"1. I was born on 18 July 1910 in Ludwigshafen. I studied medicine at the Universities of Heidelberg, Innsbruck, and Berlin. In the summer of 1940 I joined the Luftwaffe. At first I was an Unterarzt with a Flyer Selection Group.
"2. In August 1941 I was transferred to Berlin and became an assistant to Anthony who was Chief of the Referat, Aviation Medicine. This department deal with all questions concerning aviation medicine and reported to the Chief of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe. We consulted with scientists about aviation medical problems and saw to it that the results of their work were applied to a practical use. We received reports from such scientists, flight surgeons, institutes, and consulting surgeons and doctors of the Luftwaffe. I saw reports from Dr. Eugen Haagen, Oberstabsarzt of the Luftwaffe, although he was working primarily for the Hygiene Referat under Dr. Siegfried Atmer. Generalarzt Gerhardt Rose was perhaps the most important figure in the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe as far as hygienic problems were concerned.
"3. The Aviation Medicine Referat had the letter designation "2 II B" when I was attached to that office in August 1941. This designation stood for "Abteilung 2, Gruppe II, Referat B." In the winter of 1942-43, the letter designation of the Aviation Medicine Referat was changed to "2F", as I recall. It remained "2 F" until about January 1944 when it became known as "2 II A". The work of the office was the same during all of this time; and the change in letter designation merely reflected reorganization of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe."
Now, your Honors may wonder what the significance of these letter designations of the Officer for Aviation Medicine in the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe is; but you will see on some of the documents to be introduced at a later stage in the trial that these letters, these letter designations, will appear on some of the documents and they will have considerable significance with regard to the case against Becker-Freyseng and also Mr. Schroeder because they will indicate that this office, the Office for Aviation Medicine, was concerned with particular matters stated in that letter.
I just would like to sum up: When we see the letter designation "2 II B" of "2 F" or "2 II A," we know that it is referring to the Department of Aviation Medicine in the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe and that it is in effect the same department that Becker-Freyseng was attached to through the whole period in which we are interested, succeeding in May, he says, of 1944 as chief of the department and prior to that time as chief assistant to Anthony.
"4. When I first joined the Luftwaffe, Hippke was Chief of the Inspectorat of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe (Inspekteur des Luftwaffe Sanitaetswesens). Schroeder, at that time, was Chief Medical Officer of Air Fleet 2 and held the rank of Generalstibsarzt. Schroeder held the highest rank in the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe other than Hippke. Schroeder became Chief of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe in January 1944.
"5. At the Nurnberg Conference held in October 1942, Dr. Holzloehner gave a report on the freezing experiments conducted at Dachau in cooperation with Dr. Rascher. Anthony was Chairman of the meeting. As a result of Holzloehner's report and others given at the conference, we issued instructions to Flight Surgeons that the warm bath method was to be used in reviving aviators who had been severely chilled. I knew that prior to the Nurnberg Conference Holzoehner was experimenting with Rascher in Dachau on freezing problems. I also knew that Ruff and Romberg had conducted certain low pressure experiments at Dachau in cooperation with Rascher. It was fairly well known that these men were experimenting on concentration camp inmates. Dr. Kalk told me that he had seen Rascher in Milch's office at the RLM, and we were both very surprised at this."
Dr. Kalk, your Honors, as you will probably not recall, appeared on the chart which we submitted in evidence showing the organization of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe. He was a consulting physician or hygienist, as I recall.
"6. After Dr. Rostock took his position under Dr. Karl Brandt, he was possibly the highest authority on science and research in Germany. All branches of the armed forces reported experiments and research to him and he summarized the reports and gave them to Brandt for approval. Handloser, as Chief of the Medical Services of the Armed Forces, also had to be entirely familiar with the research work which was being conducted by the Army, Navy, and Luftwaffe.
We were ordered to report to these men all research assignments of scientists working for us so that duplication of work could be eliminated.
"(Signed) Hermann Becker-Freyseng."
