Skip to main content

Josef Mengele, Auschwitz's most notorious Nazi doctor, was never captured after World War II. If he had been put on trial for his crimes, what...

Josef Mengele makes only a small appearance in Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, but his story is one of the most shocking to come out of the Holocaust. Mengele was a physician and member of the SS. Originally a battlefield surgeon, he was transferred to Auschwitz in early 1943. While at Auschwitz he performed medical experimentation on Jewish prisoners, mainly children, to test his theories about heredity. These ‘experiments’ included infecting children with different diseases,...

Josef Mengele makes only a small appearance in Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night, but his story is one of the most shocking to come out of the Holocaust. Mengele was a physician and member of the SS. Originally a battlefield surgeon, he was transferred to Auschwitz in early 1943. While at Auschwitz he performed medical experimentation on Jewish prisoners, mainly children, to test his theories about heredity. These ‘experiments’ included infecting children with different diseases, amputating limbs, and dissection of still living people. Mengele escaped before the Red Army liberated the camp. He fled to South America, where he died in 1979.


To understand what may have happened to Mengele if he had been caught, it is necessary to look at what happened to Nazis who were put on trial after the war. In 1960, SS lieutenant colonel Adolf Eichmann was apprehended in South America. Eichmann had personally orchestrated much of the Holocaust during the war. The Israeli government put Eichmann on trial, and he was found guilty. He was executed by hanging in 1962. One can assume that Mengele would have faced a similar fate.

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...
Post a Comment
Read more