Remains of Holocaust victims’ organs discovered in German research institute

The remains of human organs, mostly brain parts, taken from victims during WWII and which were used in experiments were recently found in a German research institute.

IDF Radio reported Wednesday that the horrifying discovery of human remains from the Holocaust was made during inventory reorganization at the Max Planck Institute.

The body parts are believed to have been taken from individuals euthanized as part of Nazi state policy.

The institute believed it had already buried all the remains from Nazi experiments in the 1990s, but this revelation indicates otherwise, and an inquiry has been launched to investigate the incident.

The Max Planck Institute says the collection is believed to be the work of Nazi physician and neuroscientist Julius Hallervorden, who conducted experiments on humans during and after the Nazi era and headed the Neuropathology Department of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Brain Research, which later became the Max Planck Institute.

After 1945, Hallervorden worked at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research in the Federal Republic until his retirement. He also continued to publish the results of his neuropathological research on euthanasia victims in scientific journals.

Hallervorden subsequently became a notorious Nazi war criminal. It is estimated that a majority of the some 700 brains he investigated were victims of euthanasia, and that he was present at the killing of more than 60 children and adolescents in the Anstalt Brandenburg.

The mission of inquiry has begun to sort through the specimens and identify the victims, while its end goal is to bury them all in a mass grave. This process can take months and even years, IDF Radio reported.

The Max Planck Institute issued a statement in German saying it was “ashamed and stunned” by the findings in its archives. It vowed to conduct itself with full transparency.

By: World Israel News Staff

EuthanasiaGermanyHallervordenHolocaustMax Planck InstituteNazisWar CrimesWWII