A. Medical Experiments

1. HIGH-ALTITUDE EXPERIMENTS

a. Introduction

The defendants Karl Brandt, Handloser, Schroeder, Gebhardt, Rudolf Brandt, Mrugowsky, Poppendick, Sievers, Ruff, Romberg, Becker-Freyseng, and Weltz were charged with special responsibility for and participation in criminal conduct involving high-altitude experiments (par. 6 (A) of the indictment). During the course of the trial, the prosecution withdrew this charge in the cases of Karl Brandt, Handloser, Poppendick, and Mrugowsky. Only the defendants Rudolf Brandt and Sievers were convicted on this charge.

The prosecution’s summation of the evidence on the high-altitude experiments is contained in its closing brief against the defendants Ruff, Romberg, and Weltz. An extract from this brief is set forth below on pages 92 to 113. A corresponding summation of the evidence by the defense on these experiments has been selected from the closing briefs for the defendants Ruff and Sievers. It appears below on pages 114 to 140. This argumentation is followed by selections from the evidence on pages 140 to 198.

b. Selection From the Argumentation of the Prosecution

EXTRACTS FROM THE CLOSING BRIEF AGAINST DEFENDANTS RUFF, ROMBERG, AND WELTZ

Early in the war it was deemed necessary to conduct research in the field of high altitudes because of the higher ceilings reached by the Allied fighter planes. This created the problem of availability of human experimental subjects, inasmuch as animal experimentation was considered inadequate. The heights involved were 12,000 meters to over 20,000 meters, hence it goes without saying that such experiments were very dangerous and, as indicated by the evidence, volunteers were not to be had. This difficulty was overcome by the use of concentration camp inmates without their consent. The first indication of this criminal plan appears in a letter from Dr. Sigmund Rascher, a Luftwaffe physician, in a letter to the Reich Leader SS dated 15 May 1941:

“For the time being, I have been assigned to the Luftgau Kommando VII, Munich, for a medical selection course. During this course, where research on high-altitude flying plays a prominent part, determined by the somewhat higher ceiling of the English fighter planes, considerable regret was expressed that no experiments on human beings have so far been possible for us because such experiments are very dangerous, and nobody is volunteering. I therefore put the serious question: is there any possibility that two or three professional criminals can be made available for these experiments?” [Emphasis supplied.] (1602, PS, Pros. Ex. 44.)

It further appears in this Rascher letter of 15 May 1941 that Rascher had conferred with another Luftwaffe physician and that a tentative agreement had been reached wherein it was determined that the experiments on the concentration camp inmates, in which the experimental subjects were expected to die, would be performed at the “Bodenstaendige Pruefstelle fuer Hoehenforschung der Luftwaffe” at Munich:

“The experiments are being performed at the Ground Station for High-Altitude Experiments of the Luftwaffe [Bodenstaendige Pruefstelle fuer Hoehenforschung der Luftwaffe] at Munich. The experiments, in which the experimental subject of course may die, would take place with my collaboration. They are absolutely essential for the research on high-altitude flying and cannot, as it had been tried until now, be carried out on monkeys, because monkeys offer entirely different test conditions. I had an absolutely confidential talk with the representative of the Luftwaffe physician who is conducting these experiments. He also is of the opinion that the problems in question can only be solved by experiments on human beings.” (1602-PS, Pros. Ex. 44.)

Weltz testified that a meeting took place in the summer of 1941 on the occasion of a visit by Generaloberstabsarzt Hippke to Luftgau VII. (Tr. p. 7056.) In a discussion between Weltz, Kottenhoff, and Hippke, Hippke gave his approval in principle to the experiments if they were deemed necessary. (Tr. p. 7065.) In the course of the summer of 1941, Rascher went to Weltz and proposed the slow-ascent experiments, but Weltz turned them down as unnecessary. (Tr. p. 7176.) This testimony of the defendant Weltz clearly indicates the jurisdiction Weltz had over Rascher’s activities. This refusal to permit the performance of slow-ascent experiments bears out the contention of the prosecution that the defendant Weltz had the power and the authority to intervene at any time. Weltz’ actions throughout the entire development of the plans for the experiments were not merely negative. He was in full accord with the entire enterprise and he realized that Rascher did not possess the necessary qualifications to conduct these experiments without the assistance of a specialist in this particular field of aviation medicine. Furthermore, although Rascher was attached to Weltz’ Institute he had no other definite work. (Tr. pp. 7078 and 7187.) To find a specialist to collaborate with Weltz and Rascher proved to be a difficult task. Weltz first approached members of his own institute, namely Lutz and Wendt, men of considerable reputation in this field, but to no avail. Wolfgang Lutz appeared before this Tribunal and testified that Weltz requested his assistance, as well as the assistance of Wendt, but that they both refused on moral grounds. (Tr. p. 269.) Weltz did not deny this, but contended that his questions to Lutz were purely rhetorical. (Tr. p. 7069.)

The inability to interest a specialist in the field of high-altitude research to collaborate with Rascher explains the cause for the lapse of time between the date of the authorization by Himmler and the actual date of the commencement of the experiments, viz, July 1941 to February 1942. Weltz was not a specialist in high-altitude research. Kottenhoff was transferred to Romania, and Rascher was comparatively a novice in this field.

The next step taken by Weltz, which led to the completion of the plans to conduct the high-altitude experiments on human beings at the Dachau concentration camp, was his invitation to the defendants Ruff and Romberg to collaborate with Rascher. These two men were experts in this field and were interested in further research in altitudes exceeding 12,000 meters. Weltz testified that he made a trip to Berlin and that Ruff accepted his invitation to collaborate with Rascher. (Tr. p. 7188.) The evidence shows that Weltz approached Ruff and Romberg as he needed expert assistance. (NO-437, Pros. Ex. 42; NO-263, Pros. Ex. 47; NO-191, Pros. Ex. 43.) The defendant Ruff stated that he first heard of the plan to carry out research on inmates of the Dachau concentration camp from the defendant Weltz and that Weltz desired collaboration between Romberg and Rascher and between Weltz’ Institute and Ruff’s Institute. (Tr. p. 6653.) Furthermore, Ruff testified that Weltz stated:

“It is, of course, best if you or Romberg take part in these experiments because Romberg had already carried out such parachute descent experiments and is therefore the man who knows about the whole problem of rescue from high altitudes.” (Tr. pp. 6654-5.) Ruff further testified that Weltz suggested that a new series of experiments in parachute descents from great heights should be carried out at Dachau on prisoners. (Tr. p. 6653.)

From this moment on, the experimental program started to move as a mutual undertaking. This is better stated by the defendant Weltz:

“This was to be a mutual undertaking, during which Ruff was to detail Romberg and I was to detail Rascher. Ruff naturally was to be chief of Romberg and I, as a matter of course, was to be Rascher’s chief. Ruff couldn’t give any orders to Rascher. Rascher was a captain in the Medical Corps and Ruff was a civilian. I couldn’t give any orders to Romberg because Romberg was a civilian while I was a soldier. Naturally, this is how the distribution was. It had to be that way. Furthermore, it was clear that I couldn’t in any way retire. I could not just leave Rascher to Ruff. It was quite clear that I had to participate in these experiments by exercising supervision, but not by actively participating.” (Tr. p. 7079.)

This evidence certainly rebuts Weltz’ vague contention that he was not in search of specialists in high-altitude research to collaborate with him and Rascher. Without the efforts of Weltz the experiments could never have taken place. In brief, to conduct these experiments at altitudes exceeding 12,000 meters Weltz found it necessary to secure the assistance of experts in the field, as well as a low-pressure chamber which would meet his needs. Ruff and Romberg possessed both, and in the above manner Weltz skillfully engineered the whole plan.

Immediately after Weltz had completed his negotiations with Ruff, he called a meeting at his institute in Munich, wherein discussions of a technical nature concerning the experiments were held. At this meeting, Ruff, Romberg, Rascher, and Weltz were in attendance. This meeting was at Weltz’ Institute and Weltz presided over the meeting. It was further decided that a second meeting was to be held at Dachau a few days later in order to make the necessary arrangements with the camp commander. This trip took place in order to discuss technical preparations with the camp commander, and to arrange details concerning the selection of the experimental subjects. Again, Weltz, Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher were in attendance, in addition to Piorkowski, the camp commander, and Schnitzler of the staff of the Reichsfuehrung SS. (NO-476, Pros. Ex. 40; NO-437, Pros. Ex. 42; NO-263, Pros. Ex. 47; Tr. pp. 7086-7.)

After the arrangements with the camp authorities at Dachau had been completed, the shipment of the low-pressure chamber from Berlin was the next problem to overcome. As pointed out earlier, Weltz desired the low-pressure chamber which was possessed by Ruff and Romberg for use in the experiments at Dachau. It is interesting to note that Weltz had had a low-pressure chamber available in his own institute from 1938 on (Tr. p. 7178.), and that Weltz testified that volunteers from his student body or from the Luftwaffe were available. (Tr. pp. 7180-83.) Despite this, it was necessary to resort to the concentration camp for inmates and, in order to conduct the experiments, a mobile pressure chamber had to be brought down from the Ruff Institute in Berlin, as the low-pressure chamber in the Weltz Institute was not mobile. The mobile low-pressure chamber from Ruff’s Institute at Berlin was driven to Weltz’ Institute in Munich and arrived in the late afternoon. This chamber was driven to Munich by employees of the DVL and turned over to Weltz. On the following day, SS drivers came from Dachau, received the keys to the chamber and drove it to the concentration camp. (Tr. p. 7199.) The purpose in camouflaging this activity was to deceive the employees of the DVL because Weltz and Ruff did not want them to know that the low-pressure chamber was to be used in an experimental program at a concentration camp. This is borne out by the fact that a completely new set of drivers came from the concentration camp to take the chamber to Dachau. This particular action of secrecy is noticeable when it is considered that Dachau is merely 12 kilometers from Munich and actually the DVL drivers had to go out of their way to deliver the chamber to the Weltz Institute. Ruff testified that the secrecy in the transfer of the chamber to Dachau was for security reasons. (Tr. p. 6550.)

