Doctors from Hell is a chilling firsthand account of the Nuremberg Trials related to the medical experiments and torture carried out by Nazi doctors on prisoners during the Holocaust. Vivien Spitz, a former court reporter, delves into the horrific details of the crimes committed, emphasizing the high social and professional status of the perpetrators. The book is based on court transcripts and includes graphic photographs, providing a compelling narrative that sheds light on the unspeakable atrocities that took place in the concentration camps.

Spitz weaves a historical past into a short but intense recounting of the tortures inflicted on victims through medical experiments. The book is praised for its ability to discuss the darkness of the Holocaust without overwhelming the reader with excessive blood and gore. Through excerpts from the Nuremberg Trials, the calculated destruction and lack of empathy displayed by the doctors come to light, making it a hard-to-put-down read that educates and enlightens readers about a lesser-known aspect of the Holocaust.

Writing/Prose:

The writing is direct and documentary-like, emphasizing factual accounts while evoking deep emotional responses.

Plot/Storyline:

The narrative details horrific experiments conducted by Nazi doctors on unwilling subjects, and the subsequent trials that sought justice.

Setting:

The post-war Nuremberg setting enhances the gravity of the account, reflecting the physical and emotional wreckage of the war.

Pacing:

The pacing is engaging, keeping readers captivated through tense recountings of trials and horrors.

Genres:

Topics:

nazi medical experiments

holocaust

war crimes trials

human rights violations

euthanasia programs

consent in medical research

justice

evil vs. good

Notes:

Vivien Spitz served as a court reporter at the Nuremberg Trials, documenting Nazi doctors' war crimes.

The book includes trial transcripts and previously unreleased photographs used as evidence.

Nazi doctors conducted horrific experiments on unwilling subjects, including concentration camp victims and prisoners of war.

The Hippocratic Oath, which emphasizes medical ethics, was largely ignored by Nazi doctors.

Compulsory sterilization laws were enacted by the Nazis to target individuals with mental disabilities, hereditary conditions, and the elderly.

Between 1939 and 1945, tens of thousands of mental patients were killed in hospitals under Nazi euthanasia programs.

Common agents of killing included carbon monoxide and Zyklon B gas, used in concentration camps.

Doctors performed brutal medical experiments, such as high altitude and freezing experiments, resulting in numerous deaths and severe injuries.

Nazi doctors justified their inhumane actions for the sake of contributing to the welfare of the state, devoid of compassion.

Vivien Spitz's firsthand experience during the trials provided critical insights into the mentality of those who committed such atrocities.

The book confronts Holocaust denial directly, illustrating the horrors witnessed by authors and historians like Spitz.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The book includes graphic descriptions of torture, medical experiments, and themes of genocide and Holocaust atrocities, making it suitable for readers with high sensitivity to such content.

From The Publisher:

A court reporter for the Nuremberg war crimes trial of Nazi doctors reveals the shocking truth of their torture and murder in this monumental memoir.

Vivien Spitz reported on the Nuremberg trials for the U.S. War Department from 1946 to 1948. In Doctors from Hell , she vividly describes her experiences both in and out of the courtroom. A chilling story of human depravity and ultimate justice, this important memoir includes trial transcripts as well as photographs used as evidence.

The author describes the experience of being in bombed-out, dangerous, post-war Nuremberg. She recounts dramatic courtroom testimony and the reactions of the defendants to the proceedings. Witnesses tell of experiments in which they were deprived of oxygen; frozen; injected with malaria, typhus, and jaundice; subjected to the amputation of healthy limbs; forced to drink seawater for weeks at a time; and other horrors.

Doctors from Hell is a significant addition to the literature on World War II and the Holocaust, medical ethics, human rights, and the barbaric depths to which human beings can descend.

"In this personal account of her service in the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, Vivien Spitz continues to contribute to the cause of human rights." -President James Carter

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Doctors from Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans

Vivien Spitz