I may say that the defendant Becker-Freyseng was certainly in a position to know whereof he speaks since it was the Department for Aviation Medicine which assigned a great number of the research tasks in the Luftwaffe.
Now, your Honors, the next documents appearing on Pages 10 and 11 of the document book are simply inserted as a matter of convenient reference for the Tribunal. The document on Page 11, you will remember, was submitted this morning; and it is the letter from Milch to Dr. Wolff, stating that "Major Weltz will be charged with the execution and Captain Rascher will be made available until further orders" to carry out the freezing experiments at Dachau.
JUDGE SEBRING: Mr. McHaney, can you tell me quickly what exhibit that is?
MR. MCHANEY: That is Exhibit 62, your Honor.
JUDGE SEBRING: Think you. Which one, Mr. McHaney, is 62?
MR. MCHANEY: That is the second letter, dated May 20, 1942. If your Honor please, both of these documents were originally registered as 343-PS. We change the registration to 343A-PS and 343B-PS in order that we could split them up and submit them at different points in the trial because we thought the presentation was benefitted by that process.
MR. McHANEY: The next exhibit will be Document NO. 283 and this is Prosecution Exhibit 82. The Tribunal 1 may wish to see this document. It is the first page of a letter:-this is Prosecution Exhibit 82. The Tribunal nay wish to lock at the exhibit. Its tho first page of a letter apparently written by Dr. Rascher to Heinrich Himmler. The exhibit itself contains only the first page. We do not have tho following pages or tie page containing tho signature of Rascher. However, as you can see on the translation tho first page does contain the letterhead "Dr. Medicine Sigmund Rascher. The letter is dated 15 June 1942.
"Esteemed Reichsfuehrer!
"A few days ago I was ordered to a conference with the Inspector of tho Luftwaffe Medical Service Generaloberstabsarzt Professor Dr, Hippke. When I told him that you had not yet received the report concerning the experiments as a whole, and that you still had to give permission for the reporting of the results, he did not ask for any report. The Inspector was extraordinarily kind and asked me, as liaisen man with the SS, to express to you, esteemed Reichsfuehrer, his private thanks for the experiments.
"At the same time, he asked for permission to carry out the cold and water experiments in Dachau, and asked that the following be engaged in these experiments:
"Professor Dr. J a r i s c h , of the University Innsbruck, "Professor Dr. Holzloehner, of Kiel, as well as the Luftwaffe-pathologist "Professor Dr. S i n g e r , of Schwabing Hospital.
(I know Professor Singer personally very well). The inspector designated the experiments as extraordinarily important, as we must count on another winter in the East.
"Later during tho discussion I was asked to inquire of you, esteemed Reichsfuehrer, whether the Gestapo can investigate whether the above-mentioned gentlemen are politically unexceptionable.
"It was also decided that the Inspector would issue orders to me at all times during tho experiments. The Inspector said that he would prefer to approve long-term assignments rather than to free me from the Luftwaffe, as he needed me.
"The water experiments can be started immediately,...."
MR. McHANEY: And there the translation discontinues because we don't have the following page of the letter. An interesting thing to note in connection with this letter, is firstly, the date 15 June 1942 at which time the low-pressure experiments at Dachau were still in process. You will recall that the final report on the low-pressure experiments was dated 28 July 1942 and it is also interesting to note of Rascker's personal conference with Hippke, Chief of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe. Now, thero is no doubt in my mind that a considerable number, if not all of the Luftwaffe defendants in this case, will tell the Tribunal that this was simply an SS matter. The experiments perhaps occurred but they were under the jurisdiction of the Reichsfuehrer SS Heinrich Himmler and that he was a man of such great power that they could raise no voice against him. I think it has been amply demonstrated already that this is not the case; such as they will describe it: that these experiments were the result of cooperation between the SS and the Luftwaffe and that they would have not been possible without such cooperation, but here we see that Rascher has a personal conference with Hippke and mentions the names of some of his collaborators Drs. Jarisch, Helzloehner and Singer who actually did collaborate in the experiments which began on the 15 August 1942. We come now to Document NO 234 which will be Prosecution Exhibit 85.