From the evidence thus far summarized, and indeed from Weltz’ own admission, it is clear that he must be found guilty of the high-altitude crimes committed in Dachau. This was a criminal undertaking from its inception. It was known to all concerned that the proposed experiments were certain to result in deaths and that they were to be performed on nonvolunteers. That is proved by the very first letter to Himmler. Weltz supported the ambition of his subordinate, Rascher, to perform the experiments on behalf of the Weltz Institute. He secured the collaboration of Ruff and Romberg. He obtained the consent of Hippke and a research assignment from the Referat for Aviation Medicine under Anthony and Becker-Freyseng. He took care of the technical arrangements and participated in conferences with Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher which decided on the experiments to be performed. Weltz did more in having the experiments performed than anyone else. His guilt is clearly established on this evidence alone. It is not disputed that Rascher was subordinated to him until February 1942. Weltz’ main defense is that he had Rascher transferred from his institute late in February 1942 and, hence, cannot be held responsible for what happened thereafter. Even if true, this is no defense. Weltz had long since participated in the criminal enterprise. He cannot be heard to say that “Yes, I did all that, but I’m not responsible for the actual consequences which my acts were expected to bring about.” The deaths which occurred in these experiments were foreseeable from the beginning. Weltz does not escape responsibility for those deaths, even if it were true that Rascher was not subordinated to him when they occurred. But that is not true, as the evidence proves.

The actual date of the commencement of the experiments at Dachau was 22 February 1942, which was recalled by the witness Neff because it was his birthday. (Tr. p. 606.) From this point on, the defendant Weltz takes the position that he had no knowledge of the work and that, in fact, Rascher was relieved from his command. Weltz admitted that it was his obligation to supervise Rascher and that the existing arrangement between Ruff and Weltz was that this was to be a joint undertaking. Ruff exercised supervision over Romberg, and Weltz was to exercise supervision over Rascher. Weltz conceded that he was Rascher’s disciplinary superior and was responsible for the scientific programs to which he assigned Rascher. (Tr. p. 7088.) Despite this chain of command and working agreement, Weltz takes the position that Rascher endeavored to work independently and that he did not desire to report to Weltz. (Tr. pp. 7088-9.) It became necessary for Weltz to order Rascher to report to him twice a week and, as a result of this order, Weltz alleges that Rascher came to him in the middle of February and that they had their first conversation since the meeting in Dachau and on that occasion, Rascher informed Weltz that the experiments had not even started yet and that he had nothing to report. (Tr. p. 7089.)

Weltz testified that Anthony, under whom Becker-Freyseng worked in the Luftwaffe Medical Inspectorate, in Berlin, telephoned him to inquire how the Dachau experiments were progressing and that he could only reply that nothing had been reported to him. Rascher reported to him for the second time, whereupon Weltz informed Rascher that a telephone call had come through from Berlin and that he wanted to have some clarification as to how things stood at Dachau. Rascher did not want to report anything to Weltz at the second conversation, and Weltz maintains that he told Rascher that he was going to Berlin to clear up the situation and obtain a clear decision whether or not Rascher was to report to him. Then, on the occasion of the third visit from Rascher, Weltz, expecting a sharp argument, asked Wendt of his office to come into the room, and on that occasion he confronted Rascher with the alternative either to report to him or to leave the institute. Weltz asserts that at that time Rascher showed him a telegram from Himmler, which read: “Experiments are to be kept secret from everyone.” (Tr. p. 7089.) Thereupon, Weltz maintains that he ordered Rascher from his institute and that he then composed a letter, together with Wendt, to the Luftgau and asked for Rascher’s immediate transfer and that within a few days Rascher’s assignment had ended. (Tr. p. 7090.)

The memorandum of Nini Rascher to Himmler of 24 February 1942 shows that at that time Rascher was still subordinate to Weltz. (NO-263, Pros. Ex. 47.) She reviewed the history of the experiments and pointed out that on 24 July 1941 Rascher, Kottenhoff, and Weltz were to be in charge. Kottenhoff was transferred to Romania in August and thereby excluded from the group. She stated that it was Weltz’s task to initiate the technical execution of the experiments. Apparently because of a fear of moral objections on the part of Hippke, Weltz had postponed the beginning of the experiments but had finally secured Ruff and Romberg to collaborate with Rascher. A conference took place in Dachau between Piorkowski, Schnitzler, Weltz, Rascher, Romberg, and Ruff. Weltz had given the assurance that he would take care of the authorization for Rascher. Mrs. Rascher complained that on 18 February, after Rascher had carried out all the preparatory work, Weltz stated: “Now that you have removed all obstacles from the path of Romberg with the SS, the authorization must be handled differently.” Mrs. Rascher stated that both Romberg and Rascher agreed that Weltz was not needed anymore and that both opposed his attempts to oust Rascher in favor of himself.

Weltz contended that the truth of the matter was that he wished to get rid of Rascher, and that Mrs. Rascher had misrepresented this to Himmler so that it would appear that he was trying to eliminate Rascher in order to keep the work exclusively to himself. (Tr. p. 7099.) There can be no question that Mrs. Rascher was quite correct in her analysis of the situation. What possible reason could Weltz have for desiring, just before the experiments began, to eliminate Rascher unless he wished to participate himself personally and thus secure a larger share of the scientific credit? Certainly he had supported Rascher from the very inception of the proposal to perform the experiments. Be that as it may, the proof shows that Rascher continued to participate in the experiments as a subordinate of Weltz. This is clearly proved by a file memorandum of Schnitzler of the SS office in Munich, dated 28 April 1942. (NO-264, Pros. Ex. 60.) This memorandum shows that Rascher was still subordinated to Weltz, and that Weltz was insisting on active participation in the experiments and full responsibility. The RLM [Reich Air Ministry] had inquired of Weltz how long the experiments would last, and whether it was justifiable to detail a medical officer for so long. Rascher, who was chafing under his subordination to Weltz, requested that his assignment be changed to the DVL [German Aviation Research Institute], Dachau Branch.

Weltz’ only reaction to this document was that the date was wrong and should read 28 February 1942 instead of 28 April 1942. (Tr. p. 7099 ff.) Weltz conceded on cross-examination that, assuming the date 28 April 1942 was correct, then of course Rascher was still his subordinate at that time. (Tr. p. 7232.) The file memorandum of Sievers dated 3 May 1942 settled this question beyond any doubt. This memorandum reads as follows:

“SS Untersturmfuehrer Stabsarzt Dr. Rascher reported in Munich on 29 April 1942 about the result of the conference with Oberstabsarzt Dr. Weltz. Weltz requested that Dr. Rascher be withdrawn if by Friday, 1 May 1942 he (Weltz) were not taken into consultation regarding the experiments. The Reich Leader SS was informed accordingly. He ordered SS Obergruppenfuehrer Wolff on 30 April 1942 to send a telegram to Field Marshal Milch requesting that Dr. Rascher be ordered to the German Aviation Research Institute [Deutsche Versuchsanstalt fuer Luftfahrt], Dachau Branch, and there to be at the disposal of the Reich Leader SS.” (NO-1359, Pros. Ex. 493.)

After having been confronted with this document Weltz in effect conceded that his previous testimony about the transfer of Rascher had been, to say the least of it, incorrect. He said:

“Yes, now the entire matter looks somewhat different. If I had this file note of Sievers in addition to my other documents, I would have known that the note of Schnitzler was correct, and that there must be another possibility to explain Mrs. Nini Rascher’s letter. This letter, on the other hand, cannot be explained now. I can only try to reconstruct the dates from the documents which were available here, since I no longer know them today.” (Tr. p. 7239.)

On redirect examination by his defense counsel, Weltz was asked again to clarify the situation with respect to Rascher’s subordination, and he replied:

“Since my first attempt to clarify this contradiction came to naught, I should not like to try again. I simply can see no way to clarify it on the basis of the material before me.” (Tr. p. 7251.)

In a letter of 20 May 1942 from Milch to Wolff it is again made evident beyond any doubt that Rascher was subordinate to Weltz:

“In reference to your telegram of 12 May our medical inspector reports to me that the altitude experiments carried out by the SS and Air Force at Dachau have been finished. Any continuation of these experiments seems essentially unreasonable. However, the carrying out of experiments of some other kind, in regard to perils at high sea, would be important. These have been prepared in immediate agreement with the proper offices; Major (M. C.) Weltz will be charged with the execution and Captain (M. C.) Rascher will be made available until further orders in addition to his duties within the Medical Corps of the Air Corps.” (343-A-PS, Pros. Ex. 62.)

Thus it is clear that Weltz must be held responsible for the numerous murders which resulted during the high-altitude experiments in Dachau. Not only did he participate in plans and enterprises involving the commission of these experiments, but he also was the direct superior of Rascher who, together with Ruff and Romberg, actually executed the experiments.

Status of Prisoners Used in the Experiments

After Weltz had successfully secured the collaboration of Ruff and Romberg, he held a meeting at his institute in Munich late in December 1941, or early in January 1942. (Tr. p. 6657; Tr. p. 7086.) Ruff, Romberg, Weltz, and Rascher attended this meeting primarily to lay the groundwork for the technical arrangements necessary to perform the work at Dachau. It is alleged by all the defendants that the question regarding the status of the prisoners to be used was discussed and that Rascher had assured them that the subjects would be exclusively volunteers. (Tr. p. 7086; Tr. p. 6232; Tr. p. 6869.) In fact, the defendants state that Rascher exhibited a communication from Himmler which provided that the subjects must be volunteers under all circumstances. (Tr. p. 6869.) Unfortunately, this letter has not been produced by the defense. Needless to say, the defendants take the position that such experiments were to be performed on habitual and condemned criminals and that considerations were to be offered to said “volunteers” in the event of their surviving the experiments. As a matter of fact, Romberg explicitly states that he saw the “Himmler letter” and he was able to observe the words “criminal” and “volunteer” therein. (Tr. p. 6870.)

