Carl Clauberg (September 28, 1898 in Witzhelden-Wupperhof; August 9, 1957 in Kiel) was a German gynecologist who, as an SS doctor, performed forced sterilizations on hundreds of female concentration camp prisoners. Due to his research into hormone-based contraceptive methods, which he also conducted in the Auschwitz extermination camp using brutal human experiments, Clauberg is considered one of the fathers of the birth control pill.
Political Activity
Clauberg joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) (membership number 2,733,970)[10] and the SA on May 1, 1933.[1][2] In the SA, Clauberg held the rank of Sanitätsobersturmführer.[9] He was also a member of the NS Lecturers’ Association and the NS Doctors’ Association.[2] In 1940, Clauberg became an honorary SS-Gruppenführer of the Reserve.
“Clauberg’s brutal actions soon became known throughout the camp – at one point, female SS guards arrived because they wanted to see what he was actually doing with the women whose screams echoed through the camp.”[4] Due to the advance of the Red Army, he continued his experiments on at least 35 other women in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.[4] In total, Clauberg carried out between 550 and 700 forced sterilizations. Among his victims was Ilse Arndt.
Am 8. Juni 1945 wurde Clauberg in Eckernförde (Schleswig-Holstein) festgenommen. Er wurde nach Anerkennung seiner Schuld im Juli 1948 in der Sowjetunion wegen der Ermordung sowjetischer Staatsbürger im KL Auschwitz zu 25 Jahren Haft verurteilt. Am 11. Oktober 1955 wurde er aus der Kriegsgefangenschaft im Rahmen der „Heimkehr der Zehntausend“ als „Nichtamnestierter“ entlassen.[9] Initially, he returned to work as a gynecologist[19] at his old university hospital. He was celebrated there as a “late returnee” and martyr.[20] The Central Council of Jews in Germany filed a criminal complaint for continued grievous bodily harm. On November 21, 1955, an arrest warrant was issued in Kiel, shortly after he had been admitted to the psychiatric clinic in Neustadt in Holstein at the request of his wife for threats of murder and manslaughter. At the beginning of February 1956, the experts determined his sanity, but certified that he had an “abnormal” personality. He was imprisoned in Neumünster prison, and charges were not brought until December 1956 – “no leading gynecologist (such as Martius, Philipp, etc.) could be found who would have wanted to act as an expert witness in court.”[21] Ralph Giordano wrote of the indictment:[22]
“Although I have attended many Nazi trials before West German jury courts, the indictment against Clauberg is among the most unbearable reading I have ever undergone in the study of Nazi crimes.”
Due to the charges against him, Clauberg was denied membership in the German Society of Gynecology in 1956 and banned from practicing his profession in March 1957.[23] Before the trial could begin – the defense had thwarted the opening[24] and the Kiel Regional Court, staffed with many former Nazi lawyers, had dismissed the joint plaintiff, Henry Ormond – Clauberg died of a stroke in custody in August 1957. At only 155 cm tall, he was severely obese and considered an alcoholic. Because there were doubts about natural death, an autopsy was performed by the Kiel Institute for Forensic Medicine. It revealed early stages of brain softening (encephalomalacia).