Freethought & Rationalism Archive

God Fearing Atheist · 10-20-2003, 02:00 AM

I could have sworn I remembered a thread about this from way back, but a search didnt turn up anything. If there is one, please point me toward it.

I was just thinking about Nazi doctor Mengele, and the horror of his experiments aside, if he actually made any discoveries that might be of interest.

-GFA

Arken · 10-20-2003, 05:28 AM

I believe I read once that Nazi experiments did contribute to forensic knowledge about bullet trajectories.

Ovazor · 10-20-2003, 07:50 AM

Mengele wasn't just inhumanely cruel, he had also tendendsy to distort his results to agree with his ideas. . A few quotes from Robert Jay Lifton's The Nazi Doctors: medical killing and the psychology of genocide should illustrate this;

Quote:

As she probed the matter she became increasingly aware of his [Mengele's, me] potential for research distrortion, and we have noted her sense that he might "twist (results) alittle bit to his aims"

Quote:

and he pursued a hypothesis concerning the low hairline of Gypsies as an identifying characteristic to the point of insisting, against all evidence, that a group of French nomads were of Gypsy origin

Quote:

Similarily, Dr. Abraham C. thought that Mengele had some ability, but taht what he did was not "real science" because he held certain ideals that he "considered absolute" andthen "he...would simply look for proofs to support them."

Quote:

Eva C., the artist, told how Mengele would strain to find "proof" of his views.

So, whatever Mengele claims to have uncovered should't be trusted.

RED DAVE · 10-20-2003, 08:53 AM

Consistent Thinker should be queried on this. Doubtless he's a great fan of Mengele.

RED DAVE

Enai · 10-21-2003, 12:34 AM

AFAIK, Dr. Mengele's "research" yielded no new insights. It had either been done elsewhere (for instance, you can examine people who were shot in the war to gain knowledge on bullet trajectories in the human body) or was obtained with worthless methods of measurement.

Enai

andy_d · 10-21-2003, 03:10 AM

I don't know about specifics of Mengele's work, but some of the experiments that were performed on concentration camp prisoners did actually provide useful data.

For example, there were experiments done on cold-water immersion, decompression and hypoxia (intended to help Luftwaffe aircrew) that have, ironically, saved many lives since the war. While this may seem distasteful that we have directly benefitted from such despicable research, it is perhaps more useful to take the view that at least some good has come into the world in the wake of such cruelty.

10-20-2003, 02:00 AM	#1
God Fearing Atheist Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Massachusetts, USA -- Let's Go Red Sox! Posts: 1,500	Mengele's scientific legacy I could have sworn I remembered a thread about this from way back, but a search didnt turn up anything. If there is one, please point me toward it. I was just thinking about Nazi doctor Mengele, and the horror of his experiments aside, if he actually made any discoveries that might be of interest. -GFA

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10-20-2003, 05:28 AM	#2
Arken Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 6,303	I believe I read once that Nazi experiments did contribute to forensic knowledge about bullet trajectories.

10-20-2003, 08:53 AM	#4
RED DAVE Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: NYC Posts: 10,532	Consistent Thinker should be queried on this. Doubtless he's a great fan of Mengele. RED DAVE

10-21-2003, 12:34 AM	#5
Enai Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 1,479	AFAIK, Dr. Mengele's "research" yielded no new insights. It had either been done elsewhere (for instance, you can examine people who were shot in the war to gain knowledge on bullet trajectories in the human body) or was obtained with worthless methods of measurement. Enai

10-21-2003, 03:10 AM	#6
andy_d Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: umop apisbn Posts: 568	I don't know about specifics of Mengele's work, but some of the experiments that were performed on concentration camp prisoners did actually provide useful data. For example, there were experiments done on cold-water immersion, decompression and hypoxia (intended to help Luftwaffe aircrew) that have, ironically, saved many lives since the war. While this may seem distasteful that we have directly benefitted from such despicable research, it is perhaps more useful to take the view that at least some good has come into the world in the wake of such cruelty.

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