The assertion on the part of the defendants that Himmler had ordered that the criminals used be volunteers is ridiculous and incredible when one considers that Himmler instructed Rascher to pardon these unfortunate inmates only if they could be recalled to life after having been subjected to the type of experiments outlined in Rascher’s first interim report, wherein it is shown that the experimental subjects had stopped breathing altogether and their chests had been cut open, i. e., autopsy had been actually performed on them. (1971-A-PS, Pros. Ex. 49.)

In this instance, Himmler graciously stated:

“3. Considering the long-continued action of the heart, the experiments should be specifically exploited in such a manner as to determine whether these men could be recalled to life. Should such an experiment succeed, then, of course, the person condemned to death shall be pardoned to concentration camp for life.” (1971-B-PS, Pros. Ex. 51.)

It is absurd to give any weight to the allegation that Himmler provided that the subjects were to be volunteers. These men knew that volunteers could not be secured and that was the very reason for going to Himmler. This is shown in the letter from Rascher to Himmler requesting that criminals be made available due to the fact that “nobody is volunteering.”

The defendant Ruff admitted on the stand that the experiments conducted on themselves and colleagues in Berlin concerned altitudes up to 12,000 meters and that the question of what would happen between 12,000 and 20,000 meters was subsequently investigated at Dachau. (Tr. p. 6679.) It is obvious, therefore, that Ruff, Romberg, Weltz, and Rascher were unwilling to perform such investigations on themselves.

The evidence has proved that the subjects used in the high-altitude experiments were not, with a few minor exceptions, volunteers. The inmates were simply selected at random in the camp and forced to undergo the experiments. Russians, Poles, Jews of various nationalities, and Germans were used. Russian prisoners of war were included, as were many political prisoners. Approximately 180 to 200 inmates were experimented on, about 70 to 80 being killed as a result. Not more than 40 of these had been “condemned to death.” Among those killed were political prisoners. (Tr. pp. 613-18; also Tr. p. 432.) This testimony of Neff, who was the inmate assistant in the experiments and who identified Ruff, Romberg, and Weltz, is corroborated by Rascher’s cable asking if Himmler’s amnesty rule applied to Russians and Poles who had been extensively used in the experiments. (1971-D-PS, Pros. Ex. 52.) The nationality and status of inmates were easily discernible from the badges worn on their uniforms. Ruff and Romberg could have told from these that foreign nationals and political prisoners were being used. (Tr. pp. 616-7.)

The witness Neff’s testimony reveals that approximately 10 prisoners were selected as permanent, experimental subjects, but they were not volunteers. (Tr. pp. 611, 622, and 430.) There were, however, a few “volunteers” according to Neff. He stated that “there were certain volunteers for these experiments, because Rascher promised certain persons that they would be released from the camp if they underwent these experiments.” (Tr. p. 614.) Neff clearly pointed out that in view of the way the prisoner subjects were selected and used it was not possible to know who were volunteers, if any, and who were not volunteers. (Tr. pp. 606-26.) They were not brought in and used as a separate group. Moreover, the evidence shows that these promises were not kept. (Tr. p. 615.) The only evidence of a release is the case of Sabota, as outlined by Neff, and in that case he was sent to an undesirable special SS commando group. No death sentences were commuted.

The defense claims for Ruff and Romberg that the experiments at Dachau were divided into two groups. The first group, the so-called Ruff-Romberg-Rascher experiments, was noncriminal, while the second group, the Rascher experiments, encompassed all the crimes. They contend that the Ruff-Romberg-Rascher experiments were conducted independently of the Rascher experiments and that the 10 original subjects mentioned by Neff and Vieweg were used exclusively for the Ruff-Romberg-Rascher experiments. Despite the testimony of the witnesses and the weight of the documentary evidence, they would have the Tribunal believe that by a wondrous working of fate these were all volunteers and no crimes occurred. This defense is of course inapplicable to Weltz. Rascher was subordinated to and subject to his orders.

It should be noted that Romberg and Rascher who tested themselves in the altitude chamber at Dachau with an air pressure equivalent to 12,500 and 13,500 meters altitude respectively, for 30 to 40 minutes, discontinued these experiments on themselves because of intense pain. (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.) Yet, these men proceeded, as proved by their own joint report, to conduct experiments on prisoners which they would not perform on themselves.

The experimenters took no responsibility or even interest in seeing to it that the alleged promises made to the subjects to induce them to “volunteer” were kept. (Tr. p. 6993.) Although Romberg said he had no channel to Himmler, he also admitted he visited Himmler with Rascher in July 1942. (Tr. pp. 7015-6.)

In this connection, we must consider the convenient line of the defense. By limiting the Ruff-Romberg-Rascher experiments to the 10 subjects, we find that they further allege that no deaths occurred in those experiments as opposed to a considerable number of deaths in the Rascher work. But the witness Neff, in describing the first day of the experiments, emphatically stated that the first series of experiments was not carried out on volunteers. Furthermore, the defendant Ruff was also present during these experiments. (Tr. p. 622.) The defendants’ contention that the experiments were in two groups is explicitly denied by Neff. He testified that Romberg not only experimented with Rascher on the original 10 subjects, but also on a large number of other prisoners. The distinction fabricated by the defendants cannot possibly be credited in the light of Neff’s testimony. On being asked the question whether Romberg experimented only on the 10 original subjects, Neff replied:

“Experiments were conducted not only with these ten persons but, for example, in a series of experiments which Romberg also conducted on a large number of other prisoners. The distinction which the defense counsel tries to make between experiments included in the report to the Luftgau or of death—it is impossible for me to make this distinction and to distinguish between those which fell into one category or the other.” (Tr. p. 691.)

Which is to be believed, the testimony of Neff, plus one’s common sense, or the self-serving statements of the defendants? This is a question the Tribunal must answer. There is no such thing as half a murderer. These defendants are responsible for those murders or they are not responsible. There is not one scintilla of evidence to support the ridiculous contention that a group of volunteers, segregated for use by Romberg, wore different colored shirts so he could tell them apart and were treated with the greatest deference. But that is just what Ruff and Romberg ask the Tribunal to find. It is absolutely impossible in the face of the record.

This, alleged disassociation of Ruff and Romberg from the “crimes committed exclusively by Rascher” is in complete contradiction to the acts of these defendants during the experiments, which after all speak much louder than their present testimony. Neff testified that Romberg personally witnessed at least five deaths during the experiments, and that he made no effort to stop them nor did he even protest after the event. (Tr. p. 619.) Romberg admitted seeing three deaths and that he knew that five to ten other murders took place in his absence. (NO-476, Pros. Ex. 40.) The first death Romberg saw, he said, occurred in April. He reported this to Ruff. Yet the experiments were not discontinued. They went on to the end of June and still more deaths occurred which Romberg saw. To say the least of it, these defendants made themselves a party to murder by continuing the experiments. This is true no matter how innocent they may have been up to the first death. They were duty bound to stop the experiments immediately, remove the chamber, and force a court martial of Rascher. They did none of these simple and obvious things. They did not for the very reason that deaths were expected from the very beginning and were a part of the experimental plan. Romberg saw these men die and did absolutely nothing. It was within his power to save them at the time. He said he was operating the electrocardiograph. He knew precisely by their heart action when the subjects were in danger of dying. He also knew this from his knowledge of reaction to high altitudes. He could see and read the pressure gauges. He could have turned the pressure down and saved their lives by simply moving the gauge which was within arm’s reach. He was a bigger man than Rascher. Force could have been used if necessary. Not only did he do nothing while the helpless victims died before his very eyes, but he assisted in the autopsies.

After all these murders had occurred and were known to them, Ruff and Romberg still went on. They issued a joint report on the experiments in the name of Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher in July 1942. (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.) They were still collaborating with this admitted murderer and gave him the cover of their scientific reputation. Romberg received a medal for his work in the experiments on the recommendation of Rascher. (1607-A-PS, Pros. Ex. 65.) Romberg was still supporting Rascher in September 1942 and was to have made an oral report to Milch on the experiments with Rascher. He wrote a memorandum on Rascher’s behalf explaining that the report was not given because Milch was unable to receive them at the scheduled time. This same memorandum, signed by Romberg, proves that he was anxious to continue high-altitude experiments with Rascher and asked for Milch’s permission.

He wrote:

“Oberstarzt Kalk stated that he was willing to report to the State Secretary (Milch) our wishes concerning the distribution of the report and the continuation of the experiments. * * * Oberstarzt Kalk had transmitted, still on 11 September, our wishes concerning distribution and confirmation of the experiments to the State Secretary. The State Secretary had approved the distribution schedule, and said that a continuation of the experiment was not urgent.” (NO-224, Pros. Ex. 76.)

In the meantime, the murderous freezing experiments had been started with the Luftwaffe team of Holzloehner, Finke, and Rascher. Ruff, Romberg, and Weltz all heard the report of those experiments in Nuernberg in October 1942. (NO-401, Pros. Ex. 93.) Hippke himself wrote his special thanks to Himmler on 8 October 1942, and said: “When the work will need once more your sympathetic assistance, may I be allowed to get in touch with you again through Stabsarzt Dr. Rascher?” (NO-289, Pros. Ex. 72.)

Analysis of the Experiments

The experiments at Dachau in the field of high-altitude research were conducted to determine human reactions to altitudes above 12,000 meters. The defendant Romberg stated that four series of experiments were conducted (a) slow descent without oxygen, (b) slow descent with oxygen, (c) falling without oxygen, and (d) falling with oxygen. (NO-476, Pros. Ex. 40.) The first two tests were designed to simulate descent with parachute open while the latter two a free fall from an airplane before the parachute opens. As pointed out in Dr. Rascher’s first interim report on the experiments, an additional problem was to be solved, namely, the determination whether the theoretically established norms pertaining to the length of life of human beings breathing air with only a small portion of oxygen and subjected to low pressure correspond with the results obtained by practical experience. This interim report of Rascher’s states as follows:

“2. Experiments testing the length of life of a human being above the normal breathing limits (4, 5, 6 km.) have not been conducted at all, since it has been a foregone conclusion that the human experimental subject (Versuchsperson-VP) would suffer death.”

