Remains of Nazi doctor known as 'Angel of Death' donated to research

Josef Mengele fled to South America after World War II following the collapse of the Third Reich, where he successfully evaded capture for the rest of his life.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: MARCH 23, 2016 23:01
Auschwitz-Birkenau (photo credit: REUTERS)
Auschwitz-Birkenau
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Bones belonging to a notoriously sadistic Nazi war criminal will be the subject of extensive scientific research after a Brazilian doctor won custody of his remains this week, The Daily Mail reported Wednesday.
The remnants of the "Angel of Death" Dr. Josef Mengele, the Nazi physician responsible for conducting thousands of gruesome  experiments on Auschwitz prisoners, was awarded to Dr. Daniel Romero Muniz of San Paulo University for research after surviving members of Mengele's family refused to retrieve his skeleton.
Mengele was the leader of a notorious team of doctors at Auschwitz known for committing some of the most ruthless experiments on prisoners, often times children, designed to test the "limits of human endurance."
"[Mengele's] bones will be a really good example for our students to learn from," Muniz told The Daily Mail.
"They will be used to help train new doctors and will be particularly good for those students who are studying postmortem examinations," he added.
Mengele fled to South America after World War II following the collapse of the Third Reich, where he successfully evaded capture for the rest of his life despite being designated as a war criminal.
His remains were finally identified in 1985 after researchers discovered his anonymous San Paulo grave.
His remains had been lying at the Sao Paulo Police Legal Medical Institute morgue ever since, The Daily Mail noted.
Mengele died due to a stroke in 1979 while swimming off the Brazilian coast, and was later found by a retired police officer.
Mengele was able to elude capture after the fall of Nazi Germany with the financial support of his family, first fleeing to Austria then Italy in 1949.
He made his way to Buenos Aires, Argentina with the help of a network of SS sympathizers. He later fled to San Paulo, Brazil after infamous Nazi war fugitive Adolf Eichman was captured in the same city by the Mossad.