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What does birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

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What does birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

When the birth control pill was introduced in 1960, women had a new kind of freedom. But the foundations were laid by a Nazi gynecologist who brutally sterilized female prisoners in Auschwitz. Renee Duering still remembers how painful it felt when an Auschwitz prisoner tattooed the camp number on her arm. "Be glad you're getting a number, otherwise you'd end up straight in the oven," the man told her. The Nazis gave her a choice: "Either you go to the Birkenau extermination camp, or become a subject for medical research. That won't kill you.' Duering, who was born in 1921 in Cologne, chose the latter, becoming a human guinea pig in the hands of Nazi gynecologist, Carl Clauberg. She was one of hundreds of Jewish women who were subjected to sterilization experiments, and in 1992 told her story to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She died in 2018. Clauberg studied medicine at Kiel University and received his doctorate in 1925. He specialized in gynecology and worked with chemists from the Schering-Kahlbaum pharmaceutical company to develop hormonal compounds. His method of helping infertile women get pregnant established him as an authority on hormone research. On May 1, 1933, Carl Clauberg joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) and the SA ("Sturmabteilung," a paramilitary combat organization of the NSDAP). Like many doctors in Germany at that time, he hoped that Nazi leadership would help him advance his research. Under the regime, every German woman was expected to have as many kids as possible — preferably blond and blue-eyed. But Clauberg also conducted research on how to sterilize women. This supported the inhumane, racist stance of the Nazis, whose objective was the extermination of Jews, Sinti and Roma people, and other marginalized groups such as gay and Black people and the disabled. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In 1942, Clauberg sent a request to Heinrich Himmler, the chief architect of the Holocaust and the second most powerful Nazi after Adolf Hitler. Clauberg said he needed facilities to implement his "new method of the non-surgical sterilization of inferior women. By the spring of 1943, the doctor was not given his own institute but was allocated a block in Auschwitz. There he set up his very own experimental laboratory in Block 10. The first Jewish women from the neighboring Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp were transferred there. Clauberg himself admitted that the female prisoners were faceless; he was only interested in their lower abdomens. Years later, Renee Duering recalled the torture she had endured at his hands. "We were taken one by one into a room and laid on a black glass table, which was an X-ray table. While the liquid was being injected into our bodies, the X-ray machine was running so that the doctor could see what was happening … the injection burned so horribly." Neither Renee nor the other women knew at the time what was being done to them. Previously, Clauberg had only ever conducted these experiments on animals. His instruments were not sterile and Clauberg would use them multiple times. There was also no anesthesia — only the injection. Depending on the state of the fallopian tubes, the doctor might inject a toxic substance into the abdomen of his subjects, which glued the walls of the fallopian tubes together and burned them closed in the process. If this didn't work, the procedure was repeated. "I had to lie there for three days in terrible pain," Duering recalled. Common side effects from Clauberg's experiments included pus-filled peritonitis — swelling of the belly — blood poisoning, labor-like pains, and terrible burning sensations. The women tried to hold back their screams, because they knew that if they were heard they would be sent to the Birkenau gas chambers. How is it possible for a doctor to ignore ethical concerns and treat people like animals? "Medical and human considerations come to play a secondary role once someone has concluded that they were no longer human beings, but subhumans," historian Andrea Löw from the Center for Holocaust Studies in Munich told the Löw said that in the case of Clauberg, "boundless ambition' also contributed. "He saw his chance to take advantage of the system to advance his career and achieve fame and glory. He subordinated everything else to that." Himmler asked Clauberg how long it would take to sterilize 1,000 women. The doctor replied that a suitably trained physician working alone with 10 assistants should be able to sterilize a few hundred, if not 1,000 Jews in a single day. But he never had the opportunity to conduct industrial-scale sterilizations. On January 27, 1945, the Red Army liberated Auschwitz. Clauberg had already fled to the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp, where he continued his experiments. Once the Soviets closed in on Ravensbrück in April, he fled again. Two months later, he was found, arrested, and sentenced to 25 years in a penal camp in Moscow. But in 1955, he was released early. According to the files of the Kiel Public Prosecutor's Office, he felt that he was given a "royal welcome in his home town." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Clauberg returned to work at the Kiel University Hospital. Because the medical profession was still far from being denazified, a colleague who had worked in Auschwitz was more than welcome. But in November 1955, the Central Council of Jews filed a complaint against Clauberg, with over 100 witnesses willing to testify against him. He claimed that he was the victim of slander and felt that he had been wrongfully accused. According to the investigation files, Clauberg claimed that he had wanted to save the women in the block from certain death in the gas chambers. But Carl Clauberg, who sterilized somewhere between 500 and 700 women, hadn't yet been brought to trial when he died on August 9, 1957. Many of the doctor's victims continued living with the trauma and infertility. Renée Duering, however, miraculously gave birth to a daughter, despite Clauberg's horrific interventions. On August 18, 1960, the first hormonal contraceptive drug known as Enovid was launched in the United States. Research conducted by Clauberg contributed significantly to its development. The Schering company, which had financed Clauberg's experiments, was absorbed into the Bayer pharmaceutical group — which still markets the contraceptive pill today. "This revolutionary method of family planning became a key factor in emancipation and a turning point for society," the company proclaimed on its website. But the women in Block 10 did not have the freedom to decide on motherhood.

What's the birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

DW

a day ago

DW

What's the birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

When the birth control pill was introduced in 1960, women had a new kind of freedom. But the foundations were laid by a Nazi gynecologist who brutally sterilized female prisoners in Auschwitz. Renee Duering still remembers how painful it felt when an Auschwitz prisoner tattooed the camp number on her arm. "Be glad you're getting a number, otherwise you'd end up straight in the oven," the man told her. The Nazis gave her a choice: "Either you go to the Birkenau extermination camp, or become a subject for medical research. That won't kill you.' Duering, who was born in 1921 in Cologne, chose the latter, becoming a human guinea pig in the hands of Nazi gynecologist, Carl Clauberg. She was one of hundreds of Jewish women who were subjected to sterilization experiments, and in 1992 told her story to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She died in 2018. Clauberg studied medicine at Kiel University and received his doctorate in 1925. He specialized in gynecology and worked with chemists from the Schering-Kahlbaum pharmaceutical company to develop hormonal compounds. His method of helping infertile women get pregnant established him as an authority on hormone research. On May 1, 1933, Carl Clauberg joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) and the SA ("Sturmabteilung," a paramilitary combat organization of the NSDAP). Like many doctors in Germany at that time, he hoped that Nazi leadership would help him advance his research. Under the regime, every German woman was expected to have as many kids as possible — preferably blond and blue-eyed. But Clauberg also conducted research on how to sterilize women. This supported the inhumane, racist stance of the Nazis, whose objective was the extermination of Jews, Sinti and Roma people, and other marginalized groups such as gay and Black people and the disabled. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In 1942, Clauberg sent a request to Heinrich Himmler, the chief architect of the Holocaust and the second most powerful Nazi after Adolf Hitler. Clauberg said he needed facilities to implement his "new method of the non-surgical sterilization of inferior women. By the spring of 1943, the doctor was not given his own institute but was allocated a block in Auschwitz. There he set up his very own experimental laboratory in Block 10. The first Jewish women from the neighboring Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp were transferred there. Clauberg himself admitted that the female prisoners were faceless; he was only interested in their lower abdomens. Years later, Renee Duering recalled the torture she had endured at his hands. "We were taken one by one into a room and laid on a black glass table, which was an X-ray table. While the liquid was being injected into our bodies, the X-ray machine was running so that the doctor could see what was happening … the injection burned so horribly." Neither Renee nor the other women knew at the time what was being done to them. Previously, Clauberg had only ever conducted these experiments on animals. His instruments were not sterile and Clauberg would use them multiple times. There was also no anesthesia — only the injection. Depending on the state of the fallopian tubes, the doctor might inject a toxic substance into the abdomen of his subjects, which glued the walls of the fallopian tubes together and burned them closed in the process. If this didn't work, the procedure was repeated. "I had to lie there for three days in terrible pain," Duering recalled. Common side effects from Clauberg's experiments included pus-filled peritonitis — swelling of the belly — blood poisoning, labor-like pains, and terrible burning sensations. The women tried to hold back their screams, because they knew that if they were heard they would be sent to the Birkenau gas chambers. How is it possible for a doctor to ignore ethical concerns and treat people like animals? "Medical and human considerations come to play a secondary role once someone has concluded that they were no longer human beings, but subhumans," historian Andrea Löw from the Center for Holocaust Studies in Munich told the Löw said that in the case of Clauberg, "boundless ambition' also contributed. "He saw his chance to take advantage of the system to advance his career and achieve fame and glory. He subordinated everything else to that." Himmler asked Clauberg how long it would take to sterilize 1,000 women. The doctor replied that a suitably trained physician working alone with 10 assistants should be able to sterilize a few hundred, if not 1,000 Jews in a single day. But he never had the opportunity to conduct industrial-scale sterilizations. On January 27, 1945, the Red Army liberated Auschwitz. Clauberg had already fled to the Ravensbrück women's concentration camp, where he continued his experiments. Once the Soviets closed in on Ravensbrück in April, he fled again. Two months later, he was found, arrested, and sentenced to 25 years in a penal camp in Moscow. But in 1955, he was released early. According to the files of the Kiel Public Prosecutor's Office, he felt that he was given a "royal welcome in his home town." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Clauberg returned to work at the Kiel University Hospital. Because the medical profession was still far from being denazified, a colleague who had worked in Auschwitz was more than welcome. But in November 1955, the Central Council of Jews filed a complaint against Clauberg, with over 100 witnesses willing to testify against him. He claimed that he was the victim of slander and felt that he had been wrongfully accused. According to the investigation files, Clauberg claimed that he had wanted to save the women in the block from certain death in the gas chambers. But Carl Clauberg, who sterilized somewhere between 500 and 700 women, hadn't yet been brought to trial when he died on August 9, 1957. Many of the doctor's victims continued living with the trauma and infertility. Renée Duering, however, miraculously gave birth to a daughter, despite Clauberg's horrific interventions. On August 18, 1960, the first hormonal contraceptive drug known as Enovid was launched in the United States. Research conducted by Clauberg contributed significantly to its development. The Schering company, which had financed Clauberg's experiments, was absorbed into the Bayer pharmaceutical group — which still markets the contraceptive pill today. "This revolutionary method of family planning became a key factor in emancipation and a turning point for society," the company proclaimed on its website. But the women in Block 10 did not have the freedom to decide on motherhood.

Local Germany

2 days ago

Local Germany

'Dangerous': Warnings in place across Germany as heatwave intensifies

A heat warning issued by the German weather service (DWD) was in place over virtually all of Germany on Wednesday as temperatures continue to soar. High temperatures between 31C to 38C were expected across the country, with those in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland and the Ruhr area facing the toughest heat. It will be particularly hot in lower-lying areas and inner-city areas with lots of roads and concrete, DWD meteorologist Marco Puckert told broadcaster for the southwest SWR . As of around noon on Wednesday, the DWD had heat warnings in place over the vast majority of Germany, excluding only a few districts in the far north of the country, such as those around Kiel and near the border with Denmark. Extreme heat warnings were in place in the southwest, in the region between Stuttgart and Mainz as well as districts west of Dusseldorf. The latest weather warnings can be found here . The DWD warns of " severe heat stress " when temperatures feel above 32C (with little cooling at night) and "extreme heat stress" when the temperature rises above 38C. "Heat stress can be dangerous for the human body and lead to a variety of health problems," warns the DWD, adding that it is best to avoid the heat if possible. Heat stress is known to be particularly hard on people with health conditions or less robust immune systems, such as the elderly and new-borns. When there is potential for heat stress all people are recommended to drink plenty of water, stay out of the sun and avoid physical exertion (especially during the hottest times of day). Advertisement Lack of air conditioning Germany's (and also Europe's) lack of air conditioning has received more attention recently as increasingly severe heatwaves have become the norm. READ ALSO: Six ways to keep your German home cool without air conditioning This can be uncomfortable for healthy people in homes without AC, but for patients in hospitals or care homes the problem is more serious. "Most hospitals do not have air conditioning or similarly effective cooling systems," the deputy head of the German Hospital Association (DKG), Henriette Neumeyer, told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. "Most hospitals today have to alleviate the heat with simple and ineffective means such as shading and fans," she added. Advertisement Heat-related deaths are much more common in European cities than in the US due to the lack of AC. A recent study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine suggests that extreme heat could kill millions of people in Europe each year by the end of the century unless countries prioritise reducing carbon pollution and adapting to hotter conditions. Climate change fuels heatwaves Studies and scientific organisations agree heatwave episodes in Europe have become more frequent. Climate change is a significant factor contributing to the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves, according to the EU's Earth observation programme, Copernicus. An academic study published in 2025 in the Weather and Climate Extremes journal on heatwaves from 1921 to 2021 concluded there had been a "significant upward trend in heatwave occurrences across most European regions, with a notable surge in the last three decades."

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What does birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

What's the birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

'Dangerous': Warnings in place across Germany as heatwave intensifies

Environmental Crime - PFAS Chemicals in Drinking Water – DW – 08/13/2025

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What does birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

What's the birth control pill have to do with Auschwitz? – DW – 08/14/2025

'Dangerous': Warnings in place across Germany as heatwave intensifies

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