The letter again from Rascher to Heinrich Himmler dated 10 September 1942 and it indicates that the experiments had already started and attached to it is a report, an Intermediate Report on the Intense Chilling Experiments in Dachau, started on 15 August 1942. No, your Honors, I am in error there. The Report will go in under a separate exhibit number. Letter dated 10 September 1942:
"My dear Reichsfuehrer:
"May I submit in the enclosure the first intermediary report about the freezing experiments.
"In the beginning of October a meeting on the subject of freezing experiments is to take place. Professor Dr. Helzloehner, participating in our Dachau experiments on behalf of the Luftwaffe, wants to give on this occasion an account of the results of our experiments. SS Obersturmbannfuehrer SIEVERS, who surveyed the experiments in Dachau last week, believed that if any report was to be made at a meeting, I should be called upon to submit the report. A discussion with other experts on freezing experiments would surely be very valuable. I therefore request your decision.
"1.) Can a report be made elsewhere before the oral report has been submitted to you, my Reichsleader, "2.) Is my participation in the conference on the subject of the freezing experiments of the Luftwaffe, ordered by you, my Reichsleader?
"I will take care that the report is submitted in the appropriate manner due to a top Secret matter." Signed "Rascher."
MR. McHANEY: The next document 1618 PS is the intermediate report mentioned in the Prosecution's Exhibit 83. 1618 PS will be Prosecution Exhibit 84:
"Intermediate report on Intense Chilling Experiments in the Dachau Concentration Camp, started on 15 August 1942.
Experimental procedure.
"The experimental subjects were placed in the water, dressed in complete flying uniform, winter or summer combination, and with an aviator's helmet. A life jacket make of rubber or kapok was to prevent submerging. The experiments were carried out at water temperatures varying from 2.5 degrees to 12 degrees centigrade. In one experimental series, OCCIPUT and brain stem produced above the water, while in another series of experiments the OCCIPUT, (brain stem) and back of the head were submerged in water.
"Electrical measurements gave low temperature readings of 26.4 degrees in the stemack and 26.5 degrees in the rectum. Fatalities occurred only when the brain stem and the back of the head were also chilled. Autepsies of such fatal cases always revealed large amounts of free blood, up to l/2 Liter, in the cranial cavity. The heart invariable showed extreme dilation of the right chamber. As soon as the temperature in these experiments reached 28 degreed, the experimental subjects died invariable, despite all attempts at resuscitation. The above discussed autopsy finding conclusively proved the importance of a warming protective device for head and OCCIPUT when designing the planned protective clothing of the foam type.
"Other important findings, common in all experiments, to be mentioned. marked increase of the viscosity of the blood, marked increase of hemoglobin, an approximate five-fold increase of the leukocytes, invariable rise of blood sugar to twice its normal value. Aricular fibrillation made its appearance regularly at 30 degrees.
"During attempts to save severely chilled persons, it was shown that rapid re-warming was in all cases preferable to slow re-warming, because after removal from the cold water, the body temperature continued to sind rapidly. I think that for this reason we can dispense with the attempt to save intensely chilled subjects by means of animal heat.
"Re-warning by animal warmth-animal bodies or women's bodies-would be too slow. As auxiliary measures for the prevention of intense chilling, improvements in the clothing of aviators come alone into consideration. The foam suit with suitable neck protector which is being prepared by the German Institution for Textile Research, Munich-Gladbach, Reserves first priority in this connection. The experiments have shown that pharmaceutical measures are probably unnecessary if the flier is still alive at the time of rescue.
MR. McHANEY: Here again, your Honors, in this set of experiments we find that they are continued until certain of the subjects died. The document itself clearly reveals that a number of persons were killed in the early stages of the experiments.
THE PRESIDENT: The tribunal will be recessed.
