True Crime-Paranormal-Conspiracy Theories Stories Part V #Wattys2023

Josef Mengele

Josef Rudolf Mengele ( (); 16 March 1911 – 7 February 1979), also known as the Angel of Death (: Todesengel), was a German (SS) officer and physician during . He performed at the concentration camp, where he was a member of the team of doctors who selected victims to be , and was one of the doctors who administered the gas.

Before the war, Mengele received doctorates in and medicine, and began a career as a researcher. He joined the in 1937 and the SS in 1938. He was assigned as a battalion medical officer at the start of World War II, then transferred to the service in early 1943 and assigned to Auschwitz, where he saw the opportunity to conduct genetic research on human subjects. His experiments focused primarily on twins, with no regard for the health or safety of the victims. With troops sweeping through , Mengele was transferred 280 kilometres (170 mi) from Auschwitz to the on 17 January 1945, ten days before the arrival of the forces at Auschwitz.

After the war, Mengele fled to in July 1949, assisted by a . He initially lived in and around , then fled to in 1959 and in 1960, all while being sought by , , and such as , who wanted to bring him to trial. Mengele eluded capture in spite of extradition requests by the West German government and clandestine operations by the Israeli intelligence agency . He drowned in 1979 after suffering a stroke while swimming off the coast of , and was buried under the false name of Wolfgang Gerhard. His remains were disinterred and positively identified by forensic examination in 1985.

Early life[]

Mengele was born into a Catholic family in , on 16 March 1911, the eldest of three sons of Walburga ( Hupfauer) and Karl Mengele. His two younger brothers were Karl Jr. and Alois. Their father was founder of the Karl Mengele & Sons company (later renamed as []), which produced farming machinery. Mengele was successful at school and developed an interest in music, art, and skiing. He completed high school in April 1930 and went on to study philosophy in , where the headquarters of the were located. He attended the , where he took his medical preliminary examination. In 1931 he joined , a organization that was absorbed into the Nazi ('Storm Detachment'; SA) in 1934. In 1935, Mengele earned a in anthropology from the . In January 1937, he joined the in , where he worked for , a German with a particular interest in researching twins.

As Von Verschuer's assistant, Mengele focused on the genetic factors that result in a , or a . His on the subject earned him a doctorate in medicine () from the in 1938. (Both of his degrees were revoked by the issuing universities in the 1960s.) In a letter of recommendation, Von Verschuer praised Mengele's reliability and his ability to verbally present complex material in a clear manner. The American author notes that Mengele's published works were in keeping with the scientific mainstream of the time, and would probably have been viewed as valid scientific efforts even outside .

On 28 July 1939, Mengele married Irene Schönbein, whom he had met while working as a medical resident in . Their only son, Rolf, was born in 1944.

Military service[]

The ideology of brought together elements of , , and , and combined them with and territorial with the goal of obtaining more (living space) for the Germanic people. Nazi Germany attempted to obtain this new territory by attacking Poland and the Soviet Union, intending to deport or kill the and living there, who were considered by the Nazis to be inferior to the .

Mengele joined the Nazi Party in 1937 and the (SS; 'Protection Squadron') in 1938. He received basic training in 1938 with the ('light infantry mountain troop') and was called up for service in the (Nazi armed forces) in June 1940, some months after the outbreak of World War II. He soon volunteered for medical service in the , the combat arm of the SS, where he served with the rank of SS- ('second lieutenant') in a medical reserve battalion until November 1940. He was next assigned to the ('SS Race and Settlement Main Office') in , evaluating candidates for .