Mutilation of German soldiers in Russia

June 29, 2015

Carolyn reads chapters 5 and 6. Chapter 5, "The Testimony of Witnesses," looks into how credible witness testimony was obtained by the judges. All witnesses took a "real" oath, and the judges sought verification for all testimony, sometimes going to great length to do so.

Chapter 6, "Expert Medical Opinion" explains how medical officers distinguish the nature of wounds, whether from battle or deliberate mutilation, whether inflicted before or after death. The most common mutilations (which occurred daily on the Eastern Front) were the gouging out of eyes and the cutting off of genitals. Severing feet and hands was also carried out by the savage Soviet troops and Jewish partisans. 1hr12m

Left: Corporal Hans Muth, victim of mutilation: medical examination determined that his eyes had been deliberately put out while he was unconscious.