"A recess was taken)
THE MARSHAL: The Tribunal is again in session.
MR. McHaney; We had cone to document 1611 PS which will be Prosecution Exhibit 83.
TRE PRESIDENT: It is 85.
MR. HcHANEY: You are right, Your Honor, - 85. This is a letter from Heinrich Himmler to Dr. Rascher, dated 22 September, 1942:
"I have received the intermediate report on the subcooling experiments in Camp Dachau."
That refers to the report which I have just read and which is Prosecution Exhibit 84. I will continue.
"Dispite everything, I would so arrange the experiments that all possibilities, prompt warning, medicine, body warning will be executed in positive experiment orders.
Signed: H. Himmerl."
That last paragraph is perhaps a little garbled, Hour Honors, but the meaning is quite clear. You will recall that in the intermediate report Rascher had made the statement that he thought that they could dispense with the attempt to save intensely chilled subjects by means of animal heat. Now in this letter which is Prosecution Exhibit 85 Himmler is in effect ordering Rascher to exhaust all possibilities of re-warming, including body warming, as he puts it, of animal heat. A copy of this letter, it can be seen, want to Sievers, with a request for acknowledgment, and there apparently are not initials on that. However it indicated Lieutenant Colonel, and presumably the letter was forwarded to Rudolf Brandt in the office of Heinrich Himmler, and the Court will recall too that about this tine Dr. Rascher was attached to the Ahnenerbe Society, which is an Institute for Scientific Research, and consequently a copy of this letter, which in effect was an order to Rascher, was sent to his superior, the defendant Sievers.
The next document is No. 285, which will be Prosecution Exhibit 86. It is also a letter from Rascher to Rudolf Brandt. The letter is addressed to " Most Honored Obersturmbannfuehrer ", and is not address by name to the defendant, Rudolf Brandt. The Prosecution takes the position that the letter was in fact addressed to the defendant, Rudolf Brandt. His title at that time was an SS Obersturmbannfuehrer, which is an equivalent rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
The letter is dated 3 October, 1942:
" First of all I want to thank you very much for "the Glass Ocean." That apparently refers to a pointing. "My wife and myself are very happy to possess now a complete set of these books." It was not a painting. "I have already read the book with great interest.
"The Reichsfuehrer-SS wants to be informed of the state of the experiments. I can announce that the experiments have been concluded, with the exception of these on warming with body heat. The final report will be ready in about 5 days. Professor Holzlochner, for reasons that I cannot fathom, does not himself want to make the report to the Reichsfuehrer and has asked mo to attend to it. This report must be made before 20 October, because the great Luftwaffe conference on freezing takes place in Nuernberg on 25 October. The report on the results of our research must be made there, to assure that they can be used in time for the troops. May I ask you to arrange for a decision from the Reichsfuehrer regarding the final report to him, and the submission to him of the relevant material?
"Today I Received your letter of 22 September 42, in which the Reichsfuehrer orders that the experiments on warning through body heat must absolutely be conducted."
That is the letter which has come in as Prosecution Exhibit 85.
"Because of incomplete address it was delayed. Today I asked Obersturmbannfuehrer Sievers to send a telegraph to the camp commander immediately, to the effect that 4 gypsy women be procured at once from another camp."
Your Honors would appreciate the fact that the concentration camp Dachau was reserved almost exclusively for men.
"However, I asked SS Ober-sturmbannfuehrer Sievers to take steps to have the low-pressure chamber ready for use.
"The report to General Field Marshal Milch planned for 11 September could not be made, as you have discovered, because he was prevented from attending, and no representative was commissioned to receive it. As the Reichsfuehrer had not empowered me to report to anyone in the Reich Air Ministry, I abstained from making the report, which rather nettled the gentlemen of the Medical Inspectorate. I immediately informed Obersturmbannfuehrer Sievers.
For the time being the report is being held as a military Secret at the German Experimental Institute for Aviation together with a distribution list prepared by the Reich Air Ministry. The distribution of the copies, however, has not yet taken place, because, as I said, the report has not yet been nade to Milch. I assume that you were informed of this whole business long ago. What shall we do now ?
