1947-07-19, #13: Doctors' Trial (Gerhard Rose's personal statement)
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THE PRESIDENT: The Defendant Rose. DEFENDANT ROSE: Mr. President, may it please the Tribunal, the scientists who are among the defendants in this trial are confronted with a principal difficulty, the fact that purely scientific questions have been made political, ideological questions by the Prosecution. In the opening speech by the Chief of Counsel, General Taylor, the political and ideological nature of the indictment has been expressed as clearly as possible. Subject of the personal charges against myself is my attitude toward experiments on human beings ordered by the State and carried out by other German scientists in the field of typhus and malaria. Works of that nature have nothing to do with politics or with ideology, but they serve the good of humanity, and the same necessities can be seen independently of any political ideology everywhere where the same dangers of epidemics have to be combated. Just as in the case of malaria experiments malaria research has to make experiments with human beings, in the same way malaria scientists of various nations had to carry out experiments on human beings. Just as Klaus Schilling, with his own initiative, but with the approval of competent authorities of the State, was compelled to undertake human experiments, before and after him malaria researchers of various nationalities were compelled to make human experiments. Just as Haagen, out of his own initiative and with the approval of the competent State authorities, tested the value of a new, living typhus vaccine, before him that was done in the course of fighting plague by this great co-patriot, Richard B. Strong, when he experimented on natives of the Philippines, who were not American citizens, and when he did so with the approval of your Government. Just as Dr. Ding, on the instruction of the highest and decisive authorities of the German civilian health administration, tested the value of the typhus vaccine on humans in times of greatest typhus danger.
1947-07-19, #13: Doctors' Trial (Gerhard Rose's personal statement)
1947-07-19, #13: Doctors' Trial (Gerhard…
1947-07-19, #13: Doctors' Trial (Gerhard Rose's personal statement)
THE PRESIDENT: The Defendant Rose. DEFENDANT ROSE: Mr. President, may it please the Tribunal, the scientists who are among the defendants in this trial are confronted with a principal difficulty, the fact that purely scientific questions have been made political, ideological questions by the Prosecution. In the opening speech by the Chief of Counsel, General Taylor, the political and ideological nature of the indictment has been expressed as clearly as possible. Subject of the personal charges against myself is my attitude toward experiments on human beings ordered by the State and carried out by other German scientists in the field of typhus and malaria. Works of that nature have nothing to do with politics or with ideology, but they serve the good of humanity, and the same necessities can be seen independently of any political ideology everywhere where the same dangers of epidemics have to be combated. Just as in the case of malaria experiments malaria research has to make experiments with human beings, in the same way malaria scientists of various nations had to carry out experiments on human beings. Just as Klaus Schilling, with his own initiative, but with the approval of competent authorities of the State, was compelled to undertake human experiments, before and after him malaria researchers of various nationalities were compelled to make human experiments. Just as Haagen, out of his own initiative and with the approval of the competent State authorities, tested the value of a new, living typhus vaccine, before him that was done in the course of fighting plague by this great co-patriot, Richard B. Strong, when he experimented on natives of the Philippines, who were not American citizens, and when he did so with the approval of your Government. Just as Dr. Ding, on the instruction of the highest and decisive authorities of the German civilian health administration, tested the value of the typhus vaccine on humans in times of greatest typhus danger.