Angel of Death aka Josef Mengele Quiz

Answer: Auschwitz

It was at Auschwitz that Mengele became known as the "Angel of Death". It was here that he used inmates as test subjects in his "research" on heredity. He had a special interest in identical twins, dwarfs, giants, and anyone who displayed a genetic anomaly.

Answer: The White Angel

Mengele was often referred to as "The White Angel" because of his behavior when there were new arrivals. He would stand on an elevated platform clothed in a long sleeved white coat with his arms outstretched, evoking to some the image of a white angel.

He directed most people to the left, where the gas chambers were located, for immediate extermination. Occasionally, though, he would point to the right for inmates whom he considered 'fit for work' or who interested him and appeared to be quality subjects for his experimentation.

Answer: A riding crop

Mengele was known to always be perfectly groomed. His uniform was always ironed and starched, his boots highly polished. And he always carried a riding crop. It was not used to beat the prisoner, rather he used it to indicate which direction a prisoner was to go. To many new prisoners he appeared impeccably dressed, often whistling operas by Wagner, and was often smiling with expectation as to what the latest shipment would bring him.

Answer: Dr. Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer

Dr. Otmar Freiherr von Verchuer was Mengele's mentor and they both had similar interests. He worked at Auschwitz as Mengele's supervisor and was aware of and encouraged his actions. In spite of this, at the end of the war he was he was only fined 600 Reichmarks and released from custody.

He remained a memember of the American Eugenics Society till his death in 1969. The Chief Medical Officer of Auschwitz was Dr. Eduard Wirths, the 'garrison physician'. He also was aware of Mengele's experiments and conducted his own.

His experiments dealt with gynecological experiments and with typhus. He committed suicide while waiting to be tried for his war crimes. These men are mentioned so that it is known that what Mengele did was not done alone nor secret. And also that there were many who were just as guilty, just not as infamous.

Answer: Identical twins

Mengele was fascinated by identical twins. He performed outrageous experiments that included sewing two twins together in an attempt to make Siamese twins, attempted to perform sex changes, vivisections, sterilizations and many other horrible acts, usually without anesthesia.

His pseudo-scientific experiments were done for no valid scientific reason and have led to his reputation as the epitome of the megalomaniacal mad scientist.

Answer: Most of them were dwarfs

It is possible than any of these things would have attracted the interest of Mengele, but the Ovitz family suffered from Pseudoachondriplasia dwarfism. Because of their condition and its relative rarity, Mengele treated them better than most prisoners.

He built a special building for them and other dwarfs who all claimed to be related to the Ovitz family whether or not they were. They were experimented on and forced to have daily contact with Mengele. They did whatever he told them to do and thus they survived.

The last member of the family died in 2001.

Answer: True

Mengele was meticulous in all aspects of his life. In 2011, over 31 of his personal notebooks, journals and manuscripts were put up for sale. These writings cover over 3,000 pages of his daily experiments and their outcomes. This paperwork was valued by the auctioneer at over half a million dollars and he expressed hope they would end up in a museum as opposed to a private collection.

Answer: False

Most estimates place the number closer to 400,000. The number is mind boggling. Most figures estimate he only chose about 5% of the inmates for his experiments. The others were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Of those he chose to save for his experiments only about 1/5 survived to the end of the war.

This is just one reason that he was considered one of World War II's most wanted war criminals. After the end of the war, the search for Mengele lasted over 30 years.

Answer: South America

At the end of the war, Mengele was taken prisoner of war by the Allies, as were many Germans, but had provided the name Dr. Fritz Hollman. He worked for a while as a farm hand while his escape to South America was planned. He escaped Europe via Austria and Italy and made his way to Argentina.

He stayed in Argentina until 1962 when he moved to Paraguay after the capture of German war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. He moved within a few years to Brazil, where he spent his last years, living a regular life, unrecognized by those around him as the infamous "Angel of Death". South America was home to many of those who were wanted for Nazi war crimes.

Answer: Died while swimming in the ocean

Mengele evaded capture for 34 years. On February 7, 1979 he washed up after swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and it was believed he had drowned, no autopsy was done and cause of death will never be known. He was buried under his assumed alias Wolfgang Gerhard, a name he had been using for 3 years.

He was buried in Embu das Artes in the state of Sao Paolo, Brazil. In 1985 his body was exhumed and in 1992, DNA tests confirmed his identity.