. NMT02-T0226
Volume II · Page 226
[crit-] ical opinion of the chief clinical officer of the SS, Dr. Gebhardt, concerning its technical aspects was required to accompany it. Complying with this order Gebhardt, in reference to sea-water experiments, wrote
"I deem it absolutely right to support the Luftwaffe in every way and to place a general physician of the Waffen SS at disposal to supervise the experiments."This alone is deemed to be sufficient to show that Dr. Gebhardt knew about, and approved, the performance of the sea-water experiments as charged in the indictment.
STERILIZATION EXPERIMENTS
Details of the sterilization experiments will be dealt with elsewhere in this judgment; and it is unnecessary to repeat them here, except to the extent necessary to inquire the part, if any, taken by Gebhardt therein.
On 7 and 8 July 1942 a conference took place between Himmler, Gebhardt, SS Brigadefuehrer Gluecks, and SS Brigadefuehrer Clauberg, to discuss the sterilization of Jewesses. Dr. Clauberg was promised that the Auschwitz concentration camp would be placed at his disposal for experiments on human beings and animals, and he was requested to discover by means of fundamental experiments a method of sterilizing persons without their knowledge. During the course of the conference, Himmler called the special attention of all present "to the fact that the matter involved was most secret and should be discussed only with the officers in charge and that the persons present at the experiments or discussions had to pledge secrecy."
From this evidence it is apparent that Gebhardt was present at the initial meeting which launched at least one phase of the sterilization program in the concentration camps, and thus had knowledge and gave at least passive approval to the program.
HIGH-ALTITUDE, FREEZING, MALARIA, LOST GAS,
EPIDEMIC JAUNDICE, TYPHUS, POISON, AND
INCENDIARY BOMB EXPERIMENTS
Details as to the origin of and procedure followed in these experiments are discussed elsewhere in this judgment, and will not be repeated. Our only concern is to determine to what extent, if any, the defendant Gebhardt took part in the experiments.
In these enterprises the defendant seems not to have taken any active part, as he did in the sulfanilamide experiments and in other programs. It may be argued that his close connection with Heinrich Himmler creates a presumption that these experiments were conducted with Gebhardt's knowledge and approval
