Josef+Mengele

=Josef Mengele=

By Wyatt Andersen

Known by the ominous nickname 'The Angel Of Death', Josef Rudolf Mengele was an SS Officer & a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. While working in the concentration camp, he gained notoriety for performing grisly experiments on prisoners. Following an injury on the Eastern Front that deemed him 'unfit for combat', Mengele was promoted to the rank of SS Captain for saving the lives of three fellow soldiers. Following the Allied victory in Germany & liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, he fled to South America, where he died of natural causes in 1979.
 * Background**

Son of Karl & Walburga Mengele, Josef was born March 6, 1911 in Günzberg, Bavaria. Not much is known about his early childhood, only that his father owned a company that manufactured farming equipment. In 1935 he earned his PhD in Anthropology at the University of Munich. In 1937 he became the lab assistant of the acclaimed scientist Dr. Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer. Here, he developed an interest in Genetics, most specifically concerning the creation & biology of twins. On March 11, 1941, Mengele's wife, Irene, gave birth to their only son, Rolf. Following the end of the war, Irene would divorce Josef. Becoming a member of the Nazi party was an important part of Josef's life: he believed that Hitler would be able to forge a powerful empire & really wished to assist the Fuhrer in any way he could. Using his medical degree, Mengele managed to join the SS, treating injured soldiers on the Eastern Front. During his military service, he received several accolades, most noticeably the iron cross of bravery for saving two injured soldiers from a burning tank. Deep within Soviet territory, however, Mengele sustained several injuries. Deemed as unfit for combat, he was stationed at a Race & Resettlement Office in Berlin, a group designed to maintain the Aryan racial purity within the SS forces. Recognized for his medical background & proficiency, he was transferred to Auschwitz in 1943.
 * Early Life/ Military Service**



Upon his arrival to the concentration camp, Mengele became a medical officer, in charge of inspecting prisoners. Those who failed his medical tests would be sent immediately to the gas chambers, while those who passed would be put to work. Soon he gained notoriety amongst the camp's inmates for his cruelty, earning the moniker of 'Angel Of Death'. Following his medical studies with Otmar, Josef had gained a particular interest in the study of twins. Driven by his morbid curiosity, the sinister doctor would perform terrible experiments upon twin children, often resulting in the deaths of both. These experiments would include sewing the twins together, dissecting them, or performing ghastly surgery without aesthesia. His cruelty extended to other prisoners as well, who were subjected to various tortures & deaths that the doctor would describe as 'experiments'. Various records describe that between 1943 & the end of the war, Mengele experimented on over 3,000 pairs of twins, only about 100 of whom survived. Following the abandonment of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, he moved to Gross Rosen concentration camp, serving as a physician. Following the abandonment of this facility & his capture by American troops, Mengele managed to evade capture by using fake passports, going by the name 'Fritz Hollman'.
 * Auschwitz**

Evading capture by allied forces, who had listed him as a war criminal, Mengele smuggled his way throughout Europe, aided by his Nazi comrades. From July 1945 until May 1949, he worked as a farmhand in Bavaria, still living under a false name. Eventually Mengele found a passage to Buenos Aires, where he collaborated with fellow escaped Nazis & offered an illegal abortion service. Allied forces still searched for the doctor &, fearing for his safety, the now belittled Angel of Death fled to Paraguay in 1961. Mossad agents, specifically sent to track ex-Nazis in South America, found & pursued Mengele for several years, tracking his movements & debating his kidnapping. Still tracked by various agents, he fled once more to Brazil, using his connections to help keep his identity secret from the public. Throughout his entire stay in South America, Megele would continue his experimentation, still taking a particular interest in twins. After experiencing bouts of diminishing health, Mengele died in Brazil in 1979, buried under the false name 'Wolfgang Gerhard'. Locals of his town, after discovering his true identity, would later report him as being a kind & quiet man.
 * South America/Death**

By Wyatt Andersen