They were ahead of time.
Nazi experiments
See also: Sexual orientation change efforts and Nazi human experimentation
The Nazi policies on homosexuals were largely driven by Himmler's disdain for homosexuality, which he believed was a menace to the German national reproductive capacities.[27] He also loathed the unmasculine and oppositional traits of homosexuals so that he sought its cure through initiatives that started in 1937 after Himmler's speech to the Reich Committee for Population and Racial Policy.[27] His rationale was that human experimentation was permissible if it was for the benefit of the state.[28]
Dachau[29] and Buchenwald[18] were the principal centers of human experimentation on homosexuals by Nazi doctors, who sought to find a "medical cure" for homosexuality, among other endeavors. At Buchenwald, Danish doctor Carl Værnet conducted hormonal experiments on gay men on the personal authority of Himmler.[30] He was awarded 1,500 German marks monthly from the SS funds to test his "cure", which involved incisions in the subject's groin where an artificial male sexual gland was implanted.[27] This was a metal tube that released testosterone over a prolonged period, as the doctor believed that a lack of testosterone was the cause of homosexuality. Although some of the men claimed to have become heterosexual, the results are largely unreliable as many are assumed to have stated they were "cured" in order to be released from the camp. Those who did not show improvement were determined to be "chronic" or "incurable" homosexuals.[31][32] At least seventeen prisoners were used for Værnet's research, which also involved criminal and heterosexual participants.[27] Twelve gay men were subjected to the hormonal experiment and two of these men died due to infections.[30]
The Third Reich forced Jewish women and lesbians to perform sex acts with men at German camp brothels in World War II. Heinrich Himmler ordered that pink triangles be forced to perform sex acts on female sex slaves. [33] Homosexuals were ordered to perform these acts once a week as conversion therapy.[34] The therapy also included humiliation through beatings and ridicule as well as the policy of segregating homosexuals from other prisoners, which was also implemented out of the belief that homosexuality can be spread to other inmates and guards.[1]
Other experiments included attempts to create immunization from typhus fever,[18] led by Erwin Ding-Schuler,[35] and castration.[36] The typhus experiments resulted with inoculations that made the Matelska strain of typhus rickettsia avirulent to patients.[37] One of these experiments was halted when it was determined that lice was a threat to the camp's health.[27] Another experiment that used homosexuals involved placing the subjects under sun lamps that were so hot they burned the skin. A homosexual victim was said to have been repeatedly cooled to unconsciousness then revived with lamps until he was pouring sweat.[38]
Although there are no exact statistics regarding these experiments, it is recognized that they have caused illness, mutilation, and deaths[39] while yielding no scientific knowledge.[1]
Nazi experiments
See also: Sexual orientation change efforts and Nazi human experimentation
The Nazi policies on homosexuals were largely driven by Himmler's disdain for homosexuality, which he believed was a menace to the German national reproductive capacities.[27] He also loathed the unmasculine and oppositional traits of homosexuals so that he sought its cure through initiatives that started in 1937 after Himmler's speech to the Reich Committee for Population and Racial Policy.[27] His rationale was that human experimentation was permissible if it was for the benefit of the state.[28]
Dachau[29] and Buchenwald[18] were the principal centers of human experimentation on homosexuals by Nazi doctors, who sought to find a "medical cure" for homosexuality, among other endeavors. At Buchenwald, Danish doctor Carl Værnet conducted hormonal experiments on gay men on the personal authority of Himmler.[30] He was awarded 1,500 German marks monthly from the SS funds to test his "cure", which involved incisions in the subject's groin where an artificial male sexual gland was implanted.[27] This was a metal tube that released testosterone over a prolonged period, as the doctor believed that a lack of testosterone was the cause of homosexuality. Although some of the men claimed to have become heterosexual, the results are largely unreliable as many are assumed to have stated they were "cured" in order to be released from the camp. Those who did not show improvement were determined to be "chronic" or "incurable" homosexuals.[31][32] At least seventeen prisoners were used for Værnet's research, which also involved criminal and heterosexual participants.[27] Twelve gay men were subjected to the hormonal experiment and two of these men died due to infections.[30]
The Third Reich forced Jewish women and lesbians to perform sex acts with men at German camp brothels in World War II. Heinrich Himmler ordered that pink triangles be forced to perform sex acts on female sex slaves. [33] Homosexuals were ordered to perform these acts once a week as conversion therapy.[34] The therapy also included humiliation through beatings and ridicule as well as the policy of segregating homosexuals from other prisoners, which was also implemented out of the belief that homosexuality can be spread to other inmates and guards.[1]
Other experiments included attempts to create immunization from typhus fever,[18] led by Erwin Ding-Schuler,[35] and castration.[36] The typhus experiments resulted with inoculations that made the Matelska strain of typhus rickettsia avirulent to patients.[37] One of these experiments was halted when it was determined that lice was a threat to the camp's health.[27] Another experiment that used homosexuals involved placing the subjects under sun lamps that were so hot they burned the skin. A homosexual victim was said to have been repeatedly cooled to unconsciousness then revived with lamps until he was pouring sweat.[38]
Although there are no exact statistics regarding these experiments, it is recognized that they have caused illness, mutilation, and deaths[39] while yielding no scientific knowledge.[1]
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