Operationstemperaturen

Operationstemperaturen is a German psychological experiment conducted during World War II by the Sicherheitsdienst, the intelligence agency of the Nazi Party. The study was led by doctor Fritz Fischer and aimed to investigate the effects of extreme temperatures on the human body.

In 1942, a team of researchers from the Sicherheitsdienst arrived at a concentration camp in Eastern Europe, where they began their experiment. Prisoners were subjected to exposure to extreme cold temperatures, measuring around minus 27 degrees Celsius, or minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit, for extended periods. The experiment was divided into multiple phases, each involving prolonged exposure to sub-zero temperatures. The researchers monitored the prisoners' vital signs, behavioral responses, and physical conditions.

The study's primary objective was to comprehend the human body's ability to withstand extreme temperatures, and the point at which hypothermia would set in. The researchers reported that subjects would initially exhibit symptoms such as numbness, followed by reduction of mental ability and compassive effect. Below minus 25 Celsius, symptoms progressed to physical disorder, exhaustive agony, which could then go over multiple dreadful hours before.

The outcome of Operationstemperaturen provided significant knowledge regarding the human body's interaction with extreme weather, particularly below freezing conditions. While this study furnished the group with evolutionary know-how regarding constraints of how best not die after being out in freezing weather many important questions still remain about how this can best be done.