. NMT02-T0091
Volume II · Page 91
to the experiments made and on the basis of the evidence of this trial, experiments on a large scale have been made only in rare cases, and these may be compared in size with experiments on a large scale outside of Germany, as they were made even in peacetime; reference is made once more to the malaria experiment. (Karl Brandt 1, Karl Brandt Ex. 1.)
If one considers the number of persons sentenced to death who were subjected to experiments, the number is comparable to those eleven condemned persons for the poison experiment in Manila (Becker-Freyseng 60a, Becker-Freyseng Ex. 59.)
One should compare, among others, the plague experiments by Strong in 1912 on 900 convicts, including an experiment on 42 persons some of whom were persons sentenced to death, and the typhus experiments by Hamdi on 153 persons. (Becker-Freyseng 60a, Becker-Freyseng Ex. 59.)
If the number of condemned persons used for experiments in these proceedings appears high, it should be taken into consideration that the number of persons sentenced to death under the laws of war is also unusually high. For the protection of the country, criminal laws are, during wartime, applied more rigorously in all countries in order to guarantee safety at home during the absence of the male population at the front. The number of ordinary criminals who have been punished on account of acts committed by taking advantage of war conditions, and especially of the blackout, is already unusually high; it is, therefore, not even necessary to include herein the persons sentenced for political crimes.
In this connection the viewpoint of the English scholar Mellenby of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine deserves special consideration. (Becker-Freyseng 60, Becker-Freyseng Ex. 58.) In the well-known medical journal "The Lancet" of 1 December 1946, this doctor quotes particularly the political conditions in Germany as decisive and as an excuse for the accused persons. One may not, therefore, subsequently refer to the general conditions in Germany during the war years in order to judge the acts committed during this time more severely.
The number of human guinea pigs used in the experiments alleged by the prosecution is about 2,000. The number of human guinea pigs known to the defense from published data amounts to more than 11,000 persons. If among those, minor experiments are also to be found, it may be supposed that the experiments published contain only the material fit to be known to the public. Publications show the results but not the sacrifices and undesirable incidents. That which the defense can present is not the result of an exhausting criminal investigation.
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