13 November 1942
Secret
Dear Comrade Milch:
You will recall that through General Wolff I particularly recommended for your consideration the work of a certain SS Fuehrer Dr. Rascher, who is a medical officer of the air force reserve [Arzt des Beurlaubtenstandes der Luftwaffe].
These researches which deal with the behavior of the human organism at great heights, as well as with manifestations caused by prolonged cooling of the human body in cold water and similar problems which are of vital importance to the air force in particular, can be performed by us with particular efficiency because I personally assumed the responsibility for supplying asocial individuals and criminals, who deserve only to die [todeswuerdig], from concentration camps for these experiments.
Unfortunately, you had no time recently when Dr. Rascher wanted to report on the experiments at the Ministry of Aviation. I had put great hopes in that report, because I believed that in this way the difficulties, based mainly on religious objections to Dr. Rascher’s experiments—for which I assumed responsibility—could be eliminated.
The difficulties are still the same now as before. In these Christian medical circles the standpoint is being taken that it goes without saying that a young German aviator should be allowed to risk his life but that the life of a criminal—who is not drafted into military service—is too sacred for this purpose and one should not stain oneself with this guilt; at the same time it is interesting to note that credit is taken for the results of the experiments while excluding the scientist who performed them.
I personally have inspected the experiments, and have—I can say this without exaggeration—participated in every phase of this scientific work in a helpful and inspiring manner.
We two should not get angry about these difficulties. It will take at least another ten years until we can get such narrow-mindedness out of our people. But this should not affect the research work which is necessary for our young, splendid soldiers and aviators.
I beg you to release Dr. Rascher, Stabsarzt of the reserve, from the air force and to transfer him to the Waffen SS. I would then assume the sole responsibility for having these experiments made in this field and would put the results, of which we in the SS need only a part for the frost injuries in the East, entirely at the disposal of the air force. However, in this connection I suggest that with the liaison between you and Wolff, a “non-Christian” doctor should be entrusted who ought to be not only a fully qualified scientist but also a man not prone to intellectual theft and who could be informed of the results. This doctor should also have good contacts with the administrative authorities so that the results would really obtain a hearing.