progress so far—depends _now_ almost entirely on me. In this
connection, several minor but nevertheless fundamental changes would be
necessary which only you, my dear Reich Leader, can personally direct
and order. I had hoped that I would be able to give you personally a
short description of these requirements in the event of a visit to Upper
Silesia. Since I have not had this opportunity, I am asking you for your
decision today.
In addition I should like to make a further request. It was SS
Brigadefuehrer _Dr. Blumenreuter_ who finally managed to get me the one
suitable X-ray installation. I am in urgent need of another installation
of the same kind, and he informed me in February that he had another one
stored in Berlin. He was ready to deliver it to me if I would secure
your approval.
May I ask you, Reich Leader, for this approval?
Heil Hitler!
[Signed] CLAUBERG
EXTRACT FROM THE TESTIMONY OF THE DEFENDANT VIKTOR BRACK[84]
_DIRECT EXAMINATION_
* * * * *
DR. FROESCHMANN: What plans are you talking about?
DEFENDANT BRACK: The plans to exterminate the Jews which I told you
about before. Having known them and having been in the Party Chancellery
in the course of this conversation when I told Himmler that Grafeneck
was to be abandoned, Himmler also told me of communications he had
received from Poland, according to which the Jews there were using the
temporary impotence of the Polish government to strengthen their own
position and Himmler said something had to be done about this. He said
something had to be undertaken to stop this because through the mixing
of blood in the Polish Jews with that of the Jews from Western Europe a
much greater danger for Germany was arising than even before the war,
and he said it was his intention to sterilize the Jews according to
reliable methods, according to a procedure which would permit mass
sterilization. Operative sterilization was out of the question for one
thing because you couldn’t do that without leaving some scar. Then he
brought up the question, could not this be done with X-ray treatment?
However, I didn’t know about this for sure, and in fact nobody knew
about it, and especially didn’t know whether the person in question
could be treated without noticing something. Himmler then said that
Bouhler had gathered together so many scientists and doctors in the
Euthanasia Program, consequently I should try to find out from him what
he could tell me about sterilization, and tell him to report to me
again.
Q. Well, what was the effect of this communication from Himmler on you?
A. This made a great impression on me. I believed that Heydrich could
really have been the instigator of all of this.
In my interrogation I told the interrogator that I regarded such a plan
to exterminate the Jews as unworthy of Germany and its leaders. From
what I knew of Himmler it would never have occurred to me that such a
destructive idea could have originated in his mind. Be that, however, as
it may, whether the idea originated with Heydrich or Bormann, my
attitude was opposed to this; and I felt that I was under the obligation
to do anything I could to prevent this. If I had raised the least
objection to it openly, I would have aroused great suspicion of myself
and would have aroused a false reaction in Himmler. Therefore, I had to
make the best of a bad job and had to pretend that I agreed with
Himmler. I pretended to be willing to clarify the question of mass
sterilization through X-ray methods. Many years ago I had been subjected
to X-ray treatment for quite a period of time and had discussed with the
doctor the effect of X-rays on the human body. Now I remembered from
those discussions that the effect of X-rays on the sexual organs is only
of slight importance and not lasting. Moreover, I knew that one of my
associates was personally acquainted with an X-ray specialist and he
told me that this specialist was conducting experiments on the effects
of X-rays on the fertility of animals. However, there seemed to be no
result.
Q. Mr. President, I present an affidavit of 25 February 1947, by Dr.
Martin Zeller, a specialist, born 3 December 1880, living in Munich,
signed by him on this same date and certified by myself. (_Brack 26,
Brack Ex. 31._) This affidavit contributes to the understanding of this
matter now under discussion and I quote:
“I remember distinctly that 10 to 15 years ago I spoke to Viktor
Brack about X-ray injuries. Brack was worried that he might
develop an X-ray injury; at that time his knee had been X-rayed.
When some time afterwards he had rough hands he thought that
might be an X-ray burn. I explained to him that no injuries
could result from our X-ray examinations since the quantities of
radiation used for diagnosis were small and besides, the more
distant parts of the body (that is, in the case of a picture of
the knee being taken, the hands and genitals) were not in the
danger zone under modern technical conditions.
“I also made the remark that even an intentional sterilization
by X-ray treatment would, especially in the case of young
persons, be difficult to achieve and even then only with a
strong dose of prolonged radiation.”
And then in paragraph 2 the witness continues:
“It is quite possible that Brack in this way developed the views
he brought forward, i. e., that the effect of X-rays upon the
sexual organs is negligible, and that the danger of
sterilization does not exist at all. The layman will not
differentiate between X-ray diagnostics and X-ray therapy.”
A. I took this associate into my confidence and told him of my intention
to deceive Himmler, if only to gain time. We agreed to deceive Himmler
by giving him a certificate that seemed to say that sterilization by
X-ray methods was possible and we would thus get him to pursue a false
path. Just what was said in this certificate I do not know any longer.
At any rate there were no positive results in it so that we couldn’t put
it to Himmler in this form.