"I wish to enclose a letter of thanks to the Reichsfuehrer from the former prisoner Neff. At the same time I should like to thank you very much for your efforts; and let me beg you, should opportunity offer, to convey to the Reichsfuehrer my most sincere thanks for his granting of this request. I did not write to the Reichsfuehrer in person, in order not to make any further demands on his valuable time.
With best wishes and Heil Hitler !Yours most sincerely, S. Rascher."
Your Honors are particularly concerned about whether or not this letter was addressed to the defendant, Rudolf Brandt, which I am rather sure he would not deny. You nay refer to paragraph 6 and 7 of his affidavit, which has gone in as exhibit No, 80, and he therein states substantially the facts which are revealed in this letter. I would also like to point out in referring back to the high altitude experiments that the next to the last paragraph in this letter deals with that subject, and of particular interest is the language stating that for the time being the report is being held as a military secret at the German Experimental Institute for Aviation, and that institute, of course, was the one to which defendants Ruff and Romberg were attached.
Your Honors will recall that when they presented the final report on the high altitude experiments it was found with the letter from Ruff and Romberg that Himmler sends three copies, two, three and four. Now that is significant, because as it states here the distribution list was prepared by the Reich Air Ministry, which indicates that these experiments were well known on the highest level of the medical service of the Luftwaffe, including Erhardt Wilch himself, Secretary of State for Air.
The reference to the former prisoner Heff is to one of the concentration camp inmates, who was an active assistant to Rascher during the low pressure and freezing experiments, and it certainly does not refer to any concentration camp inmates who was the subject of these experiments. Consequently, it is not to be construed as any evidence of amnesty to an experimental subject.
Document 1619 PS will be Prosecution Exhibit 87 and is a telegram from the Reichssicherheitshauptant, which is what we normally call the RSHA, and the Gestapo was a part of that organization. The telegram is signed, " Weiss ", who apparently was the Camp Commandant at Dachau. The telegram is addressed to SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Rudolf Brandt, and states that the Commandant of the Concentration Camp Dachau asks to instruct the Amtsgruppenchef SS Drigadefuehrer Cliecks, to send from Ravensbruck to Dachau the four women wanted by Stabsarzt Dr. Rascher for his experiments, according to instructions given by the Reichsfuehrer SS.
Ravenbruck, Your Honors, was a concentration camp which remained almost exclusively female inmates.
The next exhibit is Document 1619-PS and will be Prosecution Exhibit 88. I am in error, Your Honors, both the telegram which I have just read and the teletype which follows are included as Document 19610-PS and both have gone into the record an Exhibit 87.
This is a teletype to SS-Brigadefuehrer Gluecks, Oranienburg. It states: "SS-Sturmbannfuehrer Dr. Brandt asks you to give instructions for the four women ordered by the Reichsfuehrer-SS to be put at the disposal of Dr. Rascher to be sent from Ravensbrueck to Dachau".
If Your Honor please, the next document in the English Document Books is on Page 21. It's Document NO-295 and is in fact the same as the second telegram in Document 1610-PS, consequently, it will not be put in. It's simply a case of the same document being picked up at two different sources and being registered with two different numbers here in Nuernberg. It is, in fact, the same document.
He come now to a very interesting letter, which is Document NO 286 and this will be prosecution Exhibit 88. This letter is from Anthony of the Department for Aviation Medical Service of the Luftwaffe. It is directed to the Reichsfuehrer-SS, Heinrich Himmler and it informs him about a Luftwaffe meeting of doctors which is to be held in October in Nuernberg, and that questions concerning freezing are to be there discussed.
