Dachau: Polish Clergy Subjected to Infectious Experiments

Two series, two different sets

Panel 2207 of the Dachau Memorial exhibition gives 185 clergy infected with malaria, including 176 Poles. The wording '40 of them' presents the clergy subjected to phlegmon experiments as part of the first group; that subset included 38 Poles. One must therefore not add 176 and 38 or write of 214 different Polish priests. The panel used contains no lists that would independently verify this relationship by name. [1]

Selection seen by a prisoner

A neighbouring panel cites Kazimierz Majdański's account of the selection of clergy on 10 November 1942. Prisoner numbers were recorded, depriving them of influence over their later fate. This Polish survivor account is a different kind of testimony from the editorial numerical summary in the exhibition, though both are provided by the same institution. [1]

A hospital subordinated to violence

The museum history of the Dachau infirmary describes the contrast between propaganda depictions of care and the lack of medicines, neglect and use of prisoners for experiments. From 1941, experiments involving, among other things, malaria and purulent infections were carried out there. General totals of infirmary victims cover different nationalities and are not a total for Polish clergy alone. [2]

The panel gives 12 deaths in the group of 40 clergy examined in connection with phlegmon. It does not state the nationality of every person who died. We therefore do not present these 12 as an established number of Poles killed. Exposure to illness and forced intervention remain a crime also against those who survived. [1]

Limits of the findings

Panel 2207 presents 40 clergy as part of the group of 185; Polish subsets of 176 and 38 are therefore not added. This relationship was not verified against nominal lists. Numbers subjected to experiments do not mean numbers killed, and the nationality of the 12 who died is not broken down. The infirmary study supplies context, not a second national total. [1] [2]

Sources and notes

Footnote markers identify the basis for specific findings. Bibliographic records remain in their original language; the notes indicate how each source is used.

The bibliographic record and source-use note are retained in Polish to preserve the original scholarly citation.

1. redakcja wystawy; świadectwo Kazimierza Majdańskiego z 1995 r. Geistliche / Clergy – plansze 2207–2209 wystawy stałej. KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau / Haus der Bayerischen Geschichte.

   opracowanie instytucjonalne · PDF, s. 1: plansze 2207–2209; liczby serii zakaźnych i fragment wspomnień Majdańskiego · Dostęp: 2026-09-05.

   Use of this source: 185/176 i 40/38 duchownych, 12 zgonów w grupie mieszanej, selekcja wspomniana przez Majdańskiego.

2. opracowanie muzealne. Sickbay – Historical site, virtual tour. KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau.

   opracowanie instytucjonalne · Punkt 10 „Sickbay”, akapity o propagandzie, warunkach i doświadczeniach od 1941 r. · Dostęp: 2026-09-05.

   Use of this source: Funkcjonowanie rewiru i rodzaje doświadczeń, bez narodowościowego bilansu polskich ofiar.