The Holocaust Center recently acquired an 81-page transcription of the prosecution’s opening statement in the infamous Nuremberg medical case—U.S.A. v. Karl Brandt et al.
The artifact was donated by Elsie Miller, the niece of Eleanor Still, who worked as a stenographer and legal assistant in the Nuremberg Trial. She told her niece that she had taken these legal documents, in order to prove that she was there, that she had heard the atrocities from the men themselves.
U.S.A. v. Karl Brand et al., also known as the "Doctors’ Trial," led to the U.S.-led indictment of 23 doctors and health administrators on four counts:
1. conspiracy to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,
2. war crimes,
3. crimes against humanity, and
4. membership in a criminal organization (the SS).
The 22 convictions in this case and the particular charges raised had never before been seen. This case set a precedent for modern day bioethics and medical accountability.
The title page of the document is dated December 9, 1946. The content of the 81 pages range from the professional activities of each defendant to the detailed horrors of Nazi experimentation on thousands of Jews, Gypsies, tubercular Poles, and Russian prisoners of war. Considering its age, the documents are in good condition; the pages are yellowing but there is minimal wear.
We gratefully accept artifacts to our growing collection. We especially value and record the stories told to us by the donors. Please contact Dee Simon, the Holocaust Center's Co-Executive Director at delilas@wsherc.org if you have any items that you think would be a good addition to our collection. On view to visitors and used by the Speakers Bureau, these items are used in educational presentations.
Special thanks to Kelly Miller for researching this artifact and writing up this article.
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