The purpose of this study was to examine the controversial personage of Dr. Josef Mengele, who was the chief physician of the Third Reich's Polish extermination camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Until very nearly the completion of this project, virtually no scholarly research had been conducted pertaining to Mengele's life, and therefore, the value of this inquiry is easily discernable. After forty years of eluding Israeli assassins and Nazi hunters, principally in several South American countries, Mengele's alleged remains were discovered, and subsequently exhumed for forensic analysis, near Sao Paulo, Brazil, in early June 1985. In the aftermath of intensive forensic examination, performed by an international team of experts, which included American, West German, and Brazilian scientists, the skeletal remains were pronounced to be those of Mengele within a reasonable scientific certainty. Skeptics not only had misgivings about the initial reports of Mengele's death, but also questioned the veracity of the preliminary medical report, pointing to both errors of omission and commission contained in the report's findings. Despite additional dental evidence discovered nearly one year after the disinterment of the Brazilian remains, which incidentally provided positive identification of the remains as those of Mengele, skeptics continued to discount the expert's opinions and resumed the search for Mengele with renewed vigor. It was concluded that the Brazilian remains were indeed those of Mengele. While the uncertainty over Mengele's apparent death has been resolved, it is recommended that further research be conducted into Mengele's pre-war life, as well as his clandestine post-war existence.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/183217 |
| Date | January 1986 |
| Creators | Burgess, Ronald A. |
| Contributors | Wires, Richard |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | v, 110, [47] leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | e-gx--- |
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