Who is Josef Mengele?

Josef Mengele was born on March 16, 1911, in Günzburg, near Ulm, Germany. He was the eldest son of Karl Mengele, a prosperous manufacturer of farming implements. In 1935, he earned a PhD in physical anthropology from the University of Munich. He also held a doctoral degree in genetic medicine.

Why did Erich Mengele use twins in his experiments?

Mengele became interested in using twins for medical research through his mentor, Verschuer. Verschuer himself was famous for experimenting with identical and fraternal twins in order to trace the genetic origins of various diseases.

Was Josef Mengele the highest-ranking physician at Auschwitz?

During his time at Auschwitz, Josef Mengele was not the only physician there. It is popularly believed that he was the highest-ranking physician at the camp. This is not the case. That “distinction” belonged to SS captain Dr. Eduard Wirths.

When did Josef Mengele become a SS captain?

In April of 1943, he received a promotion to the rank of SS captain. This promotion shortly preceded Mengele’s transfer to Auschwitz, on May 30, 1943. During his time at Auschwitz, Josef Mengele was not the only physician there.

How did Anne Frank find out about Mengele?

After the war while reading reports about the concentration camps, she came across writings about a doctor, named Mengele, who had performed inhuman experiments on Jewish and Roma prisoners. It had a picture of Dr. Mengele, and she realized that he was the officer that had let her sister live all those years ago.

How did Josef Mengele get to Gross-Rosen?

With Red Army troops sweeping through Poland, Mengele was transferred 280 kilometres (170 mi) from Auschwitz to the Gross-Rosen concentration camp on 17 January 1945, just 10 days before the arrival of the Soviet forces at Auschwitz. Before the war, Mengele had received doctorates in anthropology and medicine, and began a career as a researcher.

What did Josef Mengele believe about the Nordic race?

According to an Auschwitz friend and fellow-SS physician, Mengele espoused the visionary SS ideology that the Nordic race was the only truly creative race, that it had been weakened by Christian morality of Jewish origin, and that Germany needed to revert to ancient German myths in creating an SS ”order” to purify the Nordic race.