Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

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Joda
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Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#1

Post by Joda » 07 Mar 2019, 12:16

I recently had occasion to see a document of a soldier who served in "Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga".
He was member of Polizei. The notes with this stamp were handwritten by a SS-Obersturmführer signature. May I know what was this institute? and the reason why a Polizei soldier served there with links with SS?
Thanks in advance

Joda
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#2

Post by Joda » 19 Sep 2019, 10:33

:roll:


Sejanus
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#3

Post by Sejanus » 20 Sep 2019, 05:36

An SS hygiene institute was located at Riga, it was reportedly associated with the SS hospital there. It was called the „SS-Hygiene-Institut Riga" and may also have been connected with something called „Sonderabteilung Groß" however details are murky.

Is it possible that the soldier/polizei member you are researching was actually assigned to the SS Hygiene Institute Riga? If so, that could explain his SS connection to the Institute.

Among other things generally (such as research into the treatment of diseases including typhus), at least one SS hygiene institute was also involved in criminal activities, including the development and evaluation of Zyklon B gas (beyond its originally designed use as a pesticide) for the mass murder of human beings. However, I do not know what specifically was worked on at Riga.

Riga information sources for this post:

http://www.tenhumbergreinhard.de/taeter ... -riga.html

https://www.forum-der-wehrmacht.de/inde ... rett-riga/

Hope this helps.

Joda
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#4

Post by Joda » 20 Sep 2019, 07:37

Thank you very mich Sejanus; I found these linkw too, as you say it looks that this unit was involved in crude criminal human experiments but nothing is clearly explained.
Maybe all documents got lost or destroyed, anyway I know there is a file from the soviet archives that has reports about this institut.
Maybe anyone know something about this file?

Igor Karpov
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#5

Post by Igor Karpov » 20 Sep 2019, 08:15

The Institute was headed by SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Hans Bludau.

Regards,
Igor

Sejanus
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#6

Post by Sejanus » 20 Sep 2019, 08:26

You are most welcome, Joda.

I did some more looking around and found mention (and some additional information) regarding the "German Hygiene Institute for the Eastern Territories" located in Riga (I believe this is the same institute you are interested in), in a book titled "Epidemics and Genocide in Eastern Europe, 1890-1945" by Paul Weindling, please see the footnote on Page 357:

https://books.google.com/books?id=7ckwD ... te&f=false

The footnote (Nr 160) mentions a specific "NMT" document concerning this particular hygiene institute (not the SS one) in Riga; "NMT" means Nuremberg Military Tribunal, so the document was entered as part of the Nuremberg Trials evidence. Tracking that document down ("Work Report for the Year 1943") could provide additional information regarding what was going on there.

So interestingly enough, it turns out there was more than a single hygiene institute located at Riga during the war; I had thought that perhaps the SS institute was the only one there. Maybe both institutes shared some personnel? If so that may be why your subject had been assigned there.

Will add additional information if I can come across any...

EDIT: The subject named "Ding" that is mentioned in the book (as seen on Page 357 and others) as associated with the German Hygiene Institute for the Eastern Territories in Riga is an SS officer named Dr. Med. Erwin Ding, per information on Page 353 of Weindling's book. While his time in Riga is not mentioned, some additional information regarding Ding can be found here:

https://translate.google.com/translate? ... ng-Schuler

According to the above link, Ding is also known as Ding-Schuler owing to the fact that his father was named Baron von Schuler and he was later adopted by "a rich merchant from Leipzig who gives him his name of Ding."

This also tends to confirm that some SS personnel were assigned to that institute, even though it was not an SS run facility (as the SS Hygiene Institute in Riga was). Ding was mixed up in some awful things and eventually committed suicide a few months after his capture by US forces near the end of the war.

I suspect that the German Hygiene Institute for the Eastern Territories was located at the University of Latvia in Riga.
Last edited by Sejanus on 20 Sep 2019, 10:13, edited 1 time in total.

Sejanus
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#7

Post by Sejanus » 20 Sep 2019, 09:53

Additional information regarding SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Hans Bludau and his work with the (non-SS) Hygiene institute at Riga:

http://www.stolpersteine-gelsenkirchen. ... bludau.htm

Igor: Thank you for the lead about Bludau. My compliments.

Meanwhile, it turns out that Ding was on detached service (from Buchenwald) with the German Hygiene Institute for the Eastern Territories in Riga from 25 October to 15 November 1943.[1] In case anyone runs across this in the future that is interested, those researching Ding should know that he used the last names Ding, Schuler and Ding-Schuler, so all three last names were correct for him at various times of his life and they are all the same person; there is also mention that in 1944, Ding changed his name to Schuler.

[1] http://nuremberg.law.harvard.edu/transc ... giene+riga

Igor Karpov
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#8

Post by Igor Karpov » 20 Sep 2019, 18:18

Sejanus wrote:
20 Sep 2019, 09:53
Additional information regarding SS-Obersturmbannführer Dr. Hans Bludau and his work with the (non-SS) Hygiene institute at Riga:

http://www.stolpersteine-gelsenkirchen. ... bludau.htm

Igor: Thank you for the lead about Bludau. My compliments.
Ah, you're welcome.

Regards,
Igor

Joda
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#9

Post by Joda » 20 Sep 2019, 19:15

Thanks both guys, very kind help you provided.

The only data according to the soldier Soldbuch is the handwritten name of an SS-Obersturmführer "Dr Secker" or maybe "Seeker", hard to read.
Surely this show that the institut was led by SS Personnel , and the soldier of the document was a Polizei Wachmeister.

I know that the Archive of Riga has document from USSR Archives related to this unit, but until now I have no access at it.

Anyway according to all you write guys, this Institut was really linked to criminal experiments. Very dark story..

Joda
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Re: Deutsches Hygiene-Institut für das Ostland, Riga

#10

Post by Joda » 23 Sep 2019, 09:25

Sejanus wrote:
20 Sep 2019, 05:36

Is it possible that the soldier/polizei member you are researching was actually assigned to the SS Hygiene Institute Riga? If so, that could explain his SS connection to the Institute.
I forgot to mention that the Polizei soldier was yes assigned to SS Hygiene Institut of Riga, because the soldier's license are signed by SS-Obersturmführer "Dr. Secker" or maybe "Seeker".

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