Dr Mengele

Josef Mengele
Mengele, prior to 1945
Birth name	Josef Mengele
Nickname(s)	Angel of Death (German: Todesengel)
Born	(1911-03-16)16 March 1911 Günzburg, Bavaria, German Empire
Died	7 February 1979(1979-02-07) (aged 67) Bertioga, São Paulo, Brazil
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Schutzstaffel
Years of service	1938–45
Rank	SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain)
Service number	NSDAP #5,574,974 SS #317,885
Awards	Iron Cross First Class Black Badge for the Wounded Medal for the Care of the German People
Spouse(s)	Irene Schönbein (m. 1939; div. 1954) Martha Mengele (widow of his brother Karl) (m. 1958)
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Josef Mengele (German: [ˈjoːzɛf ˈmɛŋələ] ( listen); 16 March 1911 – 7 February 1979) was a German Schutzstaffel (SS) officer and physician in Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Mengele was a member of the team of doctors responsible for the selection of victims to be killed in the gas chambers and for performing deadly human experiments on prisoners. Arrivals deemed able to work were admitted into the camp, and those deemed unfit for labor were immediately killed in the gas chambers. Mengele left Auschwitz on 17 January 1945, shortly before the arrival of the liberating Red Army troops. After the war, he fled to South America, where he evaded capture for the rest of his life.

Mengele received doctorates in anthropology and medicine from Munich University and began a career as a researcher. He joined the Nazi Party in 1937 and the SS in 1938. Initially assigned as a battalion medical officer at the start of World War II, he was transferred to the concentration camp service in early 1943 and assigned to Auschwitz. There he saw the opportunity to conduct genetic research on human subjects. His subsequent experiments, focusing primarily on twins, had no regard for the health or safety of the victims.