Overview:

Dachau was a primary site for Nazi medical experiments, including hypothermia studies, high-altitude pressure tests, and seawater ingestion experiments. Records from these experiments document the systematic torture of prisoners.

Content:

• Logs of experiments showing how victims were exposed to extreme cold, pressured in decompression chambers, or forced to drink seawater.
• Notes detailing the physical and psychological effects on victims, many of whom died as a result of the tests.
• Research summaries written by Sigmund Rascher and others, intended to justify their findings as beneficial for German military strategy.

Significance:

These records are concrete evidence of the inhumane experimentation conducted under Nazi rule and reveal the pseudoscientific rationale used to justify these atrocities.

Where to Access:

Held in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.