The experiments conducted by myself and Dr. Romberg proved the following:

“Experiments on parachute jumps proved that the lack of oxygen and the low atmospheric pressure at 12 or 13 km. altitude did not cause death. Altogether 15 extreme experiments of this type were carried out in which none of VP died. Very severe bends together with unconsciousness occurred, but completely normal functions of the senses returned when a height of 7 km. was reached on descent. Electrocardiograms registering during the experiments did show certain irregularities, but by the time the experiments were over the curves had returned to normal and they did not indicate any abnormal changes during the following days. The extent to which deterioration of the organism may occur due to continuously repeated experiments can only be established at the end of the series of experiments. The extreme fatal experiments will be carried out on specially selected VP’s otherwise it would not be possible to exercise the rigid control so extraordinarily important for practical purposes.” [Emphasis supplied.] (1971-A-PS, Pros. Ex. 49.)

Thus, it is clear that the experiments were planned and executed with the intention that some were to terminate fatally. This report covered the period up to the first week in April and mention of deaths and autopsies is made. This quite obviously was the instance when Romberg says he saw his first death and autopsy, although he tends to place the date as the latter part of April. (NO-476, Pros. Ex. 40.) If the experiments had been stopped there the lives of many subjects would have been saved.

The defendants argue that, while the experiments may have killed persons, they did not involve torture and pain. This is on the theory that the subjects lost consciousness before any sensation of pain. This anomalous defense is completely disproved by the photographic exhibits showing the expressions of pain of the subjects. (NO-610, Pros. Ex. 41.) as well as the defendants’ own report on the experiments. (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.) The reaction of one subject was described in terms such as “severe altitude sickness, spasmodic convulsions”. In a self-experiment by Romberg and Rascher, the latter’s reactions were described as follows:

“After 10 minutes stay at this altitude, pains began on the right side with a spastic paralytic condition of the right leg which increased continually as though Ra’s [Rascher’s] whole right side were being crushed between two presses. At the same time there were most severe headaches as though the skull were being burst apart. The pains became continually more severe so that at last the discontinuation of the experiment became necessary.” (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.)

There is no case on record where an experiment on an inmate was discontinued because of pain.

Ruff and Romberg take the position that they would be most unwilling to kill prisoners in the course of an experiment. They insist that their experiments with Rascher were concerned with the problem of explosive decompression and on parachute descent from high altitudes, whereas Rascher alone worked on sojourn or a more prolonged stay at high altitudes, and that it was in Rascher’s experiments that prisoners were killed. This again is the artificial division of the experiments into the criminal and noncriminal which has already been proved to be spurious. But here again, the two self-experiments which Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher included in their joint final report as mentioned above were experiments on prolonged stay at high altitude, a subject which they now claim was exclusively Rascher’s. The only reason that this experiment did not end fatally was the fact that it was interrupted in time because of intense pain. Moreover, on page 11 of the final report by Ruff, Romberg, and Weltz the following is said: “This is worthy of special attention because in this case a person has fully recovered mentally at an altitude of 8.3 km. (27,230 ft.), after 3 minutes of the most severe lack of oxygen, while in altitude endurance experiments at this altitude severe altitude sickness sets in after about 3 minutes.” [Emphasis supplied.] (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.) Here, again, it is proved from their own report that Ruff and Romberg, as well as Rascher, were concerned with sojourn at high altitudes.

Experiments, in which prisoners were killed, are reported in Rascher’s report to Himmler of 11 May 1942. (NO-220, Pros. Ex. 61.) Some prisoners were killed by keeping them at 12,000 meters without oxygen for 30 minutes; one was killed at 20,000 meters when exposed there for about 6 minutes without oxygen. These prisoners were autopsied to ascertain if bubbles of gas, called air embolism in Rascher’s report of 11 May 1942, were present in the blood vessels of the brain and other organs when dissected under water. Some “Jewish professional criminals” who had committed “Rassenschande” (race pollution)^[18] were killed for another reason:

“To find out whether the severe psychic and physical effects, as mentioned under No. 3, are due to the formation of embolism, the following was done: After relative recuperation from such a parachute descending test had taken place, however before regaining consciousness, some VP’s were kept under water until they died. When the skull and the cavities of the breast and of the abdomen had been opened under water, an enormous amount of air embolism was found in the vessels of the brain, the coronary vessels and the vessels of the liver and the intestines, etc.” (NO-220, Pros. Ex. 61.)

It should be noted that these murders were committed in connection with the parachute descending tests, not prolonged stay at high altitudes, and this was the very subject being studied by Ruff and Romberg. Romberg testified that he was present at the death of three of these prisoners, one in April and two in May 1942, and witnessed an autopsy of one, in which gas bubbles were present in the blood vessels of the brain. He reported these deaths to Ruff. (NO-476, Pros. Ex. 40.) Neff testified Romberg was present in five cases where fatalities occurred (Tr. pp. 619, 692.) and Romberg admitted that he knew that five to ten other experimental subjects were killed while he was not present. (NO-476, Pros. Ex. 40.) Neff stated that Romberg actively participated in the majority of the experiments. He observed the experiments, took notes, and studied the electrocardiogram and thus was able to determine when an experimental subject in the chamber was about to die. (Tr. p. 651.)

It is incredible that Dr. Ruff was not informed regarding the finding of bubbles in the blood vessels of the brain since such observations in human beings who have died following too rapid atmospheric decompression is a very, very unique event, though bubbles had been observed many times prior to 1942 in the blood vessels of laboratory animals. It is inconceivable that Dr. Ruff, or anyone else in the field of aviation medicine, had not heard of the bubble theory of the cause of joint pains, coughing, blindness, or paralysis, or the symptoms of the pressure drop sickness, which may occur on exposure to high altitude, since this theory was well known in literature and text books of aviation medicine available since 1938. How else would Rascher have had occasion to look for the bubbles? He either learned of the theory during a course in aviation medicine or was told about it by Ruff and Romberg, who knew much more than Rascher about aviation medicine.

It is fantastic that Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher did not have in mind the observations of bubbles in the blood vessels of the murdered prisoners, when, in the final joint report of 28 July 1942, they wrote:

“In spite of the relatively large number of experiments, the actual cause of the severe mental disturbances and bodily failures (paralysis, blindness, etc.) attendant upon post-hypoxemic twilight state remains something of a riddle. It appeared often as though the phenomena of pressure drop sickness had combined with the results of severe oxygen lack”. (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.)

It has been the theory for some time that the symptoms associated with decompression or pressure-drop sickness may be due to the formation of gas bubbles (air embolism) in the blood vessels of the brain or in the regions of the joints or in the blood vessels of the lungs. When the bubbles collect in the blood vessels of the brain, they are supposed to cause a physical or mental disturbance or paralysis. When the gas bubbles collect in the region of the joints, they are supposed to cause pain in the region of the joints. When the bubbles collect in the blood vessels in the lungs, they are supposed to cause the chokes or attacks of coughing. That has been a theory that has been held for some 15 or 20 years, and an expert in the field of aviation medicine could not have been unaware of it. (Tr. pp. 9098-9.) Since Rascher had observed bubbles as is described in his report of 11 May 1942, and since Ruff and Romberg had complete knowledge of the deaths, obviously these important findings of Rascher on air embolism did not escape the attention of Ruff and Romberg. It can only be concluded that these findings, which resulted from intentioned deaths, form the basis of the paragraph quoted above from the final report. Because of the nature of the subject matter, and a prior knowledge of the observations in the autopsies in the experiments, the ideas expressed in the paragraph quoted above cannot be separated from those in the Rascher report of 11 May. So testified the expert witness Dr. A. C. Ivy. (Tr. p. 9151.) All of this proves again that the testimony of Ruff and Romberg to the effect they had nothing to do with the so-called “Rascher experiments” is completely false. Even though deaths are not specifically mentioned in the joint report of 28 July, it is clear from Dr. Ivy’s testimony that the findings in the death cases form the basis for a part of that report.

Ruff and Romberg would have the Tribunal believe that the experiments were completed and the chamber removed from Dachau by 20 May 1942. Since Romberg knew of and reported on the deaths to Ruff in April, there clearly was no excuse whatever to leave the chamber in Dachau for even another day. But according to their own story, it stayed until 20 May and Romberg saw two more men killed. They attempted to gloss over their criminal participation in these later murders by saying that the chamber could not be moved without orders from the Luftwaffe Medical Inspector. Be that as it may, such a technical violation of moving the chamber without orders is hardly comparable to the crime of leaving the chamber for further experiments by a man whom they admit they knew to have been a murderer. Indeed, any decent superior who was not himself a party to the crime, as they actually were, would undoubtedly have court-martialed Ruff and Romberg for leaving the chamber there, not to speak of Rascher.

But it is not true that the chamber left Dachau on 20 May 1942 as they perjuriously stated. They seized upon this date from Milch’s letter to Wolff stating that the chamber was needed elsewhere. (343-A-PS, Pros. Ex. 62.) There clearly was an intention to transfer the chamber, but it was not in fact moved and this was undoubtedly due to the joint efforts of Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher. Romberg was anxious to continue his criminal work with Rascher in September 1942 as has been pointed out above. In any event, on 4 June 1942, Milch authorized retention of the chamber in Dachau for two more months. (NO-261, Pros. Ex. 63.) On 25 June this order was passed on to Rascher by Heckenstaller, adjutant to Wolff, reference being made to a letter of 5 June from Rascher. (NO-284, Pros. Ex. 64.) These documents prove beyond doubt that the chamber remained in Dachau until July 1942.

