Hans-Wolfgang Romberg

Hans-Wolfgang Romberg

Luftwaffe doctor
Date of Birth: 15.05.1911
Country: Germany

Content:
  1. Biography of Hans-Wolfgang Romberg
  2. Involvement with the Nazi Party
  3. Work in Luftwaffe and Nuremberg Trials
  4. Experiments and Acquittal

Biography of Hans-Wolfgang Romberg

Early Life

Hans-Wolfgang Romberg studied medicine at the universities of Berlin and Innsbruck from 1929 to 1935. He worked in a hospital in Berlin from April 1936 to 1938.

Involvement with the Nazi Party

In May 1933, Romberg joined the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party). He later also joined the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary forces of the Third Reich, and the National Socialist People's Welfare organization (Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt).

Work in Luftwaffe and Nuremberg Trials

In 1938, Romberg became an assistant and later the head of the Department of Aviation Medicine at the Luftwaffe Institute, where he worked under the supervision of another accused doctor, Siegfried Ruff. He was one of the defendants in the Doctors' Trial at Nuremberg, which took place from December 9, 1946, to August 20, 1947. Romberg was accused of conducting experiments on the effects of high altitude and hypothermia on the human body.

Experiments and Acquittal

Romberg was tasked by the Luftwaffe to study the situation when a pilot ejected from a downed aircraft and landed in icy seawater from a high altitude. An experiment was conducted at the Dachau concentration camp, where a chamber was set up to simulate a free fall from 21,000 meters. Out of the 200 subjects, 70-80 died during the experiment, which investigated the effects of hypothermia on the body by submerging the subjects in icy water. Romberg, along with Ruff and Weltz, was charged in relation to these experiments.

However, the court failed to prove the involvement of Weltz, Ruff, and Romberg in these experiments, leading to their acquittal. Romberg was found not guilty during the trial.

© BIOGRAPHS