DR. FROESCHMANN: Mr. President, let me remark in this connection, that
after great efforts I have succeeded in finding the man who drew up this
certificate of which the witness has just been speaking. I have found
out his name and address. He lives in the Russian zone and for that
reason it was not possible for me to get a copy of that certificate that
he drew up at that time. However, I have contacted this doctor and he
has declared his readiness to come to Nuernberg and to give me an
affidavit, because as he said it, it would be a matter of course that he
should help an innocent man if his testimony could do so. He does
remember having given this certificate to Brack or to his associates and
I ask permission to reserve the right to put this affidavit in evidence
as soon as I have it, and when perhaps the doctor has had a chance to
speak to the defendant.
PRESIDING JUDGE BEALS: Counsel for defendant Brack may offer the
affidavit as soon as it is received so long as it complies with the
evidence in the case.
DR. FROESCHMANN: Thank you, your Honor. Witness, please continue.
DEFENDANT BRACK: Naturally, this factor of uncertainty had to be taken
into consideration.
Q. What exactly are you speaking of?
A. I am talking about the report we received.
Q. You mean the man who drew up the certificate, the expert?
A. Yes.
PRESIDING JUDGE BEALS: Now, counsel, I don’t want you to misunderstand
me. I said counsel may offer the affidavit; that means it is offered
subject to any objection raised by the prosecution as to the form of the
affidavit or its relevancy. Yesterday, the affidavits from Brazil were
possibly offered by you because the Tribunal had said that they might be
offered. The right to offer simply means offered, subject to objection,
and that is not equivalent to saying that the affidavit will be received
in evidence but it may be offered. That is the sense in which I have
used the word “offer” towards this affidavit.
DR. FROESCHMANN: Yes, your Honor, I understood the President and I shall
only submit an affidavit which is in compliance with the regulation of
this Tribunal. Would you please continue, Witness?
DEFENDANT BRACK: My collaborator changed the contents of this
certificate in such a manner that sterilization becomes apparent as
something possible from a medical point of view. That is exactly what is
contained in my affidavit. Thus, this letter dated 28 March 1941,
originated with Document NO-203, Prosecution Exhibit 161.
Q. Mr. President, let us reconstruct this letter quite shortly. I shall
quote. It is addressed by Brack to Himmler, marked “Top Secret.”
“Dear Reich Leader:
“Enclosed I send to you for your information the report of the
examination regarding the possibility of an X-ray sterilization
or castration. I ask you to tell me whether anything can be done
in the matter either theoretically or practically.”
That is the covering letter. This covering letter, Witness, in
connection with the report which is attached was considered by the
prosecution as being a serious suggestion for sterilization and the
prosecution in that connection has stated that this needed no comment.
What is your attitude toward it?
A. Neither the former nor the latter is correct. I admit that if one
reads this letter or report without knowing the connections that
impression can be created. I therefore have to attempt to analyze this
report in order to explain to the Tribunal what we tried to achieve with
this letter. I have to emphasize once more that the entire thing was a
maneuver of deceit.
Q. With reference to the report which you attached to this letter
(_NO-203, Pros. Ex. 161_) I should like to quote from it a very brief
passage:
“Report on experiments concerning X-ray castration.
“The experiments in this field are concluded. The following
result can be considered as established and adequately based on
scientific research.
“If any persons are to be sterilized permanently, this result
can only be attained by applying X-rays in a dosage high enough
to produce castration with all its consequences, since high
X-ray dosages destroy the internal secretion of the ovary or of
the testicles, respectively. Lower dosages would only
temporarily paralyze the procreative capacity. The consequences
in question are, for example, the disappearance of menstruation,
climacteric phenomena, changes in capillary growth, modification
of metabolism, etc. In any case, attention must be drawn to
these disadvantages.
“The actual dosage can be given in various ways, and irradiation
can take place quite imperceptibly. The necessary local dosage
for men is 500-600 r, for women 300-350 r. In general, an
irradiation period of 2 minutes for men, 3 minutes for women,
with the highest voltage, a thin filter, and at a short distance
ought to be sufficient. There is, however, a disadvantage that
has to be put up with. It is impossible unnoticeably to cover
the rest of the body with lead, the other tissues of the body
will be injured, and radiologic malaise, the so-called
‘Roentgenkater,’ will ensue.”
Witness, would you define your attitude toward this letter which I
partly read?
A. I was speaking in connection with the talk I had with Himmler in the
year of 1941. This becomes apparent from the paragraph “I herewith
submit the result of an X-ray examination.” It looks now as though in
effect experiments had been carried out by scientists, which was not the
case. Himmler had to be reassured and that is why we had to emphasize
that the experiments had been concluded and the result could be based on
scientific work. Of course, we couldn’t state the result as being
absolutely positive. We had to leave it to Himmler himself to judge it.
In the first instance it was our intention to get Himmler off the idea.