The testimony of Neff not only proves that the experiments continued until July 1942 but also that Romberg was presented with a remarkable opportunity to discontinue the experiments without any trouble whatever. Neff stated that Romberg told him in the latter part of May that the chamber was to be transferred (undoubtedly as a result of Milch’s letter of 20 May which was later countermanded) and, under the impression that Romberg might not be in favor of any continuation of the experiments, he sabotaged the chamber by breaking a glass barometer in order to make sure the chamber would be sent away. Instead of seizing this opportunity for stopping the experiments by removing the damaged chamber, Romberg rushed to Berlin, obtained spare parts, and in a matter of 2 weeks had the chamber functioning again for more murderous experiments. (Tr. pp. 623-4.) The chamber was used for another 3 weeks after it was repaired and five persons were killed on the last day of the experiments. (Tr. p. 624.) Although the defense attacked Neff on cross-examination concerning the sabotage of the chamber (Tr. p. 663), by the time Romberg took the stand they admitted the chamber was damaged but moved the whole incident to the month of May instead of June. (Tr. p. 6905.) This was obviously done on the theory that the Tribunal could be deceived into believing that very few experiments could have been conducted in May since they contend the chamber was moved on 20 May. But the documents and Neff’s testimony clearly established that the chamber was there until July. Moreover, it matters little whether the chamber was damaged in May or June. Romberg in no event took the opportunity to stop the experiments on the ground of unavailable spare parts, although this opportunity would not have been needed if he really wanted to discontinue them. He need have done nothing more complex than to have sent the chamber away or left himself.

Ruff’s and Romberg’s guilt is beyond doubt when we consider that they did not take the opportunity to withdraw after the first death of an experimental subject in April 1942. Romberg admitted his presence at the death of this first subject. (Tr. p. 6924.) He was studying the electrocardiogram at the time of the experiments (NO-476, Pros. Ex. 40), but he would have the Tribunal find that he was an innocent bystander who was privileged to do nothing. This was just another “SS experiment” according to Romberg. But Romberg admitted that he was working the electrocardiogram and was studying the point of light that follows the heart. When he saw that the critical point had been reached, he said he spoke to Rascher (Tr. p. 6927), but to no avail as Rascher continued the experiment until death resulted. This testimony of assumed impotence when a man was slowly killed before his eyes is an insult to one’s intelligence. Romberg was the senior scientist and was fully aware of the fact that the danger zone had been reached as he was thoroughly familiar with the equipment being used. He has outlined for the Tribunal the proximity of the electrocardiogram to the controls of the chamber (Tr. p. 6929), and it is inconceivable that Romberg could not have taken the necessary action to have spared this experimental subject’s life if he had so desired. The inescapable fact is that these deaths were part of the plan and Romberg not only had no desire to interfere but was very much interested in the cause of death through air embolism.

Assuming that Romberg was opposed to this fatal experiment, it is impossible to understand why he did not take the appropriate action to have Rascher prosecuted for this premeditated murder. The fact of the matter is that Romberg merely reported this death to Ruff (Tr. p. 6932), and no appropriate action was taken by Ruff either. Although alleging an objection to this fatality, Romberg admits participation in the autopsy of the unfortunate victim. This autopsy clearly bore out the fact that air embolism was the cause of death. When asked if he participated in this autopsy, Romberg answered, “Yes, I watched one autopsy. That was my duty.” (Tr. p. 6924.) Romberg testified that he saw two other deaths and that air embolism also caused those. (Tr. pp. 6925-6.)

Ruff and Romberg lay great stress on the point that deaths are not mentioned in the joint report of 28 July 1942 of Romberg, Ruff, and Rascher. This, of course, is a very understandable omission, but it in no way proves that they are not responsible for those murders. Indeed, the joint report of 28 July 1942 (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66) is identical with Rascher’s report of 11 May 1942 (NO-220, Pros. Ex. 61) except for the specific mentioning of the deaths. For example, paragraph 3 of the Rascher report is a summary of part III-1, pages 3 to 18, and part III-2, pages 18 to 19 of the joint final report. Paragraph 4 of Rascher’s report contains results set out in part III-4, pages 21 to 22, of the joint final report. Paragraph 5 of Rascher’s report is identical with part III-3, pages 19 to 21, of the joint final report. Paragraph 6 of the Rascher report where the pervitin experiments are mentioned is alluded to in the pervitin data in the joint final report on page 18. Paragraph 7 of the Rascher report contains the conclusions incorporated in the joint final report and gives details on the gas bubble data which are referred to on pages 16 to 18 of the joint final report, but from which is omitted reference to the autopsy results of the murdered prisoners. These various passages were compared by the witness Ivy and he concluded that they refer to the same subject matter. (Tr. p. 9097.)

Ruff attempts to explain the omission of mention of deaths in the final report on the ground that the deaths did not occur as a result of their experiments on rescue from high altitudes (i. e., parachute descending tests), but rather in Rascher’s own experiments with which they had nothing to do (i. e., prolonged stay at high altitudes). (Tr. p. 6592.) It has already been proved that the basic premise to this spurious argument is completely false, since Ruff and Romberg themselves were not interested in sojourn at high altitudes. The self-experiments of Romberg and Rascher were just such tests and they are specifically mentioned in the final report. These involved a stay of 30 to 40 minutes at altitudes between 12 and 13.5 kilometers (39,400 to 44,290 feet). But so also is the minor premise wrong. Deaths were deliberately brought about in the course of the parachute descending tests. In these tests it had been noted that the subjects suffered from spasmodic and clonic convulsions together with paralysis. This is reported in paragraph 3 of Rascher’s memorandum of 11 May 1942 on the experiments and also on pages 13 through 18 of the final report. In his memorandum, Rascher stated:

“To find out whether the severe psychic and physical effects, as mentioned under No. 3, are due to the formation of embolism, the following was done: After relative recuperation from such a parachute descending test had taken place, however before regaining consciousness, some VP’s were kept under water until they died. When the skull and the cavities of the breast and of the abdomen had been opened under water, an enormous amount of air embolism was found in the vessels of the brain, the coronary vessels, and the vessels of the liver and the intestines, etc.” [Emphasis supplied.] (NO-220, Pros. Ex. 61.)

This proves beyond any doubt that murders were committed in the parachute descending tests of Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher. Ruff again tried to deceive the Tribunal by testifying that it was substantially impossible for air embolism to form in parachute descending tests. This is obviously disproved by the statement of Rascher quoted above and by the reference in the final report, already mentioned above, which alludes to this same problem. But the lie was also squarely nailed by the expert witness Ivy, who testified that it was possible for air embolism to form in subjects who were at altitudes above 12,000 meters (39,400 feet) only 3 minutes, that is to say, subjects who bailed out at 15,000 meters. Bubbles may form as low as 30,000 feet. (Tr. p. 9102.) Thus, the defense that no deaths occurred during the experiments concerning rescue from high altitudes is completely spurious.

Moreover, it should be noted that while the joint final report does not describe any of the death cases, it also does not deny that deaths occurred. On page 25 of the original, it says: “In conclusion, we must make it particularly clear that, in view of the extreme experimental conditions in this whole experimental series, no fatality and no lasting injury due to oxygen lack occurred.” (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.) The deaths described in Rascher’s report quoted above were not due to lack of oxygen but were deliberate killings to investigate air embolism.

But even the experiments which Ruff, Romberg, and Weltz admit were planned and performed under their responsibility were highly dangerous to the life and health of the subjects. Both Ruff and Romberg agreed that 12,000 meters was the upper limit of safety and that experiments of the type they performed above that altitude were hazardous. The description of the reaction of the subjects as set forth in the final report proves that the subject suffered severe convulsions and prolonged periods of disorientation. The expert witness Ivy pointed out that the experiments described in the final report of Ruff, Romberg, and Weltz were highly dangerous for the following reasons:

“I consider them to be dangerous because of the prolonged period of unconsciousness to which the subjects were exposed. For example, they were unconscious for periods of around twenty minutes, and they were disoriented for periods of around thirty to ninety minutes. That is a dangerous period of oxygen lack to which to expose the brain. I agree that * * * the electrocardiogram demonstrates that the heart of these subjects was not momentarily affected or significantly affected by this prolonged exposure to oxygen lack. But these experiments do not show, or the results do not show that the cells of the brain were not injured. One of the higher faculties of the brain is learning, and we know that the learning process is rather sensitive to oxygen lack, and the only way to check against the possibility of damage of the learning mechanism by prolonged exposure to oxygen lack would have been to have determined the I. Q. of these subjects or the ability of these subjects to learn before and after the subjects were exposed to such a prolonged period of oxygen lack.” (Tr. p. 9036.)

Dr. Ivy testified that the experiments described in the final report had reached the physiological limit and that work was being done in a very dangerous and hazardous zone as far as the welfare of the experimental subjects was concerned. He said that he should be reluctant to perform such experiments even on himself and that he would prefer to depend upon that degree of accuracy which could be obtained from calculations of the results of animal experiments. (Tr. pp. 9081, 9112, and 9197.)

Finally it should be noted that the experiments were neither necessary nor a scientific success. “Necessity of the State” has been much used by the defendants as if it were a defense. This is clearly unfounded even though necessity, military or otherwise, be assumed. It is to be supposed that each defendant thought there was some necessity to what he was doing. This is no defense. Rascher thought the same thing. It was deemed necessary to incarcerate hundreds of thousands of persons in concentration camps. It was deemed necessary to murder millions of Jews. The slave labor policy was bottomed on necessity. If that is a defense, then these trials lose all meaning. But, on the other hand if it is proved that these experiments were not necessary, not of scientific value, then it makes the guilty even more guilty. The brutal sacrifice of human life was to no avail. And such was the case here. Hippke, Chief of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe, when writing his thanks to Himmler on 8 October 1942 said the following:

“It is true that no conclusions as to the practice of parachuting can be drawn for the time being, as a very important factor, namely, cold has so far not yet been taken into consideration; it places an extraordinary excess burden on the entire body and its vital movements, so that the results in actual practice will very likely prove to be far more unfavorable than in the present experiments.” (NO-289, Pros. Ex. 72.)

