Created on: 03 Feb 2012 | Last modified: 19 Feb 2018
We visit the hospital block, where the now infamous camp Doctor, Joseph Mengele, carried out horrific medical experiments on camp inmates.
It was here that the man who became known as the Angel of Death tortured, mutilated and killed his many victims – including a large number of children – particularly twins – pregnant women, and people with abnormalities or disabilities.
It is doubtful that he ever believed he was carrying out serious medical research. His methods were so unscientific and his treatment of patients - including performing major operations such as amputations and the removal of internal organs without anaesthetic – was so inhumane that there is little doubt that Mengele was purely a sadistic torturer who revelled in the pain and suffering that he forced upon his victims.
Earlier, on the bus journey to the camp, our guides had told us that we would be repeatedly shocked and numbed by what we would see, no matter how prepared we thought that we were. As we continue to visit the former prison buildings that now hold the many exhibits of the National Holocaust Museum, it becomes apparent that their warnings were understated.