Dr. Marx: Professor, would you not say that regulations for these experiments also mean that certain experiments, such as experiments on one’s self and animal experiments, printed regulations, if you like, must have been in existence or was that true of this case?
A. Yes, a report from Beiglboeck about an experiment carried out upon himself is in existence which describes most efficiently the condition in which he found himself during a sea-water experiment, and this description tallies to the highest possible degree with what my volunteers who submitted themselves to these experiments described. I might deal with that later.
Q. What opinion do you have regarding the experiments which were carried out by Sirany in Vienna?
A. There appeared to me to be a lack of critical attitude. I think Schaefer had the same impression yesterday.
Q. Are symptoms recognizable regarding the planning of these experiments which would go beyond the absolutely essential practical purposes and which would lead to considerable pains or painful feelings or might have led to that?
A. Of course it isn’t fun to be thirsty, and that is the major complaint in these cases. These people are increasingly thirsty, and they are disappointed to find that drinking sea-water doesn’t decrease but increases their thirst, and towards the end of the experiments there are disturbances of the muscles, and the temper doesn’t exactly improve. It is the same in the salt water experiments where there are cramps of the calf because of the lack of water, but the characteristics of that are that these symptoms disappear instantaneously at the very moment when the first glass of water is drunk.
Q. Would you consider it possible that disturbances of the nerve end might appear? Temperature?
A. Temperature doesn’t happen at all, and I can’t imagine there being disturbances of the nervous system at all.
Q. How about fits?
A. In the case of insane people there may appear insane fits, maybe, but not in the case of normal human beings.