Medical experiments conducted on male and female prisoners by SS-physicians constitute a special category of their crimes. For the experiments usually were chosen young and strong women, mostly Jewish, but also Roma and women of other nationalities. The experiments were performed for various reasons: for army purposes (among others, experiments consisting of infecting of male and female prisoners with contagious diseases and testing medicines on them), for implementing the population policy planned after the war (i.e. experiments regarding fertility) and for devoloping a scientific base for the racial theories (antopological research).     

Observations and examinations (not seldom very invasive and painful) and experiments, leading often to death or irreversible lifelong mutilation were conducted also on pregnant women and children.

The victims of experiments were neither asked for any consent nor provided any information regarding planned and realized treatment, the way it was carried out or possible side effects. 

At the end of 1942 to Auschwitz came a gynaecologist, Dr. Carl Clauberg, who tested on female prisoners a mass sterilisation method without surgery. He realized his research initially in Birkenau, in the barrack no 30 (BI a), but due to disastrous sanitary conditions there he received an approval for replacement. In April 1943 he obtained a part of the block 10 in the main camp for his research. In May 1944 his so- called experimental station was removed outside the camp area and located in one of the buildings of the new build so- called camp extension (Lagererweiterung).

The method developed by Clauberg consisted of introducing in female reproductive organs some irritating chemical agent in order to cause an inflammation, as a result fallopian tube dysfunction and closure occurred. 

Treatments ended up often in peritonitis or bleedings from reproductive organs, strong pains and fever. Some victims of experiments perished, some were killed in order to perform an autopsy and among those, who survived the treatments and the war the majority was irreversible sterile. 

In November 1942, parallel to Clauberg, a medical doctor and Luftwaffe lieutenant, SS-Sturmbannführer Horst Schuman began his sterilisation experiments consisting of exposure of testicles and ovaries to the x-ray radiation. Schumann implemented various radiation doses in diverse time intervals, trying to determine the optimal doses leading to absolute infertility. In spite of the fact, that the experiments caused extended burning in the area of underbelly, in groins and on buttocks and sometimes ended up with severe inflammations and abscesses, the female prisoners were afterwards sent directly back to the camp and to work. Frequently they died on the results of inflammations or as unfit to work they were sentenced to death during selections. 

Schumann conducted his experiments in Auschwitz until April 1944 and afterwards in the KL Ravensbrück. 

The name of Josef Mengele, a medicine doctor and graduated philosopher in the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer, became a symbol for crimes committed by the physicians in the KL Auschwitz. His research was related to twin and dwarfism issues. He also performed experiments regarding changing of the colour of iris, he was interested also in determining the development factors and treatment methods for cancrum oris (also known as noma), a disease detected in the family camp for Roma. He also conducted his anthropological research among Roma, measuring and describing them thoroughly. For this purpose, he used man, women and children.. 

Antrophomethrical, morphological, dental, x-ray, laryngological, ophthalmological and surgical examinations lasted entire hours and were for its victims very exhausting and painful. The attempts to change the colour of iris consisted of dropping in or injections some undetermined chemical agents in the eye, many victims lost partially or completely irrevocable their sight as a result thereof. Some of the twins and prisoners with dwarfism after being measured were killed with deadly phenol intracardiac injections in order to perform an autopsy on them and to examine their organs. 

On January 17, 1945 Mengele left the KL Auschwitz taking the whole medical documentation fo his experiments and research. 

Other physicians conducted also their criminal experiments using the female prisoners of the KL Auschwitz as guinea pigs. SS-Sturmbannführer Eduard Wirths dedicated himself to research on cervix cancer and experiments using pharmacological substances. SS-Hauptsturmführer August Hirt initiated a collection of skeletons for research on racial differences. On his order 115 women and man were selected in Auschwitz to be murdered and their bodies to be preserved and collected in the basement of the German Reich Anatomy Institute, Hirt was the director thereof. Kurt Heissmeyer, a physician specializing in internal and pulmonary diseases, conducted in the KL Neuengamme experiments related to the possibilities of combating tuberculosis through increasing the immune system of a patient. For this purpose, he infected the tuberculosis patients additionally with skin tuberculosis. Children were also subject to those experiments. In November 1944 a group of Jewish boys and girls was sent for this purpose from the KL Auschwitz to the KL Neuengamme. The last experiments on children took place in March 1945, as soon as they were finished the children were murdered. 

It is hard to estimate today the total number of victims of the criminal experiments conducted in Auschwitz. Nevertheless, it is known that most of the victims perished. Some of them were murdered for further investigation, some died as a result of complications. Those, who survived were redundant for further experiments, so they were murdered with phenol injections, in the gas chambers or sent back to the camp, where they died due to the living conditions.