When asked his opinion concerning the necessity for the typical experiment described on page 13 of the final report of Ruff, Romberg, and Rascher, the witness Ivy testified:

“I do not believe that it was necessary to do this experiment in order to determine the equipment to supply aviators who have to bail out of an airplane at high altitude.” (Tr. p. 9035.)

The witness Ivy stated further that the information which was obtained by these experiments on concentration camp inmates could have been obtained from animals as indicated by the results of Lutz’ and Wendt’s animal work referred to in the final report. The differences in the reactions of human subjects and animals, as reported by Lutz and Wendt, were not sufficient to warrant the carrying out of these hazardous experiments on human beings. (Tr. p. 9036.)

c. Selections From the Argumentation of the Defense

EXTRACTS FROM THE CLOSING BRIEF FOR DEFENDANT RUFF^[19]

Certainly Dr. Ruff gave his agreement and approval to high-altitude tests with a low-pressure chamber of the Reich Air Ministry being performed by his collaborator of many years, Dr. Romberg, together with Stabsarzt Dr. Rascher, in a concentration camp, using concentration camp inmates as experimental subjects. He agreed after the performance of urgent experiments in the Dachau concentration camp had already been agreed upon in principle and approved by Professor Dr. Hippke and Professor Dr. Weltz.

Therefore, the question arises whether these high-altitude experiments were already illegal for the reason that they were performed on concentration camp inmates.

This question must be denied for only such inmates were used for the experiments as had volunteered for them, or who at least were regarded by Ruff as volunteers and could be regarded as such in view of the whole situation, and no one could reproach him for having erred in this respect because other persons had perhaps deceived him about these facts.

There are, however, some witnesses who apparently maintain that the prisoners used in the Ruff-Romberg experiments were not volunteers. Above all the witnesses Vieweg and Neff are of this opinion.

During his direct examination on 13 December 1946 the witness Vieweg mentioned a series of various experiments which were performed at the Dachau concentration camp. Referring in particular to the high-altitude experiments there, which alone can be considered in the indictment against Dr. Ruff, he states firstly that high-altitude experiments with the low-pressure chamber were performed on 10 patients; “for these experiments frequently patients and also male nurses were used who during the experiments were seen in the corridor of the adjacent hospital ward.”

By this Vieweg apparently wanted to point out that these “patients” and “also the nurses” were not volunteers. These 10 “official experimental subjects” had been well fed and supplied with smokes, but in addition to these 10 so-called “exhibition patients”, a large number of people had been selected from the camp who were again and again sent to the high-altitude experiment institute. That happened to a block leader who probably had pneumonia a few hours later and ended in the sick bay mortuary. The same happened in the malaria department of the witness Vieweg. One day a patient who had some differences with Zill, the leader of the camp, concerning protective custody, was sent to the experimental institute, and he (Vieweg) found him in the mortuary the next day. He (Vieweg) knows by hearsay that, “a great number of patients who took part in these experiments died, and ended up in the sick bay mortuary.” (German Tr. p. 476.)

Between the lines of this rather obscure and vague statement one may read that, according to Vieweg’s statement, these further experimental subjects, and especially those who had died during the experiments, did not belong to the 10 “official experimental subjects” and had not been volunteers. However, in the direct examination by the prosecution the witness Vieweg did not express himself explicitly about this alleged compulsion of the so-called experimental subjects.

During the cross-examination by the defense counsel of Dr. Romberg, the witness Vieweg explained his expression, the “10 exhibition patients”. (German Tr. p. 485.) The 10 selected patients who were used for the high-altitude tests had been accommodated in a special room and had been well nourished; they had been exhibited, and they had been presented to Himmler during one of his visits. Himmler made them big promises; if they survived, they would be set free * * * these 10 patients had been drawn into the experiments * * * they had told him (Vieweg) that they were very exhausted by the whole affair, but as far as he could remember “they all survived” (German Tr. pp. 486, 489). On being questioned the witness Vieweg repeatedly stated (German Tr. pp. 486, 487, 489), that as far as he could remember Dr. Rascher had carried out the experiments himself. The only thing Vieweg could state about participation of “Luftwaffe officers” in these high-altitude experiments, was that some Luftwaffe officers “had also been there”. But he could not say anything about the actual participation of the Luftwaffe officers. From the description on page 501 (German Transcript) these two gentlemen of the Luftwaffe certainly were not identical with Buff and Romberg. He himself (Vieweg) had only talked with these 10 official experimental subjects, the so-called “exhibition patients”, but not with any of the other experimental subjects. He himself had never observed that these other prisoners were used for high-altitude tests, but he had been told about it frequently. Vieweg repeatedly stated that the 10 official experimental subjects had still been alive at the end of the experiments (German Tr. p. 489), that no deaths had occurred among them.

So much for the statement of the witness Vieweg. It is, of course, unreliable because it does not establish a clear distinction between the high-altitude experiments authorized by Ruff and carried out with the cooperation of Dr. Romberg, and other experiments in the low-pressure chamber which Rascher undertook by order of Himmler, without the authorization or previous knowledge of Dr. Ruff and without the cooperation of Dr. Romberg. This distinction, which is of decisive importance in judging this case, only appears in Vieweg’s statement insofar as the 10 official experimental subjects (the so-called “exhibition patients”) were exclusively used for the first experiments (Ruff-Romberg-Rascher), whereas other prisoners were used for the other experiments (by Rascher alone). Of course, the significance of this distinction was not clear to Vieweg at that time and could not be observed by him because Vieweg did not know anything at all about Dr. Ruff’s activity and since he did not know anything at all about the agreements which had been reached between Dr. Ruff and Dr. Rascher.

Apart from these obscurities one has to regard the statement of the witness Vieweg with the greatest reserve for another reason. Vieweg is the witness who, with unusual unscrupulousness, committed plain perjury in the sessions of 13 and 16 December 1946. He tried first (German Tr. p. 474) to give the impression that he had been sent to the concentration camp without any reason, that he had been committed for “political protective security”. This representation of the witness Vieweg is completely in accordance with his previous behavior, because formerly he had generally pretended to be politically persecuted—an innocent man who had been thrown into a concentration camp without ever having learned the reason. Under this false pretense he offered himself as witness for this trial, and because of this misrepresentation he was presented as a witness by the prosecution whom he had deceived. However, during cross-examination, Vieweg had to admit that in 1934 he was sentenced to 4 and to 6 years’ penal servitude for forgery of documents and fraud, that is to say for common crimes which, as a rule, have nothing to do with politics. On repeated questioning the witness Vieweg stated again and again (German Tr. pp. 483 ff.) that he could not remember having received any other previous conviction in addition to those 4 and 6 years’ penal servitude. He insisted on this statement, even though he had been repeatedly reminded that he was under oath. His stereotype phrase was, he could not remember; he even emphasized that he had deposed to this or that under oath (German Tr. p. 484), and he continued to insist on his statement, even though he was told that his previous convictions could be determined without difficulty since his files had been sent for.

Now, let us compare the testimony given under oath with the list of convictions of the witness Vieweg, which was submitted as Document Ruff 24.

Besides the 4 and 6 years of penal servitude which he admitted, the witness Vieweg received in reality not less than 6 prison terms prior to 1934, among them 5 years’ penal servitude and 5 years’ loss of civil rights for repeated grave thefts.

This extract from the penal register shows why the witness Vieweg had such a “bad memory”. He never was politically persecuted, as he pretended to be, but he is the type of incorrigible professional criminal who could not be changed or educated even by the most severe penalty. If anybody deserved to be sent to a concentration camp it was this Vieweg. But even the 5 years he spent in the concentration camp did not help. For now he is again in prison, in Bamberg, where charges were brought against him on 5 March 1947 at the District Court for forgery of documents and fraud, as well as for five cases of repeated theft, for attempted abortion, for active bribery, and for black market dealings.

This incorrigible professional criminal allowed himself to be presented here as a star witness for the prosecution against an honorable, blameless citizen, as which Dr. Ruff emerged in the course of this trial. Can the Court base its verdict on the statements of a person like Vieweg, who on top of everything shamelessly lied to the Tribunal and committed the worst possible perjury.

The other witness presented by the prosecution for the Dachau experiments is Walter Neff.^[20] He is at present in the Dachau camp for war criminals and will soon have to stand trial himself before the American Tribunal, for experiments in which he took an active part. This witness Neff, who not only continuously participated in the successful experiments of Dr. Romberg, but also in the inhuman freezing experiments, in the deadly “severe experiments” of Rascher, and who cooperated in many other cruelties, is, I think the last who should appear as a witness against a man like Dr. Ruff, or condemn him.

Let us recall what this witness said about himself at the close of his testimony. According to his own admission, he produced three prisoners (a certain Robert Wagner, a prisoner named Hutterer, and a man named Sammendinger) for deadly experiments, on his own initiative without being ordered to do so. According to his own testimony, he delivered these three people over to a violent death; he murdered them. It is characteristic of his ethics that he even boasted of this act here in the courtroom! (German Tr. pp. 737-739.) That does not trouble his conscience, as he himself declared under oath (German Tr. p. 737); he is just the type of those inmates who, to quote his own words “were often worse than the SS in their cruelty and brutality”. (German Tr. p. 737.) That is the second witness who was presented against Dr. Ruff by the prosecution. The one, an unscrupulous swindler, an incorrigible habitual criminal, an old jailbird; and the other a murderer many times over whose hands are stained with much blood—a murderer who boasts that he has no conscience. Is the Court to lend credence to such people? These witnesses quite obviously believed they would be able to elude the hangman’s noose by saddling other defendants with untrue, fabricated statements.

