Byla jsem doktorkou v Osvětimi - Musela jsem asistovat Mengelemu – Perlová Gisella (2019)

Dr. Gisella Perlová's memories were among the first to be published, just three years after liberation. They can be considered the most poignant testimony of both survivors and the murdered from the women's camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. Dr. Perlová's perspective on the events in Auschwitz is not only purely personal but also tells the stories of other prisoners, guards, and Nazi officials. As a gynecologist and obstetrician, she worked in the so-called camp hospital and in the infamous laboratory of Josef Mengele. The Nazis exploited her medical expertise. The tasks she was assigned were incomprehensible, defying any scientific or medical value. She struggled in vain to understand the purpose of the shocking experiments for which Mengele used Jewish, Romani, and other female prisoners, and in which she had to assist him. She was forced to play her role under the threat of death by shooting, whipping, or phenol injection. The only thing she could conclude was that the purpose and result of Mengele's research were torture and killing. With painful self-examination, she describes how agonizing her decision was to terminate pregnancies and cause the death of children to save the lives of several thousand women. Being a doctor in Auschwitz required exceptional courage and selflessness; she earned respect,…