The Children of Bullenhuser
In November of 1944, 20 Jewish children, 10 boys and 10 girls, all under the age of 12, were taken from the Auschwitz concentration camp to become human guinea-pigs in medical experiments. The doctor, named Kurt Heissmeyer, took out the children’s lymph glands and injected live tuberculosis bacteria into their veins and lungs to see if they were immune to it. Over time, the disease quickly accelerated and all the children became very ill. On April 20, 1845, a few days before the end of the war, Dr. Heissmeyer and his assistant Obersturmführer Arnold Strippel planned to kill all the children to hide evidence from the Allied forces. They moved the children to an old school, previously called the Bullenhuser Damm School, to complete their murders. They made the kids go to the basement and forced them to undress and injected them all with morphine. After that, they hung all of the kids from hooks on the wall, however the rope would not strangle them due to their extremely low weight from malnourishment and disease. An officer, Untersturmführer Frahm used all his weight to hang the kids saying they, “were like pictures on the wall.” If the children could have survived just two more weeks, the Allied forces would have liberated them.
One of the children was named Jacqueline Morgenstern, born in Paris, France, in 1932. In 1940, when Germany invaded France the Nazi brutality increased. Four years later, both Jacqueline and her parents were sent to Auschwitz, but the family was split when Jacqueline and her mom worked in a women’s camp. Jacqueline’s mother, Suzanne, gave her daughter most of her food, so eventually the Nazis sent her to the gas chambers because she was no longer useful. After her death, Jacqueline was sent to a special children’s barrack where she became victim to the medical experiments.
After the war, Dr. Heissmeyer returned to his prewar home and resumed medical practice. Eventually, in 1966, he was tried and sentenced to life in prison. Today, a memorial is located in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm School, kept in its original state to honor all 20 of the kids, whose lives were lost much too soon.
One of the children was named Jacqueline Morgenstern, born in Paris, France, in 1932. In 1940, when Germany invaded France the Nazi brutality increased. Four years later, both Jacqueline and her parents were sent to Auschwitz, but the family was split when Jacqueline and her mom worked in a women’s camp. Jacqueline’s mother, Suzanne, gave her daughter most of her food, so eventually the Nazis sent her to the gas chambers because she was no longer useful. After her death, Jacqueline was sent to a special children’s barrack where she became victim to the medical experiments.
After the war, Dr. Heissmeyer returned to his prewar home and resumed medical practice. Eventually, in 1966, he was tried and sentenced to life in prison. Today, a memorial is located in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm School, kept in its original state to honor all 20 of the kids, whose lives were lost much too soon.