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Scientists of WW2
Josef Mengele
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Mengele was born the eldest of three children on 16 March 1911 to Karl and Walburga (Hupfauer) Mengele in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany.[3] His younger brothers were Karl Jr and Alois. Mengele's father was founder of the
Karl Mengele & Sons company, producers of farm machinery.[3] Mengele did well in school and developed an interest in music, art, and skiing.[3] He completed high school in April 1930 and went on to study medicine and philosophy at the University of Munich.[3] Munich was the headquarters of the Nazi Party, an antisemitic political organisation led by Adolf Hitler.[3] In 1931 Mengele joined the Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten, a paramilitary organisation that was in 1934 absorbed into the Nazi Sturmabteilung (Storm Detachment; SA).[3][3]
In 1935, Mengele earned a PhD in anthropology from the University of Munich.[3] In January 1937, at the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in Frankfurt, he became the assistant to Dr. Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, a scientist conducting genetics research, with a particular interest in twins.[3] As an assistant to von Verschuer, Mengele focused on the genetic factors resulting in a cleft lip and palate or cleft chin.[3] His thesis on the subject earned him a cum laude doctorate in medicine in 1938. Had he continued this academic focus, Mengele would likely have become a professor.[3] In a letter of recommendation, von Verschuer praised Mengele's reliability and his ability to verbally present complex material in a clear manner.[3] The American author Robert Jay Lifton notes that Mengele's published works did not deviate much from the scientific mainstream of the time, and would probably have been viewed as valid scientific efforts even outside the borders of Nazi Germany[3].
Mengele was born the eldest of three children on 16 March 1911 to Karl and Walburga (Hupfauer) Mengele in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany.[3] His younger brothers were Karl Jr and Alois. Mengele's father was founder of the
Karl Mengele & Sons company, producers of farm machinery.[3] Mengele did well in school and developed an interest in music, art, and skiing.[3] He completed high school in April 1930 and went on to study medicine and philosophy at the University of Munich.[3] Munich was the headquarters of the Nazi Party, an antisemitic political organisation led by Adolf Hitler.[3] In 1931 Mengele joined the Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten, a paramilitary organisation that was in 1934 absorbed into the Nazi Sturmabteilung (Storm Detachment; SA).[3][3]
In 1935, Mengele earned a PhD in anthropology from the University of Munich.[3] In January 1937, at the Institute for Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in Frankfurt, he became the assistant to Dr. Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, a scientist conducting genetics research, with a particular interest in twins.[3] As an assistant to von Verschuer, Mengele focused on the genetic factors resulting in a cleft lip and palate or cleft chin.[3] His thesis on the subject earned him a cum laude doctorate in medicine in 1938. Had he continued this academic focus, Mengele would likely have become a professor.[3] In a letter of recommendation, von Verschuer praised Mengele's reliability and his ability to verbally present complex material in a clear manner.[3] The American author Robert Jay Lifton notes that Mengele's published works did not deviate much from the scientific mainstream of the time, and would probably have been viewed as valid scientific efforts even outside the borders of Nazi Germany[3].
Maria Telkes
Photo: [1]
Mária Telkes, a Hungarian-born American physical chemist and biophysicist, was known for her invention of the solar distiller and of the first solar-powered heating system designed for use in the home. After immigrating to the United States in the mid-1920s, she conducted research in biophysics at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and later became a research engineer at Westinghouse Electric. During World War II, while working for the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, she created a solar distiller that vaporized seawater and recondensed it into potable water. In 1948 her design for the world’s first home heating system based on the capture of solar energy came to fruition with the construction of a house in Dover, Mass, that made use of solar collectors and Glauber’s salts for heat storage [4].
Mária Telkes, a Hungarian-born American physical chemist and biophysicist, was known for her invention of the solar distiller and of the first solar-powered heating system designed for use in the home. After immigrating to the United States in the mid-1920s, she conducted research in biophysics at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and later became a research engineer at Westinghouse Electric. During World War II, while working for the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, she created a solar distiller that vaporized seawater and recondensed it into potable water. In 1948 her design for the world’s first home heating system based on the capture of solar energy came to fruition with the construction of a house in Dover, Mass, that made use of solar collectors and Glauber’s salts for heat storage [4].