These supposed research projects were carried out by established institutions within the Third Reich and fell into three main areas; research aimed at improving the survival and rescue of German troops, testing of medical procedures and pharmaceuticals, and experiments that sought to confirm Nazi racial ideology.

More than seven thousand victims of these medical experiments have been documented, but the official number remains unknown. The Nazis justified the murder by claiming the victims were ‘undesirables’, people they viewed as a drain on national resources.

Adolf Hitler signed a secret authorization in order to protect participating physicians, medical staff, and administrators from prosecution.