Konrad Schäfer (7 January 1911 – after 1951) was a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

German physician who served as a researcher at the Institute for Aviation Medicine in

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. During the Doctors' Trial, he was accused of conducting human experimentation in the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

, but was acquitted.

Education and Nazi activities

Schäfer studied at the universities of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and

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and completed his studies at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in December 1935. Schäfer received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1936, and from 1937 he worked part time as an assistant at the chemotherapeutic laboratory of

Schering AG Schering AG was a research-centered German multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Wedding, Berlin, which operated as an independent company from 1851 to 2006. In 2006, it was bought by Bayer AG and merged to form the Bayer subsi ...

. In November 1941 he went to the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

Medical Testing and Training Department (''Sanitätsversuchs- und Lehrabteilung der Luftwaffe'') in Jüterbog and reported on the results of

human experiments ''Human Experiments'' (also known as ''Beyond the Gate'') is a 1979 American horror film directed and co-produced by Gregory Goodell. It stars Linda Haynes, Geoffrey Lewis, Ellen Travolta, Aldo Ray, Jackie Coogan and Lurene Tuttle. This film earn ...

in the Dachau concentration camp on the subject of thirst and thirst control at the Seenot Conference in October 1942. In 1944 he worked at the Reich Aviation Minister’s Research Institute for Aviation Medicine (''Forschungsinstitut für Luftfahrtmedizin des Reichsluftfahrtministers''). He is regarded as the inventor of a method for seawater

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...

, which was tested on 44

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in the Dachau concentration camp in 1944. In 1947, he was tried and acquitted of various war crimes and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

during the Doctors' trial. He was later invited to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where he conducted research for the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

at Randolph Air Field until 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schäfer, Konrad Physicians in the Nazi Party Physicians from Berlin 1911 births Year of death missing German emigrants to the United States People acquitted by the United States Nuremberg Military Tribunals Date of death unknown