Himmler, herbs and ‘race hygiene’: The Nazi’s research on involuntary sterilisation with herbal medicine

Soon after taking power in 1933, the Nazis introduced a program of involuntary sterilisation of those German citizens who they considered unworthy of reproduction. These were predominantly, but not exclusively, people afflicted with heridetary diseases. The declared aim was to sanitize the German gene pool. Involuntary sterilisation was legalized through the ‘law for the prevention of genetically diseased offspring’ (Gesetz zur Verhuetung erbkranken Nachwuchs) as early as July 14, 1933. The law provided that handicapped individuals were to be identified, examined by a jury of experts who had to write an experts’ report, and subsequently sterilized.

In order to implement the law, a large number of new health authorities had to be established. By 1935, approximately 220 hereditary health courts and 30 higher hereditary health courts had thus been set up. Each court relied on the expertise of two physicians and one district judge. Throughout Germany, doctors were required to register with these courts every known case of hereditary illness. This included patients suffering from genetic blindness and deafness, manic depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy, congenital feeble-mindedness, Huntington’s chorea, and alcoholism. The doctors who carried out the sterilisations were paid 10 Reichsmark per case for their services.

The most common methods of sterilization were vasectomy for men and ligation of ovarian tubes for women. Around 6 000 patients, mostly women, died as a result of these operations. Because such methods sterilisations required a lengthy post-operative recovery time, the Nazis started looking for more economical methods of sterilisation. New options were thus tested on camp prisoners at Auschwitz and at Ravensbrück. For instance, experimental drugs were tried, carbon dioxide was injected and X-rays were administered. Another option that was considered was herbal medicine.

In October 1941, Adolf Pokorny, an Austrian dermatologist, wrote to Himmler. ‘Driven by the idea that the enemy must not only be defeated, but destroyed’, he suggested carrying out sterilisation experiments with the South American plant Caladium seguinum. Pokorny drew Himmler’s attention to a publication by Madaus, which suggested that the sap of the hogweed caused permanent sterility in animals:

‘If it were possible … to produce a drug that produces undetected sterilisation in humans in a relatively short time, we would have an effective weapon at our disposal. The very idea that the three million Bolsheviks currently in German captivity could be sterilised so that they would be available as workers, but excluded from reproduction, opens up far-reaching prospects.’

In order not to jeopardise the research in this regard, Pokorny recommended that plant cultivation be started soon and that Madaus be prohibited from publishing further papers on this subject so that the ‘enemy’ would not be made aware of these plans. Himmler who was easily impressed by quacks of all types instructed Oswald Pohl and Ernst-Robert Grawitz to follow up Pokorny’s tips and contact Madaus so that he could check ‘the possibility of experiments on criminals who would have to be sterilised in and of themselves’.

In the spring of 1942, the SS contacted the Madaus company. Gerhard Madaus, the company’s boss, had died shortly beforehand and his successor pledged to maintain secrecy about the effects of the plant. A chemist from IG Farben asserted that sterilisation might be possible. In October 1942, the SS placed an order for extracts to be used in human experiments. Ultimately, however, no such trials took place. There were several reasons for this:

• the plant did not thrive in the European climate,
• the Madaus company did not have enough glasshouses for growing the plant,
• attempts to synthesise the plant’s ingredients failed.

After the war, Himmler committed suicide, Oswald was sentenced to death and executed, Grawitz killed himself and his family, and Pokorny was put on trial in the famous ‘Nuremberg Doctors Tribunal‘. He defended himself by arguing that he had all along been aware of the ineffectiveness of Caladium seguinum and that he had wanted to dissuade Himmler from using tried and tested methods of sterilisation with his proposal. The court did not accept his argument, but nevertheless acquitted him:

‘We are not impressed by the defence which the accused has put forward, and it is difficult to believe that he was guided by the noble motives which he states when he wrote the letter. Rather, we are inclined to believe that Pokorny wrote the letter for entirely different and more personal reasons. […] In Pokorny’s case, the prosecution has not succeeded in proving his guilt. As outrageous and base as the suggestions in this letter are, there is not the slightest evidence that any steps were ever taken to apply them through human experimentation. We therefore declare that the accused must be acquitted, not because of, but in spite of the defence he has put forward.’

Porkorny was thus released from prison; his fate thereafter is not known.