The Irony that I, Standartenführer Waldemar Freiherr von Toula, shall have fashioned a race of Angels out of the lowliest & most debased of genetic Material — out of the ancient & primal Enemies of Yggdrasil — is clear to me. I haven’t lost my sense of humor altogether.
13 MARCH 1943, 09:57:07—
I set out this morning to lay the Groundwork for the Experiment Itself, hereafter to be titled (in tribute to my Father) “Project Gottfriedens.”
The first Order of business is the appropriation of a Suite of buildings suitable to our needs; & in this, also, Chance & Fate & Providence have blessed me. When this camp was constructed — in June of 1940—the Solution existed only as an Outline on a roll of carbon paper. The Reality of the Thing, all the circumstantial & logistic Difficulties (the unexpectedly high rate of Death during transport, to cite one example) were not factored into the builders’ calculations; as a result, Äschenwald was designed to accommodate twice its present Population of approximately 7,000 souls. A good third of the Buildings stand empty, or are used only minimally, as Storehouses of various types. At 06:47 CET, in the course of my daily Interview with Hauptsturmführer Kalk, I gave Instructions for buildings 13, 16, 27 & 29 to be cleared, fumigated, & given a fresh coat of whitewash in their Interiors. An entry has been made in the camp Records at 06:58 CET, listing these 4 buildings as “converted-use storehouses: imperishables to (sic) perishables.”
I’ve decided (after some Reflection) to leave the Nomination of deputies, coördinators & technicians to Kalk. This leaves me free to devote my Attention to a more difficult & gratifying Task: setting down, in this ledger, not only the guiding Principles of this Investigation, but also an initial Outline of each Trial. This I hereby attempt, at 23:24:36 CET, 12 March 1943.
ACTIVATION OF CHRONOMORPHOGENESIS IN MAN
Standartenführer Waldemar von Toula, Principle Investigator
Standard, viable human Cells, both differentiated & undifferentiated, contain trace quantities of virgin genetic Code in potentia, the stimulation of which — through both quotidian & exceptional Stressors, such as extreme Heat & Cold, or extended periods of Darkness, or lack of a readily available food Source — may trigger the spontaneous Development (via the activation of passive genetic Material) of compensatory Traits, which can then be passed on, through orthodox Heredity, to subsequent Generations. This, to quote a familiar children’s author, beloved of our Führer, is how “the Elephant got its trunk,” “the leopard got its Spots,” &c &c. It is how the Yggdrasilian Race came by its Fortitude & how the Semite developed his Guile. This virgin Code has no pre-ordained Purpose, no function, no Limit; no sense of loyalty to Species, or to Race, or to Time.
MATERIALS & METHODS
Seven groups of robust adult males will be culled from the Population at large, physical hardiness the sole Criterion for selection. Culled individuals will be assigned at random until a minimum target Number (tentatively set at 100) is met. Groups 2 through 6 will be regarded as active study groups; the 7th will serve as Control. In further Memory of my departed Father (& by extension, of the Slattern with whom he dallied each noon) I’ve resolved, as an organizing Theme, to give each population the name of a Trump in the game of Tarock.
The 5 study or “assay” groups will be submitted to the following Regimes:
GROUP 6 (“Pagat”) will be confined to Outbuilding 16, previously made use of as a storehouse for linen. The primary storeroom, comprising the Bulk of the building, will be subdivided into 100 wire & timber Enclosures of identical size. Subjects will be fed & exercised daily, showered & deloused with 1/100 Zyklon-B compound once per week. Temperature in the storeroom will be maintained at 7 degrees above freezing by means of a propane-powered refrigeration System (already in place). Subjects will be maintained in an unclothed Condition, 1 individual per Enclosure. All 100 individuals will be subjected to an exhaustive physical Examination, 2x monthly, with special Attention given to the dermis. A detailed Inventory of changes in morphology of the epidermis — Hair count, &c — will be kept for each Subject.
GROUP 5 (“Mond”) will be housed in building 27, a former munitions depot, & will have full Freedom of movement within a shared Enclosure. Subjects will be fed & excercised daily, showered & deloused with 1/100 Z-B compound once weekly, at which time the building’s Butterfly roof vents will be opened, allowing for ingress of natural Light. At all other times 27 will remain in Darkness. All 100 subjects will be examined 2x monthly, subjected to Knoll reflex tests & miscellaneous other Examinations of the central nervous System, with special Attention given to retinal & nervous Response to frequencies on the margins of the visible Spectrum. Standard stimulus-response tests will be administered weekly.
GROUP 4 (“Knabe”) will be housed as per Group 5 above, in an adjoining Structure (27 B) whose roof has been replaced with anodized wire mesh. Subjects will be nourished & maintained at a Level of hygiene equivalent to Groups 5 & 6, & attired as per the general Population. Each evening, when ambient Daylight drops below 7 lumens per square meter within the Enclosure, 6 banks of high-wattage floodlights will be ignited. This simulation of diurnal Conditions will be interrupted by Intervals of Darkness every two hours, beginning at 20 minutes & tapering by 5 minutes per increment. During these Intervals sleep will be permitted, & even, if necessary, induced; at all other times it will be prohibited. Weekly examinations will focus on Stimulus response, Knoll & standard nervous system Tests, including verbal/visual task-&-reward Drills. Metabolic & cardiovascular Rates will be monitored & logged.
GROUP 3 (“Skartins”) will be maintained as per Groups 4 & 5 above & housed in building 13, currently a storehouse for low-bulk Imperishables. Treatment of Subjects will in no respect differ from the Population at large, with the exception that Subjects will be confined to building 13 & fed a mixture of standard camp Rations & a combination of steppe grasses, common clover & delphinium shoots. The Proportion of “indigestibles” to standard rations will be increased in Increments (3 to 5 parts per hundred weekly, weekly to bi-weekly, pendentes progressum). Digestive & metabolic Diagnostics will be run 3x times weekly. At close of study (projected at 12 months) Autopsies will be performed, with special attention given to gastrointestinal Diversions, condition of mucal lining, cystic morphologies, &c.
GROUP 2 (“Kavall”) will be confined to outbuilding 29, a narrow brick Structure (26 by 6 meters) predating the Construction of the camp, originally used for the drying & tanning of leather. By means of a masonwork Alteration to the Interior (pending), the tanning room (16 by 18.6 meters) will be partitioned into 60 enclosures of 1.6 by 1.8 meters. Subjects will be conjoined with the rear Wall by means of reinforced sackcloth Straps (see fig. 1–6), restricting Freedom of movement to the use of the face, jaw & uppermost 7 vertebrae. Standard camp rations will be positioned (by means of movable shelving) just within the projected Radius of movement, & refreshed 3x weekly. Rations will be located to Subject’s left in the case of right-handed individuals, to Subject’s right in the opposite case. Medical examinations will be performed bi-weekly or as Conditions dictate. Autopsies at close of Study (projected at 6 months) will target Developments in dentition, spinal & muscular Morphology (allowing for anticipated atrophic Effects) & development/degeneration of the lymphatic Network, as well as the superior & inferior spinal canal.