Database on Victims of Coerced Biomedical Research under National Socialism

Project Overview

The research project was conceived and led by Professor Paul Weindling ML (Oxford Brookes University) as part of his long-term investigations into the history of coerced biomedical research under National Socialism. Supported by a five-year fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's Anneliese Maier Research Award, among other grants, Paul Weindling and his research team aimed to systematically identify and document the victims of these unethical scientific practices. Drawing on a wide range of archival materials and secondary literature, the project sought to reconstruct the circumstances of their victimization and to restore their dignity as individuals and historical subjects.

Scope

For decades, the number, identities, and experiences of victims of coerced biomedical research during the National Socialist period remained largely undocumented. Early estimates, such as those presented during the Nuremberg Medical Trial, were fragmentary and incomplete. Professor Paul Weindling and his research team addressed this gap by systematically identifying victims and reconstructing their biographies through a comprehensive, multi-layered analysis of sources (see the next paragraph).

Unethical research in this context refers to medical or scientific investigations conducted under coercive circumstances or in inherently oppressive settings. This encompassed:

• Experiments on living individuals in concentration camps, psychiatric institutions, and prisoner-of-war camps
• Post-mortem research on victims of the so-called "euthanasia" killings and other victims of National Socialism, whose bodies or body parts were subsequently used for research purposes
• The use of remains of executed prisoners for anatomical studies at universities and other research institutions
• Anthropological investigations conducted under life-threatening conditions, particularly in ghettos and camps

Sources and Findings

Paul Weindling's research team drew on material from secondary literature, which was compiled and evaluated. In addition, they employed advanced record linkage techniques to combine diverse types of data into unified biographical profiles.

Their source base included a wide range of archival records, including files from various national and local archives as well as the archives of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem, and the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen. It also encompassed lists compiled by victims' organizations and documentation from early efforts to uncover the experiments, often linked to postwar trials. These were supplemented, where available, by documents that shed light on the broader context of persecution, including concentration camp prisoner registration cards, patient records from psychiatric institutions, or transport lists. In some cases, this material could be further enriched with personal records unrelated to persecution, such as army files, birth certificates, and civil registries.

In addition, the research team examined scientific publications produced within the context of National Socialist research, alongside the sparse and unevenly preserved documentation available for some of the experiments.

By analyzing several thousand compensation records from countries such as Poland and Israel, along with collections from the United States and the German government, the project substantially corrected earlier underestimations of victim numbers. They also revealed, among other findings, that many individuals were subjected to research repeatedly and in different contexts.

The resulting database brings together previously scattered evidence, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the human suffering caused by unethical biomedical research under National Socialism. Its aim was not to assess individual claims, but to document broader patterns of victimization.

Initially developed as a working tool, the database combines original research and secondary literature wherever possible. Given the limitations of available material and the scope of the project, not all connections could be made. The database should therefore be understood as a reference resource rather than a comprehensive record.

Objectives and Broader Impacts

From the late 1980s into the 1990s, Germany witnessed intense public and academic debate concerning the continued presence of human remains from the National Socialist period in scientific collections. This process led several institutions to conduct historical investigations, which in some cases resulted in the burial of human remains of uncertain provenance. Nevertheless, the identities of many victims remained unresolved, and ethical questions surrounding the use of data and biological materials from these sources continued to provoke discussion.

Professor Paul Weindling's research contributed to these debates by tracing how postwar societies have addressed the ethical legacy of using data and specimens obtained through coercion and violence. A key aim of his work was to restore identity and dignity to those who were dehumanized as mere "human material" in the context of coercive research. Through detailed biographical reconstruction, the project advanced historical knowledge while also supporting efforts in remembrance, education, and ethical reflection.

Project Management and Research Team

The following researchers contributed to this project, led by Paul Weindling:

• Ryan Farrell
• Nichola (Hunt) Farron
• Aleksandra Loewenau
• Alexander von Lunen
• Michał Palacz
• Aisling Shalvey
• Anna von Villiez