![]() |
Medical Experiments at KZ GusenBarracks No. 27 to 32 were used for the ill
and unfit inmates of KZ Gusen Camp. All these barracks were located
directly near the crematorium of KZ Gusen, where Dr. Kaminski
was chief of Autopsia and chief prosecutor. Between 1940 and February
1944, medical help was forbidden to Jewish inmates. Also, no
medical treatment was given to prisoners from the Soviet Union
between 1941 and 1942. Neither Jewish inmates nor Soviet inmates received
any narcotics in cases they were used for medical experiment
there. The camp also had little medicine and no bandages. Prisoners
had to use paper or other things for bandages. Furthermore, inmates
that were infected by typhoid fever or tuberculosis were generally killed
at KZ Gusen by heart-injections. For this they were isolated in a special
part of Barrack No. 30 called "Graben" (ditch). In
some cases, prior to killing these inmates, they were subjected to medical
experiments. Starting in 1945, all inmates of Mauthausen Central Camp
who suffered tuberculosis were sent to Gusen to die in Block No. 30.
The barracks were used as follows:
The KZ Gusen Pathological Museum
The Pathological Museum was accommodated in Block 27 and was
used to display 286 specimen of human organs that were produced
at KZ Gusen in connection with the Medical Academy of the SS at the
University of Graz. The photograph shows hearts, lungs, kidneys, faces,
skeletons and skulls of murdered KZ Gusen inmates. In some cases, inmates
were only killed by heart-injections because of their anatomical "anomalies"
. The Museum also had an album showing the tatooed skin of some of the
inmates. Other "artwork" (lamp-shades and even furniture)
was also produced in the Gusen camp. In 1944, three big crates with
anatomical preparations were transferred to the SS Medical Agency at
Graz. SS- Hauptsturmfuehrer Dr. Helmut VetterAs an employee of IG-Farben and Leverkusen,
he carried out medical experiments with different sorts of medicine
at KZ Gusen. He specialized in tuberculosis and experimented in 1944
with "Ruthenol" and "Praeparat 3582"
at Block No. 27 of KZ Gusen I. These were similar to his experiments
at KZ Auschwitz.
Dr. Herbert F. HeimBesides his private experiments, he specialized
in the production of preparations of human heads. Some of these
preparations were shown in the KZ Gusen Pathological Museum. The others
were sent to friends of Dr. Herbert Heim as special gifts or were used
by Heim as weights on writing desks.
Dr. Eduard KrebsbachBetween October 1941 and Autumn 1943, he was
Chief-Physician of the SS and the Police at Linz, Steyr, Wels
and KZ Mauthausen-Gusen. He was the first to start mass-execution of
ill and unfit prisoners by heart-injections. So he was nicknamed
"Dr. Spritzbach" (Injection-Doctor) in the camps. In January
1942, 732 Spanish inmates and 571 Soviet inmates were exterminated by
heart-injections at KZ Gusen Concentration Camp. In general, heart-injections
were given at KZ Gusen Camp two times a week until April 1945. The career
of Dr. Krebsbach ended at KZ Mauthausen-Gusen when he shot Josef
Breitenfellner, a young man from Langenstein-Village who served
in the German Army at that time and was home for vacation. Krebsbach
shot this German soldier May 22, 1943, on vacation from his private
house because he was disturbed by Breitenfellner and his friends. Due
to this crime, Dr. Krebsbach was moved from KZ Mauthausen-Gusen to KZ
Warwara where he led the selections along with the liquidation of that
camp in August 1944. Later, he worked as the Inspector for Epidemies
in the occupied countries of Lettland, Estland and Lithuania. The following
SS-Doctors refused to give heart-injections at KZ Gusen:
Dr. Hermann Kiesewetter and Dr. Hermann RichterCarried out surgery on KZ Gusen inmates for
no medical reason. To study the function of the human brain, Kiesewetter
also carried out Trepanations with KZ Gusen inmates.
Source: Gusen Memorial Committee |
|