All those facts are a warning that Neff’s testimony, too, must be regarded with considerable caution. At any rate, his testimony has a certain importance for Dr. Ruff inasmuch as Neff (German Tr. p. 652) confirms that Dr. Ruff was in Dachau only on one single occasion during the high-altitude experiments. Thus the truth of Dr. Ruff’s own testimony has been established. Furthermore, the witness Neff, states in his testimony of 17 December 1946 that “10 prisoners, designated as permanent experimental subjects, were taken to the station and told that nothing would happen to them; they were especially assured of this”. (German Tr. p. 711.) The witness Neff then told of the killing of the 16 Russians who were sentenced to death and who were murdered by Dr. Rascher. However, according to Dr. Neff, this act was carried out by Dr. Rascher together with the two members of the SS, while Dr. Romberg was not even present on that day. (German Tr. pp. 654, 656.) Special importance must be attached to the witness Neff’s further assertion regarding a Jewish tailor who worked in the sick bay. Neff called Dr. Romberg’s attention to the fact that this man was not sentenced to death, and Romberg thereupon immediately went to Rascher with Neff in order “to set matters straight”. Upon intervention by Dr. Romberg, Rascher then actually sent the tailor back; when the accompanying SS man again threatened the Jew, Rascher again intervened and “immediately had the man (the tailor) brought to safety in the bunker”. (German Tr. p. 655.) Again, in the case of a second inmate, a Czech, who wrongly and without his consent had been brought in for the experiments, Dr. Romberg, according to Neff’s report, intervened on behalf of the prisoner, with the result that Dr. Rascher entered a complaint against the criminal SS man with the camp commander, Piorkowski. Thereupon, the SS man was immediately transferred to Lublin. In that way the Czech was saved from certain death by Dr. Romberg.

This testimony of the witness Neff plays an important part in answering the question whether or not the experimental subjects used were volunteers, and also, what Dr. Romberg, and therefore Dr. Ruff, knew about them and what Dr. Romberg’s attitude was toward this question. In this connection, Neff said: “Romberg, Ruff’s deputy, therefore, did not want any dangerous experiments. He tolerated no murder and considered only experiments with volunteers.”

However, the further assertions of the witness Neff suffer from the same shortcomings as those of the witness Vieweg; for Neff also did not know that only part of the high-altitude experiments in Dachau were carried out with the approval of Dr. Ruff and Dr. Romberg; nor did Neff have any knowledge of the agreements made by the participating physicians, and he therefore treated all high-altitude experiments equally, without distinguishing whether or not Dr. Ruff had agreed to them that there “were 180 to 200 inmates who participated in high-altitude experiments” (German Tr. p. 656) and that “during the altitude flight experiments, 70 to 80 people lost their lives.” These figures may be correct, but they refer to the whole of the Dachau low-pressure chamber experiments; that is, they also include the experiments which Dr. Rascher made on his own authority, without the prior knowledge of Dr. Ruff, and in which alone all the fatalities occurred; while in the legitimate experiments—that is, those approved by Dr. Ruff—no fatality occurred at all. Of course, Neff could not know all this. As he said himself it was impossible for him to distinguish “from whom the order came for the individual experiment, and in whose interest the experiment was made.” (German Tr. p. 715.)

The same shortcoming is demonstrated by Neff’s testimony with regard to the nationality of the experimental subjects (German Tr. pp. 656, 657) and the manner of their “selection”. However, Neff’s testimony does show that the selection of the experimental subjects was carried out in two different ways: For the “dangerous experiments” Rascher ordered the subjects through the local headquarters, and they were produced by the SS; they were therefore people condemned to death (German Tr. p. 663), for the “serial experiments”. On the other hand, and “for most of the other experiments which took place, the people were brought to the experimental station from the blocks, that is, from the camp” (German Tr. p. 657) by the block leaders. (German Tr. p. 663.) These “serial experiments” were obviously the experiments approved by Ruff, and Neff expressly establishes that “volunteers reported for these experiments”! (German Tr. pp. 657, 712.) He even gives the reasons why the prisoners volunteered: As Rascher, and Himmler too, had promised various inmates that, “if they, participated in the experiments, they would be given a better labor assignment”, and as Himmler promised that they might even be released, volunteers reported to Rascher on their own initiative as he went through the camp, without any special efforts being necessary to find volunteers (German Tr. p. 657).

There can be no doubt that these volunteers, estimated by Neff to number about 10, are identical with the 10 “official experimental subjects” or “exhibition patients” mentioned already by the witness Vieweg, and it is noteworthy that Dr. Ruff, too, in his testimony always spoke of 10 or 12, or at the most 15 persons from the very beginning (of course he did not count them himself), who were regularly called in for the high-altitude experiments, and whom he saw himself when he was once present to observe and check the experiments in Dachau. This number Dr. Ruff had mentioned at a time when Neff’s and Vieweg’s testimony was not yet available. He therefore could not have anticipated that these witnesses would confirm his figures as correct.

To be sure, the witness Neff testified in another place (German Tr. p. 666) that the first 10 experimental subjects were not volunteers. But this statement is obviously in direct contradiction to his other testimony which, in the last analysis implied—and could not be interpreted otherwise—that the so-called “10 official experimental subjects” were those prisoners who had voluntarily offered themselves, who were given all possible privileges in return, who were promised rewards for their service by Rascher as well as by Himmler, and who were repeatedly reassured that nothing would happen to them during the experiments. This whole presentation would be incomprehensible if one were to assume that these 10 persons were involuntary subjects as well, that they were simply ordered to take part in the experiments, forced to participate, for them all this would not have been necessary at all, since at that time nobody in a concentration camp would have thought of troubling himself about these people, if they had been forced against their will to take part in the experiments.

In a concentration camp, according to the opinion of Himmler and his men, 1,000 people were of no consequence. Therefore, if efforts were made to obtain these inmates for the experiments, and to get them willingly, if even a Himmler found kind words to say to them and promised them rewards, then as we know today, this can only be explained by the assumption that even in concentration camps, for some reason, it was desirable to obtain voluntary subjects for the experiments and to induce them to go through the experiments voluntarily. This assumption is not refuted by the contrary assertion of Neff (German Tr. p. 666). For 1½ days, during his examination on 17 and 18 December 1947, Neff did not know that these first 10 experimental subjects had not been volunteers. For 1½ days he did not dare to make such an assertion here in the witness box, and only during the cross-examination did he finally go so far as to make this assertion, thereby completely overthrowing his previous statements.

This allegation of the multiple murderer Neff now stands, however, completely isolated. There can be no doubt that, if these statements by Neff were true, it would have been easy for the office of the public prosecutor to produce numerous other witnesses who, likewise, had been inmates of the concentration camp at Dachau, who had perhaps experienced these experiments themselves, or who had spoken to subjects of these experiments or had even observed the experiments. However, not a single outsider, not a single incontestable witness has been produced, although half a year has elapsed since the days when, here in the courtroom, one could not fail to realize to what an unreliable and untrustworthy class persons of the caliber of Vieweg and Neff belong. This fact very strongly indicates that obviously no other witnesses are available, or could be made available, who could confirm that the experimental subjects who were used in the Ruff-Romberg altitude tests were not volunteers. Let the fact be mentioned here, for the sake of comparison, that in the case of the Gebhardt sulfanilamide operations for example, half a dozen incriminating witnesses were brought from Poland and Russia and were interrogated here as witnesses. Why was not a single trustworthy witness produced from among the Dachau experimental subjects and placed in the witness box? Because no one could be found, who could confirm the untrue allegations of a Vieweg and a Neff. On the other hand, during the trial, a whole series of persons who deserve a great deal more belief than Vieweg and Neff affirmed with certainty that all the experimental subjects in the Ruff-Romberg experiments were volunteers, and that from the very beginning the indispensable condition which was demanded and assured was that the subjects would be voluntary.

The witness Dr. Lutz for example, who was introduced by the office of the public prosecutor and therefore recognized by it as a credible witness, confirmed here on oath, “it was a tacit assumption that the criminals would volunteer”; and he added that he could almost say that, in a way, a favor was being conferred upon the criminals, because “they were given a chance of pardon by participating in the experiments,” and it is significant that this witness deposed further: “subsequently, we were very much surprised when, probably during the later stages of the experiments, as far as I recall now, no further mention was made of it,” namely, of the fact that only volunteers were to be used for the altitude experiments (German Tr. p. 320).

These depositions by the witness Dr. Lutz conform in every respect with the general impression received from all the pertinent descriptions. At first, only the altitude experiments approved by Dr. Ruff regarding the problem of “rescue from high altitudes” were carried out. These experiments were not dangerous as proved by their successful outcome; the inmates volunteered for them. Gradually, however, Rascher misused more and more the presence of the chamber in order to conduct his arbitrary experiments on Himmler’s orders for entirely different problems, namely, to conduct his notorious “difficult experiments” which had numerous fatal results. These were Rascher’s more cruel, painful experiments; naturally, no more volunteers reported for these because word was passed quickly through the camp that the experiments which Rascher himself conducted were dangerous, while the mere presence and cooperation of Dr. Romberg gave assurance to the inmates that his experiments were conscientiously conducted and were not dangerous.

Other witnesses also, not named by Dr. Ruff, have confirmed that the experimental subjects for the Ruff-Romberg high-altitude experiments were voluntary, namely, the witness Dr. Hielscher (German Tr. pp. 6025-26, 6041, 6062). Testimony on similar lines is given by the codefendant Sievers (German Tr. pp. 5471, 5881); and Dr. Hippke (German Tr. p. 793) “Prisoners who might volunteer”; (German Tr. p. 795) “these persons had to volunteer for the experiments.” Also the witness Karl Wolff, (Ruff 21, Ruff Ex. 20) “volunteer concentration camp inmates who were to be given compensatory privileges * * * the inmates, about 10 in number, appeared quite relaxed and, in their turn, willingly entered the low-pressure chamber which had been driven up * * * the inmates reported to Himmler, in my presence, that in this manner they could at least voluntarily * * * give a proof of their genuine good will * * * I never learned through Himmler, nor, as far as I remember, by any other means that later low-pressure chamber experiments * * * took place on a nonvoluntary basis * * * I only knew about voluntarily low-pressure chamber experiments and these were made, without doubt, on a voluntary basis.” Finally, the witness Herbert Wilschewske (Ruff 11, Ruff Ex. 9).

