The Medical Service of the Waffen SS was reorganized on 1 September 1943. Mrugowsky and the Hygiene Institute were transferred from under Genzken and became directly subordinated to Grawitz as Reich Physician SS and Police. By this transfer Mrugowsky became chief hygienist under Grawitz, but remained Chief of the Hygiene Institute.
TYPHUS AND OTHER VACCINE EXPERIMENTS
The details concerning the vaccine experiments conducted at Buchenwald concentration camp have been related elsewhere in this judgment and hence the details need no further discussion.
As pointed out in the case against Handloser, there is evidence in the record that on 29 December 1941 a conference was held in Berlin attended by Mrugowsky at which the decision was reached to begin research tests at Buchenwald to determine the efficacy of egg yolk, and other vaccines as protection against typhus. As a result of the conference, such an experimental station was established at Buchenwald under the direction of Dr. Ding with the defendant Hoven acting as his deputy.
Except for a few tests conducted early in 1942, all experiments were carried out in Block 46—so-called clinical block of the station. In the autumn of 1943 a vaccine production department was established in Block 50 and this also came under the supervision of Dr. Ding-Schuler.
It would burden this judgment unnecessarily to narrate in detail the various tests and experiments carried out by Ding at Buchenwald as a result of the decisions reached at higher levels. All of them conformed to a more or less uniform pattern, with certain groups of inmates being inoculated with vaccines, other groups (known as control groups) being given no immunization, and finally both groups being artificially infected with a virulent virus, and the results noted upon the experimental subjects.
We learn from the Ding diary, the authenticity and reliability of which has been discussed at length in other portions of the judgment, the methods employed, and the results obtained in at least some of the experiments.
For example: In “Typhus vaccination material research series I”, which began on 6 January 1942, 135 inmates were vaccinated with Weigl, Cox-Haagen-Gildemeister, Behring-Normal, or Behring-Strong, vaccines; 10 persons were used for control. On 3 March 1942 all test subjects, including control persons, were artificially infected with virulent virus of Rickettsia-Prowazeki furnished by the Robert Koch Institute. Five deaths occurred; three in the control group and two among the vaccinated subjects.
In “Typhus vaccine, research series II”, from 19 August to 4 September 1942, 40 persons were vaccinated with two different vaccines; 19 persons were used for control. Subsequently all were artificially infected with virulent virus; four deaths among the control persons occurred.
The entries in the diary concerning “Typhus vaccine experimental series VII” read as follows: