Monstrous Mengele

     Josef Mengele (1911-1979) was a Nazi German military officer and physician during World War II.  He obtained a Ph.D from the University Munich and an M.D in 1938 from Frankfurt University.  In 1938, Mengele joined the SS, an elite unit of the Nazi party that served as Hitler's personal security force.  After marrying his first wife, Irene Schoenbein, he joined several medical corps and armed units of the SS.  During combat, he received awards for bravery, including the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge.

     On May 24, 1943, he became the medical officer at Auschwitz, the largest Holocaust concentration camp, where he remained for twenty-one months.  During this time, he was referred to as the "Angel of Death" for performing horrific experiments on prisoners and selecting more than 400,000 victims to die in the gas chambers.  Although Mengele experimented on men, women, and children, he was fascinated with twins and often selected them to be placed in special barracks.  He attempted to change children's eye color by injecting chemicals into the eyes, gave blood transfusions, removed organs, conjoined twins together, and amputated limbs - all without anesthetics.  If subjects survived his experiments, they were usually put to death and dissected for further investigation.  Approximately 3,000 twins died in his experiments.  Also interested in dwarfs, Mengele had a group of seven called "his dwarf family," which underwent frequent experimentation but was also given special treatment.

     In 1945, Mengele escaped Germany while dressed as a member of the infantry.  He then became a hired hand on a farm and moved about Germany under various aliases.  Having fled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the 1950's, he worked in the textile industry, drawing on business contacts from his father's company and hiding with the support of a tightly-knit group of Nazi supporters.  After seeking refuge in other Latin countries, including Paraguay and Brazil, he drowned on a beach in Brazil while visiting friends in 1979.  His family and friends kept his death a secret until 1985.  Much to the dismay of the many who sought explanations and justice, he was never apprehended, nor was he punished for his heinous crimes against humanity.

1.  Why did the author write this passage?

     A.  to describe the tragedies prisoners faced in concentration camps

     B.  to explain why experimental surgeries were performed on prisoners

     C.  to describe the actions of one Nazi

     D.  to explain why Auschwitz had the worst reputation of all concentration camps

2.  Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

     A.  Mad Scientist

     B.  The Angel of Death

     C.  Prisoner Experimentation

     D.  The Auschwitz Angel

3.  As used in the passage, the word heinous most nearly means

     A.  horrifying

     B.  alluring

     C.  mean

     D.  unforgivable

4.  According to the passage, which statement is true?

     A.  Mengele murdered hundreds of thousands of victims over the course of five years while working at Auschwitz.

     B.  Mengele gave his victims painkillers during experimentation.

     C.  Mengele was never tried for his crimes.

     D.  The SS was a military division that battled against Hitler during WWII.

5.  According to the passage, which statement is false?

     A.  Mengele was married more than once?

     B.  Mengele was a soldier who was rewarded for courageous battle actions.

     C.  Some prisoners were given preferential treatment while at Auschwitz.

     D.  Mengele performed his experiments sigh no scientific knowledge of the human body.