In my mind, having read over many graphic accounts of various experiments conducted, it would not have been possible that the doctors were being forced to do what they did. After extensive research on this matter, I have come to the conclusion that the doctors were in fact acting freely in the atrocities which took place during the Holocaust. I shall confront the issue of whether the doctors who were conducting the medical experiments during the euthanasia program and in the death camps were forced to do so, or if they participated of their own free will. In the following paragraphs I shall examine this controversy, except in a slightly narrowed way. Again, there are those who support the claim that they were willing participants, and those who say they were merely following orders. There is also controversy as to the participation of the soldiers, whether it was voluntary or forced.

Still others claim the citizens were blind concerning the issue. Some say that the citizens were aware, but did nothing. ” (Goldhagen, 1991).īut how much did the average citizen know concerning the actions of the Nazis? Were they aware of all the horrific medical experiments and massive killings which were taking, place throughout the war? There is controversy on either side of this issue. Peter Padfield asserts that “without the active and passive aid of millions of Germans, the catastrophe Nazism wrought would not have been possible. Wherever genocide occurs one thing is sure to happen– individual lives become lost in massive numbers and the tolls are so large they become unbelievable. The recent conflicts in Rwanda or Bosnia, or past conflicts in Cambodia, are merely three examples. Even today we stand by while innocent lives are taken. Its occurrence relied only “upon the indifference of bystanders in every land” (Zukier, 1994). The Holocaust is something that we must never forget.

Using examples of experiments performed by the doctors, interviews with some of the doctors, and other evidence found during my research, I will argue that the doctors acted of their own free will and not because the Nazi government made them.

This essay examines the involvement and actions of the doctors of the Holocaust. If you’d like to send your comments, please contact the instructor, Jan Haswell Holocaust Essays: The Doctors of the Holocaust The following are essays created by a class studying the Holocaust.

Anne Frank Biography | 1998 Holocaust Book.

Holocaust Picture Book – The Story of Granny Girl as a Child.

Medical Holocausts by William Brennan