I hope that through my unconditional service at the front and through my two wounds, I have shown that I did not only expect others to make sacrifices at this time, but that I was prepared at any time to sacrifice myself with my life and my health. Within the scope of the order given to me I did what I could, in my limited position as an assistant doctor, for the life of the experimental subjects and for an exact and proper clinical development of the experiment. I never could expect and foresee that deaths would occur. When such fatalities did occur, contrary to all expectation, I was as shaken by that event as I was by the death of a patient in our clinic. After that, the experiments were immediately discontinued, and I went back to the front.
Together with Professor Gebhardt, I reported about these experiments to the German public. Like many other Germans, there are many things which, in retrospect, I see more clearly today and in another light than in the past years. In my young life I have tried to be a faithful son of my people, and that brought me into this present miserable position. I only wanted what was good. In my life I have never followed egotistical aims, and I was never motivated by base instincts. For that reason, I feel free of any guilt inside me. I have acted as a soldier, and as a soldier I am ready to bear the consequences. However, that I was born a German, that is something about which I do not want to complain.
[33] Tr. pp. 11311-11314.
[34] Tr. pp. 11315-11316.
[35] Tr. pp. 11316-11317.
[36] Tr. p. 11318.
[37] Tr. pp. 11318-11319.
[38] Tr. pp. 11319-11324.
[39] Tr. pp. 11325-11328.