It is important here to look at the letter designations appearing in the first part of this letter, and I will ask Your Honors to recall the affidavit of the defendant Decker-Freyseng in that regard. You will remember that he stated, when he first went into the Department for Aviation Medicine in the Luftwaffe in 1941, that it carried the letter designations and organization designation of 2 II B, and that shortly sometime thereafter, it changed to 2 F and then to 2 11 A. We see here the letter designation 2 II B after the letters L.I. 14, which is Luftwaffe Inspectorate 14, which is a medical service of the Luftwaffe.
"Subjetzt: Research order on Freezing.
"deference": -- Then follows a series of letters, the meaning of all of which I do not know. It says "D.D.d.L." I don't know the meaning of that. Then comes "and Ob.d.L." That means Oberkommando der Luftwaffe. Then "Ch.d.Luftwaffen.
L.In. 14". T think , means Chief of the Luftwaffen Inspectorate 14, who at that time was Erich Hippke, Then immediately under that you see again the letter characters "2 II B"-- which refers to the Department for Aviation Medicine, the chief of which was Anthony, the author of this letter, and his chief assistant was the defendant Becker-Freyseng. The letter reads:
"The Inspectorate of the Medicine Service of the Luftwaffe has given an order for research to the Stabsarzt Professor Dr. Holzloehner, reference above, dated 24 February 1942, for work on the following problem: "The effect of freezing on warm-blooded subjects."
Now I'd like to pause again, Your Honors and emphasize the meaning of that short paragraph. It states that the order has been given for research to Holzloehner, who collaborated with Rascher in these freezing experiments. "Reference above"-- and the reference is to reference No. 1 dated 24 February 42, as there carried in tho reference, and the Department far Aviation Medicine 2 II B appears very clearly, indicating that that research order came through the Department for Aviation Medicine and that the defendant Becker-Freseng was in that office at that time.
"At the proposal of Stabsarzt Dr. Rascher appropriate examinations were made of human beings, and in agreement with the Reichsfuehrer-SS suitable SS facilities were used for the examinations.
"In order to carry out these examination, a research group 'Heardships at Sea' was set up, consisting of Professor Dr. Holzloehner also leader and Stabsarzt Dr. Rascher and Dr. Finko.
"The leader of this research group reported that the examinations have been concluded.
"It is intended to dissolve the research group at the latest by 15 October 1942.
"The research documents and an extensive report will be presented to the Reichsfuehrer-SS by Stebsarzt Dr. Rascher. It is requested that the originals or copies of the report and of the documents be put at the disposal of the inspectorate of the Medical Service of the Luftwaffe.
"It is intended to make the results, in the form of an extract, accessible to exports at a conference which will take place in Nurnberg on 26 and 27 October 1942.
The daily schedule of the conference is enclosed.
"The SS Central Office, Medical Department has been invited to this discussion by letter, dated 30 September 1942".
I would like to state in that connection that if my memory serves me correctly that the--I beg your pardon, the reference must be there to the department run by Dr. Grawitz. I was about to say that the defendant Genzken however-- his office, as I recall, was attached to the SS Fuehrungshauptamt, which is the operational headquarters of the Waffen SS, and the reference here is to the SS Central Office to which Grawitz' Office was attached.
"It is further requested to abstain from forwarding the documents and the report to other non-medical offices".
It is there signed: "by order Wullen. True copy". Signature: "Anthony".
The rest of the letter simply gives the date end place of the meeting, which was held in the Deutsche Hof in Nurnberg on the 26 and 27 of October 1942, and it also gives the agenda of the meeting. And Your Honor will see that it is dealing exclusively with problems of cold.
I call your attention to Page 24 of the Document Book to the note that Oberstabsarzt Dr. Weltz is also to speak on freezing problems at the same meeting.
The next exhibit will be Document NO-225 which will be Prosecution Exhibit 89. This is a letter from Sigmund Rascher to Himmler dated October 16, 1942.
"Very honored Reichsfuehrer:
"By order of the Chief of LIN 14 of the Reich Air Ministry, I have been ordered to submit an oral report concerning the most recent Dachau work to you very honored Reichsfuehrer SS.
"Since your time does not permit it, I herewith request most obediently that you approve the release of the results of those experiments.
