How Did Nazi Doctors Use Unethical Medical Experiments

Words: 1372

Pages: 6

Open Document

The Hippocratic Oath that doctors swear by states: “I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgement; I will keep them from harm and injustice.” This oath was broken many times by SS doctors during the second world war. Nazi doctors conducted unethical medical experiments on a multitude of prisoners throughout the course of the war, and in the process they found no beneficial results. Concentration camps were the sites of these heinous crimes against humanity, and many people lost their lives in torturous conditions with no justifiable reasoning. These experiments included high altitude research in low-pressure chambers, freezing to the point of hypothermia, the forced consumption of sea water for weeks at a time, purposeful infection of diseases such as typhus and gangrene, and organ regeneration. Many more studies were conducted alongside these, all of which shared the same dehumanizing approaches, and all of which also yielded no results.

Initially, in the March of 1942, high altitude research testing began in Dachau Concentration Camp. These tests were intended to be for the benefit of the German Air Force, determining the maximum altitude a pilot could safely parachute from. The …show more content…
These experiments were only very few of the many Nazi medical testing. Thousands of people died unnecessary deaths and the Nazis covered it up by saying it was all for the greater good of their people and the military. None of the tests yielded any useful results, mainly because of the apathy during them. The doctors would rarely record information, which leads one to believe that they did not do these for research, but merely to satiate their own twisted desires. Hatred and prejudice drove the atrocity known as the Holocaust, and it was no exception with the so-called “experiments” that were

Pros And Cons Of Nazi Medical Experiments

Unethicality of the Nazi Medical Experiments Between the years of 1933 and 1945 various medical experiments were conducted by Nazi scientists in concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Dachau. These experiments include the freezing and thawing of prisoners to test the effects of hypothermia, the injecting of live tubercle bacilli into the lungs to test if humans have natural immunities to tuberculosis, and attempts to make seawater drinkable, along with many other experiments. Most of the…

Words 1006 - Pages 5

The Nuremberg Code Of Ethical Experiments

today agree to the fact that unethical experiments that involve the use of human subjects are unacceptable and must never be undertaken. Despite this there have been deplorable circumstances whereby in the pursuit of certain research, scientists break moral boundaries, often resulting in the death of their subject, who are, more often than not, completely unwilling. Over the years leading up to and during WWII, the presence of Nazi concentration camps provided Nazi doctors with the opportunity to conduct…

Words 2905 - Pages 12

The German Medical Experiments During The Holocaust

under the German Nazi regime from 1941 to 1945. An aspect of this era that is extremely well-known throughout the world are the horrid concentration camps, a camp where people are confined under extremely harsh conditions and have their limits put to the ultimate test. Prior to the Nuremburg Medical Code, the Nazis were experimenting on humans to try and advance German medicine and develop new ways for their soldiers to survive. According to Slate, one of the recorded experiments was at the Dachau…

Words 1471 - Pages 6

Essay on Nazi Doctors: an Insult to Humanity

Nazi Doctors: An Insult to Humanity There are many aspects that contributed to the Holocaust. In the 3rd Reich, there was avid anti-Semitism and the unstoppable spread of it. Nearly the entire population of Germany had joined the Nazi party as well as bought into their propaganda and idea of racial hygiene, it was an unstoppable force. The Nazi Doctors had a great deal to do with the racial hygiene programs such as the T-4 and euthanasia programs. They, I believe were a main contributor in the…

Words 1879 - Pages 8

Ethical Views Of Little Albert And Milgram's Obedience Studies

One of the subjects from the previous class that caught my attention was the section about research ethics. We touched on two different experiments that were run: Little Albert and Milgram’s Obedience studies. Now, it is thought that both studies were unethical to perform. As a person that is interested in the field of healthcare, ethics is a subject that interests me. An ethical issue was brought to my attention at my workplace about a week ago. I work as a microbiologist in a lab. We receive…

Words 508 - Pages 3

Ethics in Psychology Essay

1. • Discuss ethical considerations in qualitative research. • Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the biological level of analysis. • Discuss ethical considerations in research into genetic influences on behaviour. • Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the cognitive level of analysis. • Discuss ethical considerations related to research studies at the sociocultural level of analysis. • Discuss cultural and ethical…

Words 2945 - Pages 12

Analysis Of The Hippocratic Oath

against the morality of physician involvement in deaths of patients. The oath declares: “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” Numerous churches share the opinion of the American Medical Association that this kind of involvement in the death of patients is unacceptable for physic. (UIC.EDU) At the age of 61, my father was diagnosis with throat cancer, 42 out of 51 lymph nods were infected. My father was a man who never got sick…

Words 3054 - Pages 13

Euthanasia: Ethics and Life Essay

conduct like the Hippocratic Oath ("First of all, do no harm") or a religious creed like the Ten Commandments ("You hall love the Lord your God…"). At a more fundamental level, Ethics is the method by which we categorize our values and pursue them. (“Medical ethics deal more specifically with the moral choices of taking certain actions to save or preserve life while following human rights protocol.”) - Collins Oxford Dictionary 3. Why is Euthanasia an ethical issue? ("No ethical questions are more…

Words 7350 - Pages 30

Essay about Final Study Guide

this reward. Therefore, with that knowledge the military hoped that it would make the soldiers obey orders on when to attack. The same is true for Vietnam, but in this instance the soldiers new they could go home after their tour. So, the military did not get what they had hoped for…obedience…because they were rewarding what would not get them what they hoped for. Medicine: Court pays more if a physician deems an individual incapacitated and les if they do not. Therefore, we see that in more cases…

Words 8791 - Pages 36

Sources of Ethics Essay

• Second, company operating policies often contain an ethical dimension. Express policies as to gifts, customer complaints, hiring, and other decisions serve as a guide to conduct and as a shield by which the employee can protect against unethical advances from those outside the firm. • Third, may professional and industry associations have developed codes of ethics, such as the Affirmative Ethical Principles of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. In sum, codes…

Words 20200 - Pages 81