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date of 7 September 1942 he signed a certificate to a true copy of a
report, concerning sulfanilamide experiments which had been conducted at
Ravensbrueck, made by Gebhardt to Grawitz. Grawitz forwarded the report, or a
certified copy thereof, to Himmler.
We are of the opinion that
Poppendick had knowledge of the criminal nature of the experiments conducted by
Gebhardt and Fischer at Ravensbrueck, but the defendant's criminal connection
with any such experiments has not been proved by the evidence.
SEA-WATER EXPERIMENTS
The evidence does not disclose beyond a
reasonable doubt that Poppendick was criminally implicated in these
experiments.
EPIDEMIC JAUNDICE EXPERIMENTS
The evidence does
not disclose beyond a reasonable doubt that Poppendick was criminally
implicated in these experiments.
STERILIZATION EXPERIMENTS Poppendick
was Chief Physician of the Main Race and Settlement Office. The judgment of the
International Military Tribunal found that this office was "active in carrying
out schemes for Germanization of occupied territories according to the racial
principles of the Nazi Party and were involved in the deportation of Jews and
other foreign nationals." (See the "Trial of the Major War Criminals," Vol.
1, p. 270.)
Testifying before this Tribunal, Poppendick stated that
the Nazi racial policy was twofold in aspect; one policy being positive, the
other, negative in character. The positive policy included many matters, one
being the encouragement of German families to produce more children. The
negative policy concerned the sterilization and extermination of non-Aryans as
well as other measures to reduce the non-Aryan population. According to
Poppendick's testimony, he was not concerned with the execution of negative,
but only with positive measures.
By letter dated 29 May 1941 Grawitz
wrote to Himmler concerning a conference held on 27 May 1941 at which Dr.
Clauberg was present, and discussed his "new method of sterilization of
inferior women without an operation."
Poppendick by letter dated 4 June
1941, which referred to a previous telephone conversation with Grawitz, wrote
Rudolf Brandt stating that he was enclosing "the list of physicians who are
prepared to perform the treatment of sterility'' as requested
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