In 1944, during World War II, a very cruel thing occurred at Dachau. Nazi doctors conducted a terrible experiment on 90 Romani men.
They wanted to know if a pilot who went into the ocean could live by drinking seawater.
Instead of helping people, they used prisoners.
The men were organized into groups. Some were given seawater. Others received seawater that tasted a little better but was still salty. They were not given any food or clean water.
The human body cannot survive on seawater. Too much salt will make people very ill. Their bodies will not be able to function. Their minds will be confused.
The men were so thirsty that they crawled on the floor. They attempted to lick wet board’s. They squeezed dirty mops to obtain one drop of water.
Many of them died.
This was not science. This was cruelty.
The world learned of these crimes after the war at the Nuremberg Trials. Today we learn about this so that we can remember and ensure that it never happens again.
Each individual has the right to be treated with respect. Nobody should ever be treated as a tool.