Fritz Ernst Fischer (5 October 1912 – 2003) was a Nazi German medical doctor who performed medical atrocities on inmates of the Ravensbrück concentration camp.[1] He was tried and convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the 1947 Doctors' Trial; he was sentenced to life imprisonment, but his sentence was commuted to 15 years and he was released in 1954.
Fritz Fischer | |
|---|---|
 Mugshot of Fischer | |
| Born | 5 October 1912 |
| Died | 2003 (aged 90–91) |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Conviction(s) | War crimes Crimes against humanity Membership in a criminal organization |
| Trial | Doctors' trial |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment; commuted to 15 years imprisonment |
Early life and war crimes
editFischer was born in Berlin. He studied medicine first at Bonn, later at Berlin and Leipzig, and finally graduated in Hamburg in 1938. He joined the SS in 1934 (ultimately reaching the rank of Sturmbannführer [major]) and became a member of the NSDAP in June 1937. On 1 November 1939, he was assigned to the Waffen-SS of the SS-Department of the Hohenlychen Sanatorium as a physician and SS Second Lieutenant.[citation needed]
In 1940, he became troop physician of the SS Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler. After having been wounded he was posted back to Hohenlychen and worked in the camp hospital of the Ravensbrück concentration camp as a surgical assistant to Karl Gebhardt. He participated in the surgical experiments carried out on concentration camp inmates there.[2]
Trial and later life
editAfter World War II, he was tried in the Doctors' Trial in Nuremberg, convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and was condemned to life imprisonment. His sentence was reduced to 15 years in 1951 and he was released in March 1954.
Fischer subsequently regained his license to practice medicine and started a new career at the chemical company Boehringer in Ingelheim, where he stayed until his retirement.[3]
Based on available records, when he died in 2003, aged 90 or 91, he was the last known living of those indicted at the Doctors' Trial.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^ Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality (1946). "Affidavit of Fritz Ernst Fischer." Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression. Volume VIII (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 635–642. ISBN 9781645940302. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ Office of United States Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality. "Affidavit of Fritz Ernst Fischer." Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression. Volume VIII. pp. 635–642.
- ^ "Why Fritz Fischer was one of the most feared doctors at Ravensbruck". marthahallkelly.com. 15 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
- Schäfer, S.: Zum Selbstverständnis von Frauen im Konzentrationslager: das Lager Ravensbrück, p. 130f. PhD thesis 2002, TU Berlin. (PDF file, 741 kB). In German.
- Schmidt, U.: Lebensläufe: Biographien und Motive der Angeklagte aus der Perspektive des medizinischen Sachverständigen, Dr. Leo Alexander, 1945-1947, in Dörner, K., Ebbinghaus, A. (ed.): Vernichten und Heilen: Der Nürnberger Ärzteprozess und seine Folgen; Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2001; ISBN 3-351-02514-9; pp. 374–404.
- Waltrich, H.: Zur Geschichte der Heilanstalten vom Roten Kreuz in Hohenlychen, part 2, Ökostadt-Nachrichten 28 (1999).
Further reading
edit- Klier, F.: Die Kaninchen von Ravensbrück. Medizinische Versuche an Frauen in der NS-Zeit.; Droemer Verlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-426-77162-4.