Jewish Children Killed in Neuengamme Experiments

April 20th, 1945

April 20th, 1945

Jewish Children Killed in Neuengamme Experiments
How Long Ago?

79 years, 10 months, 23 days ago

Location

Hamburg, Germany

Category

Health & Medicine

War/Conflict

World War II

People
  • Dr. Kurt Buehler
Links & References
Tags

Jewish Children Killed in Neuengamme Experiments

At the Bullenhuser Damm school, twenty Jewish children, mostly from the Theresienstadt ghetto, were murdered after being subjected to medical experiments by Nazi doctors. On this day, as Allied forces closed in on Neuengamme concentration camp, the children, ages 5 to 12, were transported to the school where they were killed in the basement, a grim act intended to eliminate evidence of their suffering and the experiments conducted on them.

Children aged 5-12 were victims of medical tests.

They were from Theresienstadt ghetto in Czech.

Executed in the Bullenhuser Damm school basement.

Final days of WWII as Allies approached Germany.

What Happened?

In the final days of World War II, as Allied troops advanced into German territory, a horrific act occurred at the Bullenhuser Damm school in Hamburg. The prisoners were children who had endured inhumane medical experiments at the Neuengamme concentration camp. These experiments were a part of the larger context of Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust, aimed at justifying their racial ideologies under the guise of medical research. The children, primarily Jewish and taken from the Theresienstadt ghetto, became subjects of a cruel and systematic plan by Dr. Kurt Buehler and his colleagues, who were desperate to cover their tracks as the war reached its conclusion.

After being subjected to various medical tests, which included horrific treatments, these children were transported to the local school on the day of the incident. Once there, Nazi personnel murdered them in the basement to prevent any witnesses from coming forward after the war. A total of twenty children lost their lives that day, emphasizing the lengths to which the Nazi regime would go to erase evidence of their inhumane actions. The bodies were then taken to a nearby cemetery, where they were disposed of in a mass grave in a desperate attempt to hide the realities of their crimes.

This act of violence against innocent children reflects the depths of depravity reached during the Holocaust, with the murders occurring just days before the fall of Nazi Germany. The Bullenhuser Damm incident stands as a significant part of the broader framework of Nazi-sponsored medical atrocities, shedding light on the intersection of war, medicine, and human rights violations. It serves as a somber reminder of the dangers of unchecked power and the moral responsibilities that accompany scientific inquiry.

Why Does it Matter?

The Bullenhuser Damm killings highlight the extreme lengths to which Nazi Germany went to conduct medical experiments and suppress information regarding their brutalities. This act exemplifies the brutal policies that culminated in the Holocaust and raises essential questions about the ethics of medical experimentation. The repercussions of this atrocity continue to resonate today, influencing ethical standards in medical research and human rights advocacy.

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