b. Selection from the Argumentation of the Prosecution
EXTRACT FROM THE CLOSING STATEMENT
OF THE PROSECUTION[[20]]
In view of the clear and unequivocal proof of the defendant Rose’s participation in the typhus murders of Buchenwald he can only plead that he didn’t enjoy doing what he did, that he objected to the experiments at the Third Meeting of the Consulting Physicians of the Wehrmacht in May 1943. But this is his condemnation, not his salvation. In March 1942 he was in Buchenwald and saw what was being done. In May of the same year he asked Mrugowsky to test a vaccine for him in those experiments. Four inmates were killed as a result. In May 1943, he objected to the experiments in what he describes as strong terms. But in December, he was again instigating still another experiment which resulted in the murder of six men. He is a living example of a man who could have abstained from participating in these crimes without threat of harm to his person or position by any agency of the Nazi Government. He was not arrested and tried by the SS because of his objection. He was not committed to a concentration camp. In spite of that, he voluntarily participated in these same crimes to which he said he objected. With his knowledge, prestige, and position, he is even more culpable than the miserable and inexperienced Ding who actually performed the experiments in the murder wards of Buchenwald.
c. Selections from the Argumentation of the Defense
EXTRACT FROM THE FINAL PLEA FOR
DEFENDANT GEBHARDT[[21]]
The Principles of Medical Ethics and the Applicable Law
During the hearing of evidence, views were repeatedly given on the question of which principles of medical ethics are to be considered when performing experiments on human beings. In my opening statement before the evidence was submitted I pointed out that in the case of these defendants there is no reason to examine fundamental questions of medical ethics in these proceedings. Law and ethics are measured by different standards which sometimes contradict each other. The same applies to the principles of general ethics as well as to those of a particular profession. A deed offending the recognized principles of medical ethics does not necessarily constitute a crime. Only the cogent precepts of the law can be used as the basis for a verdict, and not the unwritten regulations and convictions existing inside a profession.