Viktor Brack
Encyclopedia
Viktor Brack was a Nazi war criminal, the organiser of the Euthanasia
Programme, Action T4
, where the Nazi state systematically murdered disabled German people. Following this, Brack was one of the men responsible for the gassing of Jews in the extermination camps, and he conferred with Odilo Globocnik
about the practical implementation of the Final Solution
. Brack was sentenced to death in 1947 and executed in 1948.
. In 1936, he was chief of Office 2 (Amt II) in the Chancellery
of the Führer
in Berlin
. The office handled matters concerning the Reich Ministries, armed forces, Nazi Party, clemency petitions and complaints received by the Führer from all parts of Germany. In November 1940, Brack was promoted to the grade of SS-Oberführer
(Senior Colonel).
In December 1939, Brack gave August Becker
the task of arranging gas killing operations of mental patients and other people that the Nazis deemed "life unworthy of life." This operation later became known as Action T4
.
During the Doctors' Trial
Brack testified from the witness stand that after 1941, when the extermination of Jewish population by Nazis was at full capacity, Heinrich Himmler
ordered him to contact physicians involved previously in the Euthanasia Program to find out a way of sterilizing young and strong Jews capable of labour for use in the German war effort. The idea was to develop a method by which the victim could be sterilized without being aware of the process.
In March 1941, Brack fulfilled his assignment and prepared a report for Heinrich Himmler
, in which he described the method of sterilizing patients using X-ray
s on a large scale and without the subject's knowledge of the fact until the effects made themselves felt.
On 23 June 1942 Brack wrote the following letter to Himmler:
Following the letter, Himmler ordered the procedure to be tested on prisoners in Auschwitz
. Since Brack was transferred to an SS division, his deputy Blankenburg would undertake the task and "immediately take the necessary measures and get in touch with the chiefs of the main offices of the concentration camps."
From testimony given by a French physician of Jewish descent, who was a prisoner in Auschwitz from September 1943 to January 1945, it can be found that sterilization of Jewish inmates was carried out in Birkenau camp by SS
doctors. About 100 male Poles who had been sterilized at Birkenau were attended to by the witness after the operation. According to the witness, members of the group were later castrated by camp physicians.
More evidence was presented, from which it is clear that sterilization using very high doses of X-ray
s during several minutes was conducted on other persecuted groups. They also were subjected to the excruciatingly painful procedure, and later castrated.
Also, during the Doctors' Trial
at Nuremberg
, Brack was implicated in the execution of the Euthanasia Program which later emerged as the famous "Action 14 f 13"; the extermination of those concentration camp inmates deemed unable to work.
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
Programme, Action T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
, where the Nazi state systematically murdered disabled German people. Following this, Brack was one of the men responsible for the gassing of Jews in the extermination camps, and he conferred with Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Globocnik
Odilo Lotario Globocnik was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. He was an acquaintance of Adolf Eichmann, who played a major role in the extermination of Jews and others during the Holocaust...
about the practical implementation of the Final Solution
Final Solution
The Final Solution was Nazi Germany's plan and execution of the systematic genocide of European Jews during World War II, resulting in the most deadly phase of the Holocaust...
. Brack was sentenced to death in 1947 and executed in 1948.
History
In 1929, Viktor Brack became a member of the NSDAP and the SSSchutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
. In 1936, he was chief of Office 2 (Amt II) in the Chancellery
Hitler's Chancellery (Kanzlei des Führers)
Die Kanzlei des Führers , also known as Privatkanzlei des Führers, was the Chancellery responsible for the Nazi Party and associated organizations and their dealings directly with Hitler...
of the Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The office handled matters concerning the Reich Ministries, armed forces, Nazi Party, clemency petitions and complaints received by the Führer from all parts of Germany. In November 1940, Brack was promoted to the grade of SS-Oberführer
Oberführer
Oberführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party dating back to 1921. Translated as “Senior Leader”, an Oberführer was typically a Nazi Party member in charge of a group of paramilitary units in a particular geographical region...
(Senior Colonel).
In December 1939, Brack gave August Becker
August Becker
August Becker was during the Nazi regime in Germany an SS lieutenant colonel and chemist in the Central Reich Security Office...
the task of arranging gas killing operations of mental patients and other people that the Nazis deemed "life unworthy of life." This operation later became known as Action T4
Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
.
During the Doctors' Trial
Doctors' Trial
The Doctors' Trial was the first of 12 trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Nuremberg, Germany after the end of World War II. These trials were held before U.S...
Brack testified from the witness stand that after 1941, when the extermination of Jewish population by Nazis was at full capacity, Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
ordered him to contact physicians involved previously in the Euthanasia Program to find out a way of sterilizing young and strong Jews capable of labour for use in the German war effort. The idea was to develop a method by which the victim could be sterilized without being aware of the process.
In March 1941, Brack fulfilled his assignment and prepared a report for Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
, in which he described the method of sterilizing patients using X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s on a large scale and without the subject's knowledge of the fact until the effects made themselves felt.
On 23 June 1942 Brack wrote the following letter to Himmler:
Following the letter, Himmler ordered the procedure to be tested on prisoners in Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
. Since Brack was transferred to an SS division, his deputy Blankenburg would undertake the task and "immediately take the necessary measures and get in touch with the chiefs of the main offices of the concentration camps."
The Nuremberg Trial
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
doctors. About 100 male Poles who had been sterilized at Birkenau were attended to by the witness after the operation. According to the witness, members of the group were later castrated by camp physicians.
More evidence was presented, from which it is clear that sterilization using very high doses of X-ray
X-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
s during several minutes was conducted on other persecuted groups. They also were subjected to the excruciatingly painful procedure, and later castrated.
Also, during the Doctors' Trial
Doctors' Trial
The Doctors' Trial was the first of 12 trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Nuremberg, Germany after the end of World War II. These trials were held before U.S...
at Nuremberg
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
, Brack was implicated in the execution of the Euthanasia Program which later emerged as the famous "Action 14 f 13"; the extermination of those concentration camp inmates deemed unable to work.