While the previous witness Wolff was only present for 1 day during the experiments, the witness Wilschewske, during the 2 years he spent in the concentration camp, spoke repeatedly to inmates who “had volunteered for the medical experiments”, and who, by reason of his repeated conversations with the prisoners, could give the following as reason for the willingness to volunteer for experiments “they could earn thereby their own liberty and rehabilitation as well as privileges for their family.” The witness Wilschewske is certainly an absolutely reliable witness with regard to his statements. He is a Polish Communist, served 2 years in Dachau concentration camp for this, and was proved to be only a political prisoner.

If one considers all these statements by witnesses, which certify that the experimental subjects in the Dachau high-altitude experiments of Drs. Ruff and Romberg were volunteers, it cannot be doubted that the concordant statements by Dr. Ruff, Dr. Romberg, and Dr. Weltz were absolutely true. They are defendants, it is true; but from all sides testimony is given of their irreproachable professional integrity. Although they are now sitting in the dock, their precise and clear statements deserve far more belief than the changing and contradictory statements of a habitual criminal who has committed downright perjury in this Court, or of a murderer who is actually more deserving of a place in this dock than these defendants are.

The correctness of this conception is confirmed again on the one hand by the fact—already mentioned in another connection—that Dr. Romberg, as has been proved repeatedly, actively intervened and prevented the use of experimental subjects for experiments by Rascher when he could see that nonvoluntary experimental subjects were to be used, and on the other hand, it was known that in the high-altitude experiments which Dr. Ruff had carried out with Dr. Romberg only voluntary experimental subjects could be used, and only with voluntary experimental subjects could the experiments succeed. The whole idea of this type of high-altitude experiment (the Ruff-Romberg method) was based on the theory that the experimental subject, immediately on recovering from the state of unconsciousness—the “high-altitude malady”—reaches up with his arm and pulls down the handle of the parachute, which in practice reduces the speed of the fall, insuring the flier of a smooth landing on the ground. All this necessitated active cooperation on the part of the experimental subject; one was absolutely dependent on his cooperation, otherwise each of these experiments would have been useless right from the start. Naturally, Dr. Ruff knew this, as did Dr. Romberg, and therefore for them the first and most important condition for each experiment of this type was that the experimental subject should be voluntary (see Ruff’s statement in German Tr. pp. 6638-40). There are therefore also important inherent reasons why the statements by Ruff and Romberg are correct.

Actually the high-altitude experiments carried out in Dachau were successful. They were of considerable help in clarifying the problem of “rescue from great heights”, and this was only possible when the experimental subjects themselves cooperated when they took part in the experiments voluntarily and took an interest in them. This was, by the way, also the reason why this type of high-altitude experiment could not be made with animals as experimental subjects, a fact which, for example, Ruff and Romberg pointed out in their summary report of 28 July 1942. (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66.)

I come, therefore, to the following conclusion: There can be no doubt that the experimental subjects for the Dachau high-altitude experiments were volunteers, at least as far as the experiments authorized by Ruff are concerned. Whether volunteers reported for the special experiments continued by Dr. Rascher or whether the prisoners were forced into the experiments by Dr. Rascher does not need to be examined, because Ruff and Romberg did not participate in those experiments in any way. But even if any doubt as to their being volunteers were possible, it cannot be denied that Ruff and Romberg were firmly convinced that all their experimental subjects actually were volunteers. This was stipulated from the very beginning, and in all the discussions of Dr. Ruff with Hippke, Weltz, and the representative of the SS, Ruff was consequently convinced that only volunteers were actually concerned.

Dr. Ruff’s conviction was strengthened through personal conversation with various prisoners on that day on which he himself went to Dachau to control the execution of the experiments and to ascertain that everything was carried out in a completely orderly manner. And finally in this connection it cannot be overlooked that Dr. Ruff, as he has stated under oath and as is confirmed by numerous affidavits, had never at any other time in his life worked with nonvoluntary experimental subjects. Just because he considered it indispensable for the success of the experiments that the experimental subjects were volunteers, that they themselves cooperate, Dr. Ruff never thought that the Dachau prisoners were not fully and completely in agreement with the experiments.

It is obvious that the voluntary character of these experimental subjects, whether an actual fact or whether Dr. Ruff deluded himself into believing that this was the case, does not in itself relieve him of all responsibility. On the contrary, Dr. Ruff himself is of the opinion that, besides voluntariness, several other conditions would have to be fulfilled before the experiments and the way in which they were performed could be considered lawful:

1. The experiment would have to be necessary, particularly necessary in the interests of aviation and thus essential to the fatherland’s war effort. This condition is obviously fulfilled. This is confirmed above all by the statement of the witness Dr. Hippke who stated that it was Dr. Ruff’s duty to work on the research tasks assigned to him by the Medical Inspectorate of the Luftwaffe and to submit reports on them to the Medical Inspectorate.

The experiments carried out by Ruff were necessary, for “high-altitude experiments in particular have been undertaken intensively in America, too, because the question of pressure drop [Drucksturz] and the cabin development is of particular importance.” (Ruff 23, Ruff Ex. 22.) Dr. Hippke developed this point of view not only during the trial but stated it very clearly in his letter to Himmler, dated as early as 8 October 1942 (NO-289, Pros. Ex. 72), where he writes: “These-experiments represent a very valuable and important supplement. The fact that such an extreme deficiency of oxygen can be endured at all for some time is very encouraging for further research.” Dr. Hippke’s opinion about the necessity of the high-altitude experiments is therefore extremely important because Hippke was the highest official expert in that field in Germany at that time.

But most of all, the absolute necessity of Ruff’s experiments is acknowledged by all experts who testified in this trial in connection with these problems. I recall, for example, the statements of the witness Dr. Scheiber that “at a later judgment of Dr. Ruff’s scientific work, his name will be remembered together with the names of all of those well-known scientific research workers who, by personal, devoted, and heroic effort, rendered immeasurable service to the advance of science and therewith to the welfare of humanity.” Professor Dr. Strughold expresses himself in a similar way in his affidavit. He was chief of a German institute for aviation medicine for several years and writes concerning Dr. Ruff that “he (Ruff) can be considered as a man who surpasses by far many academically proficient and recognized scientists as far as scientific experience and scientific success is concerned.” Of particular importance, however, seems to be the opinion of Dr. Grauer, who is at present in America as a research worker and experimenter in matters of aviation medicine.

According to the opinion of the Air Force General, Adolf Galland, and the statements of all the other experts, it is an established fact that the Dachau experiments of Dr. Ruff and Dr. Romberg were absolutely necessary.

This necessity does not cease to exist because the people concerned realized that with this first series of experiments, carried out in Dachau in the spring of 1942, the problem in question (rescue from high altitudes) was not yet entirely solved. Ruff and Romberg pointed out in their final report of 28 July 1942, that the “danger of freezing has to be considered.” On the basis of this final report the medical inspector, Dr. Hippke, later pointed out in his letter to Himmler of 10 October 1942 (NO-289, Pros. Ex. 72) that in the Dachau high-altitude experiments of Ruff and Romberg of spring 1942, “a very important factor was not yet taken into consideration, namely freezing.” He remarked, however, at the same time that “the necessary supplementary work was started meanwhile.” Hippke did not leave any doubt that this fact would not impair the value and the importance of the Dachau high-altitude experiments, which he stressed; for it is in the nature of such experiments that both parts of the problem, high altitude and freezing temperatures, cannot be dealt with simultaneously, but that at first only one part must be considered, then the other. This was Ruff’s plan from the very beginning, and the special experiments with regard to the influence of freezing temperatures on descent from high altitudes were carried out according to plan in the Berlin institute of Dr. Ruff in the summer and fall of 1942. (Compare this with Dr. Grauer’s affidavit of 28 January 1947.)

Another prerequisite for the justification of the high-altitude experiments undertaken by Ruff and Romberg lies in the requirement that the experiments should not be extended any further than is necessary for the solution of the problems presented. This requirement, too, was fulfilled by Dr. Ruff. It is confirmed by his own testimony (German Tr. p. 6704), as well as by the testimony of Dr. Romberg (German Tr. pp. 6879-80), that Dr. Romberg was sent by Dr. Ruff to Dachau with a definite program which carefully outlined the kind as well as the extent of the experiments to be carried out. Only the problem of “rescue from high altitude” was to be investigated. Only experiments for this purpose were ordered by Dr. Ruff. Dr. Romberg was not allowed to undertake experiments for any other purposes, and the experiments were to be carried on only until either the problem was solved or its solution found impossible. Had Dr. Romberg not adhered to this program, which had been strictly outlined, had he carried out further experiments behind Dr. Ruff’s back, the latter could in no case have been responsible for them. Since he was not told of such further experiments by Dr. Romberg, he could not stop them. However, it must be stated expressly that Dr. Romberg adhered to Dr. Ruff’s orders; he did not carry out more extensive experiments than he had been permitted and had been ordered; this was done alone and solely by Dr. Rascher. The latter, however, was in no way subordinated to Dr. Ruff, nor to Dr. Romberg; moreover, he would certainly not have taken any orders from either of them. The final report Ruff-Romberg-Rascher of 28 July 1942 (NO-402, Pros. Ex. 66) furnishes clear proof of the fact that Dr. Ruff and Dr. Romberg were at all times conscious of their duty to restrict experiments to the extent which seemed absolutely necessary in order to explore a problem which was all-important at the time and to carry out no experiments which could not be considered especially important and of great consequence.

Even the introduction to this report of 28 July 1942 is significant for the delineation of the tasks set for these experiments. It reads: “Considering the urgency of finding a practical solution to this important problem [the rescue of airplane crews from high altitude], particularly in view of the prevailing experimental conditions, it was necessary to forego for the time being a detailed clarification of the purely scientific problems involved.” Here the basic tendency of all the experiments finds its clear expression. Only such practical requirements of aviation which could not be postponed during time of war should be solved, while investigations of purely scientific nature, without great practical significance, were to be excluded. This restriction of solutions sought demonstrates that the scientists in question (Ruff and Romberg) were not subject to the unbridled desire for experimentation which may be found in people of Rascher’s type.