10 Shocking Secret Nazi Programs That Actually Existed

10-Unbelievable-Shocking-Secret-Nazi-Programs

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be discussing the most disturbing and infamous political implementations of the Nazi regime.

Testing Seawater

The doctors and scientists of Nazi-era Germany had various reasons for conducting their experiments. One of their foremost objectives was to enhance the strength and resilience of the German Army. As a result, doctors such as Hans Eppinger conducted experiments in prison camps like Dachau, in an attempt to devise a means by which common seawater could be made drinkable for German soldiers. They force fed prisoners diets consisting solely of seawater, without giving them any food. The end results were quite predictable, with every test subject so desperate for fresh water that they’d seek out any source for relief from their pain.

Chemical Exposure

The threat of chemical warfare was still very much a valid concern during World War II. As such, Germany often sought out ways to dampen or avoid the potential impacts of such attacks on its soldiers. Prisoners in the concentration camps were unfortunately made the guinea pigs for unethical experiments involving chemicals like phosgene. This dangerous gas, which was previously used in World War I, was deliberately administered to some prisoners, to allow German doctors observe its effects. Many of these individuals died as a result of this phosgene exposure, especially due to the fact that they were already dehydrated and malnourished.

Battle Wound Simulation

Due to the injuries and resulting infections German soldiers constantly faced on the frontlines during the war, Nazi doctors sought ways to effectively curb these infections. One major example of this occurred at the Ravensbrück concentration camp, where physicians replicated battlefield-like wounds on prisoners. They would then embed glass shards and wood shavings into the wounds, an intense and painful process. Injuries of this sort often became gangrenous and sometimes led to the deaths of the prisoners. However, this was all intentional, as the doctors aimed to study the spread of these infections and develop the right medicine to treat them on the battlefield.

Bone Grafts

This was yet another chilling example of the extreme length Nazi physicians would stoop to in order to facilitate their grim research. Ravensbrück was a notorious prisoner camp that primarily housed women, yet it was also a complete house of horrors. This was due to the gruesome transplants and grafts that took place within its walls. Prisoners were forced to have their limbs amputated, so that other body parts could be transplanted in their place, and many were left with permanent disabilities. These horrific experiments were conducted to determine whether proper regeneration would occur in wounded soldiers returning from battle.

Intentional Infections

It’s a truly perverse situation; one where the person who infected you with a sickness is also administering treatment. Prisoners at the Nazi concentration camps were often infected with diseases such as malaria, hepatitis or typhoid. This was done so that Nazi doctors could then test the efficacy of certain antibiotics. Of course, the fact that many of these subjects died before any real recovery could take place was of little consequence to these “doctors.” Heinrich Himmler himself reportedly had his Nazi physicians artificially inseminate women at the Auschwitz death camp, in the hopes of discovering a cure for infertility.

High Altitude Testing

Prisoners selected to be a part of Nazi experiments held out little hope that participation might lead to their release. More often than not, they were right. One particularly infamous experiment was the high altitude testing conducted to simulate the pressure experienced by German pilots upon ejection. These tests would quite often lead to the death of the subject, thanks to the immense physical pressure and pain. Those who survived were killed anyway, and a new group of test subjects would be introduced. In addition, further gruesome tests were conducted on prisoners of color, in order to determine whether specific races held any innate immunity to diseases such as tuberculosis.

Hypothermia Tests

It’s perhaps one of the most well-known examples of Axis-era brutality, to the point where it was even dramatized in films such as 1988’s “Men Behind the Sun.” Doctors at prisoner camps such as Dachau conducted harrowing experiments on prisoners, in an attempt to replicate the freezing conditions German soldiers might encounter on the frontlines. These victims would essentially be put into a state of forced hypothermia, usually by icy water or being left outside in the cold. Doctors would then attempt to reverse the prisoners’ condition via hot water baths or even sex, in order to increase body temperature and heart rate.

Lebensborn

The Nazi party was constantly seeking ways to increase the Aryan population in Germany, and Heinrich Himmler’s Lebensborn program sought to expedite the process. This was a state-funded association that focused on promoting as many Aryan births as possible within Germany’s borders. It was achieved in a number of ways, from the provision of welfare services to struggling, unwed mothers to prestigious awards being offered to the most fruitful families. Lebensborn birth houses were even constructed to properly care for these Aryan children and their mothers, while abortions were encouraged for those with disabilities or physical traits of a non-Germanic nature.

T4 Program

Forced euthanasia. This was essentially the motive behind Germany’s T4 program. The Nazi-era initiative was only “officially” on the books from 1939 to 1941, but reports allege that it continued to be implemented until Hitler’s downfall. T4 was framed as delivering a “mercy killing” for the sick, old or mentally infirm. However, the Nazi party’s interest in eugenics would further widen T4 to target anyone deemed by the state as “unfit to live.” It’s a shockingly brazen and subjective move, one that was labeled by Hitler as a wartime measure. Modern lenses, however, simply see it as yet another attempt by the Nazi party at total control of the Germanic populace.

Propagation Experiments

The name Josef Mengele is another that’s been entered into the unhallowed halls of Nazi-era cruelty and infamy. This “Angel of Death” was one of the architects of the Holocaust, alongside Heinrich Himmer, and tragically evaded the hands of justice after the war. Mengele’s brutal prison camp experiments knew no bounds of decency or morality, as evidenced by his demonic propagation procedures. His so-called “research” at Auschwitz largely focused on twins, with the intent of uncovering any connections between fertility and multiple births. After he was through collecting the data from the experiments, Mengele would then discard the innocent lives as if they were mere refuse. These horrific actions have immortalized him as one of history’s most monstrous figures.

How do we come to terms with pure evil? What do you think influenced the mindsets of these wartime atrocities? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.