Otto Bickenbach
Encyclopedia
Otto Bickenbach was a German internist and professor at the University of Strasbourg
. He joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1933. Between June and August 1943 in the Natzweiler-Struthof
concentration camp, Bickenbach and his assistant, Helmut Rühl conducted a series of tests by poisonous gas in this gas chamber experiments with phosgene
. More than 50 prisoners, mainly gypsies transferred for medical experiments from Auschwitz, were murdered in the course of these experiments.
Bickenbach was arrested in 1947 and after a second trial in December 1954 before a military court in Metz
, together with his colleagues he was sentenced to forced labor for life but in 1955 was pardoned and Bickenbach then conducted a medical practice as an internist in Siegburg. The court for health professionals in Cologne in 1966 came to the conclusion Bickenbach had not violated by his participation in the experiments in the concentration camps of his professional duties.
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, is the largest university in France, with about 43,000 students and over 4,000 researchers....
. He joined the Nazi Party on 1 May 1933. Between June and August 1943 in the Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof
Natzweiler-Struthof was a German concentration camp located in the Vosges Mountains close to the Alsatian village of Natzwiller in France, and the town of Schirmeck, about 50 km south west from the city of Strasbourg....
concentration camp, Bickenbach and his assistant, Helmut Rühl conducted a series of tests by poisonous gas in this gas chamber experiments with phosgene
Phosgene
Phosgene is the chemical compound with the formula COCl2. This colorless gas gained infamy as a chemical weapon during World War I. It is also a valued industrial reagent and building block in synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other organic compounds. In low concentrations, its odor resembles...
. More than 50 prisoners, mainly gypsies transferred for medical experiments from Auschwitz, were murdered in the course of these experiments.
Bickenbach was arrested in 1947 and after a second trial in December 1954 before a military court in Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, together with his colleagues he was sentenced to forced labor for life but in 1955 was pardoned and Bickenbach then conducted a medical practice as an internist in Siegburg. The court for health professionals in Cologne in 1966 came to the conclusion Bickenbach had not violated by his participation in the experiments in the concentration camps of his professional duties.