[Signed] PROF. DR. HELMUTH WEESE
EXTRACTS FROM THE TESTIMONY OF PROSECUTION WITNESS DR. MENNECKE[114]
_DIRECT EXAMINATION_
* * * * *
MR. MCHANEY: Doctor, were all the concentration camp inmates selected
actually insane?
WITNESS MENNECKE: No.
Q. Will you explain your answer please?
A. By insanity we mean a disease which shows characteristic
interferences with mental activity. I will not describe them but merely
call them characteristics. That is what we mean by insanity. This
condition was not prevalent in the majority of cases among inmates in
the concentration camps.
Q. Were any inmates selected only for the reason that they were unable
to work?
A. That is possible.
Q. Were people selected who had diseases other than those of the mind,
such as tuberculosis?
A. Yes. Such people were also included.
* * * * *
_REDIRECT EXAMINATION_
* * * * *
MR. MCHANEY: The last question, Dr. Mennecke. Would you be willing to
tell the Tribunal how you now feel about your participation in the
“euthanasia” program?
WITNESS MENNECKE: Yes. I am willing to say something on that subject. I
deeply regret the fact that I was drawn into this program in 1940. After
the collapse, when the total extent of the extermination of human beings
became known to the public—and to me for the first time—I was ashamed
that I had ever had any part in this program (even though in a
subordinated position), and I am still ashamed today. That is what I
have to say.
MR. MCHANEY: Thank you, Dr. Mennecke. I have no further questions.