"At the same time I beg you kindly to let the Adjutant's Office, Reichsfuehrer-SS in Munich, have a decision concerning the matter, by teletype, as the report is to be utilized on the occasion of the Luftwaffe conference of 25 October '42 dealing with cold experiments. This date is urgent, for the reason that countermeasures must be taken against freezing of airmen. Signed: Rascher".
Document 1916-PS will be Prosecution Exhibit 90. This also is a letter from Dr. Rascher, the Reichsfuehrer, dated 16 October '42.
"Permit me to submit the attached final report on the super-cooling experiments performed at Dachau. This report does not contain the course and results of a series of experiments with drugs as well as experiments with animal body heat which are now being conducted. Likewise, this report does not contain the microscopic pathological examinations of the brain tissues of the deceased. I was surprised at the extraordinary microscopic findings in this field. I will carry out experiments before the start of the conference in which the effects of cooling will be discussed and I hope to be able to present further results by that time. My two co-workers left Dachau about eight days ago.
"In the hope that you, highly esteemed Reichsfuehrer, will be able to spare a quarter of an hour to listen to an oral report, I remain, with the most obedient regard an Heil Hitler ! Yours respectfully, Rascher".
We came now to the final report on the cooling experiments on living human persons at Dachau. This is Doc. NO-428 and it will be Prosecution Exhibit 91.
This report is rather long, your Honors, and while I do wish to read a number of excerpts from it, there are several things which I think we can omit, although I am sure that you will wish to study the report in full.
On page 29 they give the problem of the experiment and I think it would be well for me to here read that excerpt, as well as the general procedure of the experiment, and also some excerpts on their clinical findings. And, I will also call your attention to a certain exhibit, or a certain appendix attached to the report.
" I. Problem of the Experiment.
Up to the present time there has been no basis for the treatment of shipwrecked persons who have been exposed for long periods of time to low water temperatures. These uncertainties extended to the possible physical and pharmacological methods of attack. It was not clear, for example, whether those who had been rescued should be warmed quickly or slowly. According to the current instructions for treating frozen people,a slow warming-up seemed to be indicated. Certain theoretical considerations could be adduced for a slow warning. Well-founded suggestions were missing for a promising Midicinal therapy.
All these uncertainties rested in the last analysis upon the absence of well-founded concepts concerning the cause of death by cold in human beings. In the meantime, in order to clarify this question, a series of animal experiments were started. And, indeed, those officials who wished to make definite suggestions to the doctors in the sea rescue service had to assume a great deal of responsibility if it came to a question of convincing and consistent results in these animal experiment. At this particular point it is especially difficult to carry the findings in animals over into the human field. In the warm-blooded, one finds a varied degree of development in the heat-regulating mechanism. Besides, this, the processes in the skin of the pelted animals cannot be carried over to man.
II. General procedure of the Experiment.
The effect of water temperatures of 2°, 3°, to 12° C were investigated. A tank 2 x 2 x 2 m . served as an experimental basin. The water temperature was attained by addition of ice, and remained constant during the experiment. The experimental subjects were generally dressed in equipment such as the flyer wears, consisting of underclothing, uniform, a one piece summer or winter protective suit, helmet and aviators fur lined boots. In addition they were a lifepreserver of rubber or kapok. The effect of additional protective clothing against water-cold was tested in a special series of experiments, and in another series the cooling of the unclothed person was studied.
The bodily warmth was measured thermoelectrically. Following preliminary experiments in which gastric temperatures were measured, by a Thermic sound, we adopted the procedure of continuously registering rectally the body temperature. Parallel with this the recording of the skin temperatures was undertaken. The point of measurement was the skin of the back at the level of the fith thoracic vertebral process. The thermoelectrical measurements were controlled before, during, and after the experiments by thermometric test of the cheek and rectal temperature.
