Dr. Josef Mengele, the notorious physician at the Auschwitz annihilation camp–who is missing from among the 22 Nazis now on trial here as leading members of the personnel of the Auschwitz death camp–filed a formal appeal this weekend against the cancelation of his medical degree in 1961 by the Frankfurt University.
The “selection doctor,” as Dr. Mengele was known among the camp inmates for picking victims for the gas ovens, filed his appeal with the state authorities through a South American lawyer. He did not indicate his whereabouts, but he was last reported hiding in Argentina. He named his wife as his representative. West German authorities have been unsuccessful in efforts to find him for extradition.
The trial of the 22 others in the Auschwitz case continued this weekend, with one defendant refusing to testify and two others denying complicity in any murders. All 22 are accused of participating in the murder of several million Auschwitz inmates, most of the victims having been Jews. Cari Hoecker, a former Auschwitz adjutant, denied guilt, although he conceded also that he had “passed on” four or five execution orders issued by his chiefs. Withelm Boger, former senior guard at Auschwitz, told the court he would give no testimony at the trial.
Another of the accused, Klaus Dylewski, testified that Boger had invented a cruel piece of torture apparatus, called the “Boger Cradle,” for use on inmates. When the court sought to question Boger about this apparatus, he said he would not answer questions about matters that might hurt his case. The court did not press him further.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
