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92 12 In Joseph Mengele’s Hospital We did not see much of our SS doctor; his visits were short. He seemed to avoid contact with prisoners. All his orders and our requests for additional medication and sanitary material were transferred by the SS corpsman, who spent time in our sector of the camp and would calmly listen to our needs. His main requests to us were for orderliness and the use of chloride of lime to give the impression of disinfecting. We heard from him that another and very different SS doctor of higher rank and importance was soon expected to be in charge of our family camp. His name was Joseph Mengele. We wondered whether this change in the management of the medical organization of our sector of the camp would influence our chances of survival. All of us had the impression of a tremble in the voice of the medical technician whenever he mentioned the name Mengele, his new superior. A cloud of dread radiated around his name. Our contact with the prisonersfrom other sectors graduallyhelpedus inour groping toward understanding who this high-ranking SS physician was, this man who was charged with the “selections” of those doomed for immediate execution . Mengele and his staff were the instruments of death based on their impressions or whims about the prisoners’ physical or mental conditions. Their new terms “unfit for living” and “selections” supported a political position of the superiority of the Aryan race. Mengele was influential in all experiments on inmates of other prison camps, and there were many. None of us could believe what we heard until we ourselves were witnesses to the horrors. His interest in twins was part of the medical-biological pseudo-scientific “research” in Nazi Germany whose intent was to prove the racial superiority of the Germans. Mengele appeared in a military vehicle driven by a chauffeur. He was in an immaculate uniform. He had a rather handsome but expressionless 93 face; a hard line around his lips projected a feeling of smugness but was accompanied by a fine quiver at the corners of his mouth, which disclosed tension and suspicious alertness. His eyes were deep set and penetrating. It was rare that he would look at anyone, but when he looked at me I felt stirred up and threatened. He expected short military answers to his questions and was very impatient when he felt a doubt or hesitancy in response to one of his requests. He would then turn to his adjutant with a gesture that unmistakably delegated the issue to him. This description was typical of most of his visits. There was a feeling of relief when he turned briskly to go back to his car, where he sat straight-backed giving orders to his chauffeur with movements of his right hand. During subsequent rounds, he informed us in his short commandolike way about his interest in twins as objects of scientific observation. His research was in the area of heredity. He ordered special treatment and all possible privileges for twins. He underlined the seriousness of his request, murmuring threats, conveying more through his gestures than by his words. When he spoke of the importance of finding and collecting twins of all ages, his eyes became alive, even fanatic. In that first evening, we discussed this new development while sipping our black hot water and finishing the last bits of our daily bread. Otto said, “This man would kill for twins.” At that time we knew nothing about him. The corpsman, who had already been with our camp assisting the SS doctors prior to Mengele, was extremely anxious to please him and cautioned us to beware of his quick anger. Whispered reports described him as ruthless and powerful. Old prisoners shuddered when his name was mentioned and some preferred not to talk. One read of what was unspoken between the lines. Our connections with prisoners in other parts of the camp were still limited. Hints were dropped about Mengele’s role in the selections. If we asked a second question of senior prisoners we were usually met with cold silence and suspicion. The first change that occurred was that Mengele arranged for us to have a number of specialists, members of our same transport, for consultations in the hospital. Prior to this, these doctors had been distributed to various barracks to take care of general medical issues as block doctors. This change was related to his special interest in twins. There...

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