That is why we chose the formulation which can be seen in that
letter—“If any persons are to be sterilized permanently.” It meant in
effect that this was theoretically possible. At the same time, however,
we pointed out that this success cannot be concealed and that phenomena
will arise. That obviously was shown by the contents of the certificate
itself, and it is emphasized that permanent sterilization makes a high
dosage of X-rays necessary. These high dosages would then bring about
the effects of castration with all of the accompanying symptoms which
would be noticed immediately. If, however, lower dosages were used, you
would only have stopped procreative capacity for a short time. We
actually said that at the end of the report, namely, that the result of
sterilization could be ascertained after a comparatively short time but
that it was impossible to achieve the results of bringing about
sterilization without being noticed, and in this way we thought we could
get Himmler to give up that idea.
Q. Now, this was the first part of the letter. Now, let us discuss the
second part. I am again referring to the method which you suggested to
Himmler. You thought at that time “One practical way of proceeding would
be, for instance, to let the persons to be treated approach a counter,
where they could be asked to answer some questions or to fill in forms,
which take them 2 or 3 minutes. The official sitting behind the counter
could operate the installation in such a way as to turn a switch which
would activate the two valves simultaneously (since the irradiation is
to operate from both sides). With a two-valve installation about 150-200
persons could then be sterilized per day and, therefore, with 20 such
installations as many as 3,000-4,000 persons per day. In my estimation a
larger daily number could not in any case be sent away for this
purpose.”
Herr Brack, how could you arrive at this idea of turning switches? This
is completely nonunderstandable for a layman.
A. Himmler wanted this procedure to be carried out as simply as
possible. Therefore, we had to suggest as simple a method as we could
think of. On the other hand, this method increased the uncertainty of
directing the rays to the corresponding parts of the body. That is what
was discussed by my collaborator with his acquaintance. We suggested
this switch method to Himmler with the idea of making this matter as
simple as possible and at the same time preventing any active X-ray
reaching the body. Furthermore, only 2-3 minutes were suggested as the
length of time for these people to be subjected to these X-rays. How we
arrived at these 500-600 figures—or 350 r.—I don’t know whether they
were just invented or whether they were based upon something. I don’t
know. But looking at it as a whole it contained a number of points that
were to demonstrate to Himmler that the whole thing could not be carried
out. There is a scientific basis for these suggestions.
DR. FROESCHMANN: Mr. President, in connection with this point I have
tried to get an unobjectionable irreproachable certificate for the
correctness of what the defendant just stated. I shall get a certificate
from a specialist. The man concerned says that this suggestion is
absolutely senseless. I had, however, to wait for this certificate
because I had to wait for an affidavit from another expert physician.
With the permission of the Tribunal, I shall obtain a corresponding
certificate from a radiologist who can show that it is credible that
this entire suggestion was really scientific nonsense.
A. We had to take into account the possibility that Himmler might accept
this proposal in spite of all these difficulties. We knew, however, that
the preparation of any such installation would take a long time, for the
building, etc. We thought that the war would end very quickly, and as I
said before I didn’t know there was any threat from the West. And, in
case of peace, the Madagascar plan, which had already been rejected,
could once more be placed in the foreground. If on the other hand this
suggestion was to be accepted and if at that time the war had not yet
ended, the carrying out of this experiment on the 100-200 Jews was much
less of an evil than Himmler taking the Jews and sterilizing them en
masse or doing something worse to them.
Q. Mr. Brack, if I understand you correctly, you’re saying that, at that
time, you had to make a decision between either killing millions of Jews
or choosing the smaller evil by only suggesting this small number which
you have mentioned upon whom experiments might be carried out. Is my
opinion correct?
A. During my interrogations I designated this dilemma in a way by saying
that this was our last way out. But, naturally, when judging these two
possibilities one must take into consideration that one decides upon one
possibility and, at the same time, feels an inner justification for
doing so. The same way as a troop commander sacrifices a few thousand
people somewhere if he can save a hundred thousand somewhere else.
Q. Now, Mr. Brack, in order to finish with this letter I want to say
that you have stated the following at the end of that letter, and I
quote:
“In summary it may be said that, having regard to the present
state of radiological technique and research, mass sterilization
by means of X-rays can be carried out without difficulty.
However, it seems to be impossible to do this in such a way that
the persons concerned do not, sooner or later, realize with
certainty that they have been sterilized or castrated by
X-rays.”
In your covering letter you apparently mentioned your second letter, and
I quote:
“I request your instructions as to further theoretical or
practical steps if any are to be taken in this matter.”
What is the significance of this latter statement?
A. By using this formulation I endeavored to keep control of the
development of that matter. I never really counted on the realization of
these experiments and I never had any intention of submitting a serious
proposal to Himmler which would cause the sterilization of millions of
Jews, but if Himmler was to accept this nonsensical proposal I wanted to
have his idea delayed as long as possible. If this suggestion had been
serious on my part I would have had to be a fanatical Jew hater, and I
think I have already proved that I was not such a person.
* * * * *
-----
[81] Trial of the Major War Criminals, International Military Tribunal,
Nuremberg, 1947, vol. I, pp. 247-253.
[82] Judgment of the IMT. Ibid.
[83] Final plea is recorded in mimeographed transcript, 15 July 1947,
pp. 10874-10910.
[84] Complete testimony is recorded in mimeographed transcript, 7, 8, 9,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 May 1947, pp. 7413-7772.