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| Dr Robert Jay Lifton |
THE NAZI DOCTORS:
Medical
Killing and
the
Psychology
of Genocide © |
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352 |
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| AUSCHWITZ: THE RACIAL CURE |
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placed together, separated by a burlap sheet, and both
then subjected to these various examinations and tests, including injection of
material into the spine and the clamping of some part of the body "to see how
long you could stand the pressure.”
This particular description
could well include procedures one was subjected to, those thought to have been
applied to other prisoners, and those unclearly seen or feared. Given the
nature of the Auschwitz environment, however, virtually any detail described
could have considerable truth; and even those less than fully accurately
rendered, considerable psychic truth.*
Within the
Auschwitz twins’ subculture, there was an odd atmosphere that combined
sanctuary with terror. As Simon J. put it, twins got the message “If we do
what is wanted from us, … we would come to no harm, because we are the
subject of an investigation headed by Dr. Mengele.” That is, “We were
not allowed to be beaten” because the word was out “not to ruin us
physically.” J. could even say that twins felt themselves “completely
elevated, segregated from the hurlyburly of the camp.” Even a twin who was
caught in such an ordinarily “ultimate sin” as stealing food would,
instead of being severely beaten or sent to the gas chambers, be merely rebuked
or punished mildly. The twins became aware that, unlike most other prisoners,
their lives had existential value: “A single thing kept us [alive]: …
his experiments,” is the way Tomas A. put it. Their existential value was
immediately apparent in the matter of hair: they could retain theirs for the
research reason that hair characteristics, including color, had to be recorded.
Hence they were given desirable jobs that did not expose them to the
most severe kinds of physical abuse; children among them could serve as a
“runner” (Läufer) or messenger, or sometimes simply as a
helper. Many were permitted to move relatively freely about the camp, and
therefore had valuable opportunities for “organizing” (buying and
selling, mostly food), to be privy to useful information, and to create what
one of them called a “thriving economy” on the twin block.
They were rewarded for their cooperation, as A. tells us: “[After
being] measured and measured, … we had white bread and … milk with
Lukchen [a macaroni-like mixture, considered a great delicacy in the
camp],” for the ostensible purpose of compensating for the blood that had
to be taken from them. In the Auschwitz context, that was
“marvelous,” and was combined with other advantages: “the best
clothes … through Mengele”; and as a survivor twin explained,
“We had our hair … [so] they [other prisoners] said, ‘At least,
you look . . . human.’”
It was equally clear, however, that
this sanctuary was more than a matter of Mengele’s whim: “We should
count [ourselves] as very lucky |
__________
* But most descriptions by
survivors could be in general terms confirmed, and unless otherwise indicated,
I consider them to be essentially accurate. |
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THE NAZI DOCTORS:
Medical Killing and the
Psychology of
Genocide
Robert J. Lifton
ISBN 0-465-09094
©
1986 |
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Page 352 |
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