In severe cooling, checking of the pulse is difficult. The pulse becomes weaker, the musculature become stiff, and shivering sets in. Auscultation during the experiment by means of a tube stethoscope fastened over the tip of the heart proved effective. The tubes were led out of the uniform and made possible the continuous listening to the heart during the stay in the water.
Electrocardiographic controls were not possible in the water. After removal from the water they were possible only in these cases in which a too severe muscle shivering did not disturb the electrocardiograph records.
The following chemical studies were carried out: following up of the blood sugar picture; the sodium chloride picture in the serum; the non-protein nitrogen; the alkali reserve; the alkali reserve of the venous and arterial blood and sedimentation rate ( before and after the experiment). Besides this the general blood condition and viscosity were followed during the experiment, and before and after the experiment the resistance of the red blood cells and the protein content of the blood plasma were measured.
The following urinalyses were made regularly: sediment, albumen, sugar, sodium chloride, acetone, acetic acid, as well as qualitative albumen determination.
In part of the experiment lumbar and subccipital punctures were made as well as corresponding spinal fluid studies.
Among physical and therapeutic measures the following were tested:
a) Rapid warming by means of a hot bath,
b) Warming by means of a light cradle,
c) Warming in a heated sleeping bag,
d) Vigorous massage of the whole body,
e) Wrapping in covers,
f) Diathermy of the heart." ...
On the following two pages, your Honors, certain charts and appendices have been inappropriately inserted in the middle of this document. They really belong at the back. The context of the document continues on page 34 of the English Document book.
" in addition the following drugs were given : Strophanthin i.v.; Cardiazol i.v. and i.c.; Lobelin and Coramin i.v. and i.c.. In other experiments alcohol or grape sugar was given.
A part of the experiments were begun under narcosis ( 8 cc. Evipan i.v.)." Only part were done under narcosis.
The clinical picture of cooling I think worthwhile to read since it is clearly stated there was considerable pain and suffering during the course of these experiments.
" III. The clinical picture of cooling.
The clinical picture as well as the behavior of the body temperature showed certain regularities in the general course; the time of appearance of certain phenomena was, however, subject to very great individual variations. As one might expect, a good general physical condition delayed the cooling and the concomitant phenomena. Further differences were conditioned by the position of the subject in the water and the manner of clothing. Furthermore, differences showed up between experiments in which the subject lay horizontally in the water so that the nape of the neck and the back of the head were splashed with water, and others in which neck and head protruded freely out of the water.
Peculiarly, the actual water temperatures between 2° C and 12° C, had not demonstrable effect upon the rate of the cooling. Naturally such an effect must exist. But since besides the already mentioned individual differences and those due to experimental conditions, the various subjects cooled on different days at different rates of speed, the effect of the actual water temperatures between 2° and 12° disappears behind such variations.
If the experimental subject were placed in the water under narcosis, one observed a certain arousing effect. The subject began to groan and made some defensive movements. In a few cases a state of excitation developed. This was especially severe in the cooling of head and neck. But never was a complete cessation fo the narcosis observed. The defensive movements ceased after about 5 minutes. There followed a progressive rigor, which developed especially strongly in the arm musculature; the arms were strongly flexed and pressed to the body. The rigor increased with the continuation of the cooling, now and then interrupted by tonicclonic twitchings. With still more marked sinking of the body temperature it suddenly ceased. These cases ended fatally, without any successful results from resuscitation efforts.
In the course of the narcosis experiments the evipan effect in a few cases wont directly over into a cold narcosis; in other cases one could determine a transitory retur of consciousness, immediately following the awakening effect already described; at any rate, the experimental subjects were dizzy. Cold pain was not expressed.
Experiments without narcosis showed no essential differences in the course of cooling. Upon entry into the water a severe cold shuddering appeared. The cooling of the neck and back of the head was felt as especially painful, but already after 5 to 10 minutes a significant weakening of the pain sensation was observable. Rigor developed after this time in the same manner as under narcosis, likewise the tonicclonic twitchings. At this point speech became difficult because the rigor also affected the speech musculature.