Block 10 of Auschwitz had a special feature. In this two-storey barracks building, the Nazis, immediately after their arrival at Auschwitz, chose to settle about 800 Jewish women of various nationalities (Polish, German, Czech, Dutch, Slovak, Belgian, French and a large number of Greek women), who were subjected to medical experiments. They were subjected to tests of sterilization methods without surgery or with Redgen rays, research on the induction of uterine cancer, experiments to improve the treatment of uterine cancer, blood donation in large quantities, transfusions of different blood groups, etc. Around 300 of them managed to survive and return to their home countries, but with terrible damage to their physical and, above all, mental health. H.-J. Lang recounts, based on thorough research, what exactly happened to these women, what their daily lives were like and what the side effects were both during and after their stay in the camp.

The damage to their health, the loss of their families, sterilisation, inability to work, lack of state support would seriously overshadow their later lives. These unknown aspects of Nazi history and crimes are illuminated through H.-J. Lang’s research. Eyewitness testimonies in court documents, medical histories, service records, autobiographies, interviews and conversation transcripts have allowed the author to make partial identifications of the victims and to describe the absurdity and violence of the Nazi regime. At the end of the book there is a list of the names of the women the author managed to identify, including about 100 Greek women.

• Hans-Joachim Lang studied German Literature, Cultural and Political Sciences at the University of Tübingen, was editor of the newspaper “Schwäbisches Tagblatt” and is Professor of Empirical Cultural History at the University of Tübingen. He has received numerous awards for his writing and historical research.