Siegfried Ruff

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Siegfried Ruff
Mugshot of Ruff
Born19 February 1907
Friemersheim, German Empire
Died22 April 1989(1989-04-22) (aged 82)
OccupationPhysician
Political partyNazi Party
Criminal statusAcquitted
Criminal chargeConspiracy against peace
War crimes
Crimes against humanity
TrialDoctors' trial

Siegfried Ruff (19 February 1907 – 22 April 1989) was a Nazi German physician who served as director of the Aviation Medicine Department at the German Experimental Institute for Aviation,[1] and was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for conducting medical atrocities. He was acquitted.

Nazi activities and Doctors' Trial[edit]

In the 1947 Doctors' Trial, Ruff was indicted on various war crimes allegedly committed during his time as a researcher at the Institute for Aviation.[2] Specifically, it was alleged he had overseen experiments that had resulted in the deaths of 80 Dachau concentration camp inmates.[2] While Ruff acknowledged human experimentation had occurred, he stated it had occurred according to the law and denied it had resulted in any deaths.[3] Ruff was acquitted of all charges against him.[2]

Post-War human experimentation[edit]

Following World War II, Ruff was hired by the U.S. Army Air Forces to work at a United States military hospital in Heidelberg conducting experiments on human exposure to high altitudes.[2]

In 1961 the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine chose to relocate its annual conference from West Germany over objections at Ruff's participation.[3]

Ruff enjoyed a distinguished medical career in postwar Germany.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Defendant Dr. Siegfried Ruff on the first day of his testimony in his own defense at the Doctors Trial". ushmm.org. U.S. Holocaust Museum. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d Hunt, Linda (April 1985). "U.S. Coverup of Nazi Scientists". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 41 (4): 21–24.
  3. ^ a b "Tadel verpflichtet". Der Spiegel (in German). November 24, 1965. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  4. ^ Moreno, Jonathan (2001). Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans. Psychology Press. pp. 56–57. ISBN 0415928354.