They were called the Nuremberg Codes. These codes were created to put an end to The Doctors Trial. The Doctors Trial was the 2nd out of 13 trials that took place during the Nuremberg Trials, made to discuss how Nazi Doctors were accused of performing deadly experiments on people in concentration camps without their consent.
The Nuremberg Code
"The most important document in the history of the ethics of medical research was created."
~ Evelyne Shuster
During the Doctors Trial, American medical expert points to scars on a leg. The scars were the result of medical experiments.
(Dec. 22, 1946 photo. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Photo Archives).
The Nuremberg code contains 10 principles. The first of the principles states, “The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.” This means that the person involved should be able to decide what they want to do. Without using force, fraud, etc. This principle was not followed but most Nazi doctors got away with it. Another important principle was “ the experiment should be so conducted as to avoid all unnecessary physical and mental suffering and injury.”, meaning that the Nazi doctors must avoid physical and mental pain. Nazi doctors most likely did not follow all of the 10 codes.
Only “ Sixteen of the 23 defendants were found guilty; 7 of them were sentenced to death by hanging, 5 to life imprisonment, 2 to imprisonment for 25 years, 1 to imprisonment for 15 years, and 1 to imprisonment for 10 years. Seven were acquitted.”, mentioned the New England Journal of Medicine. Only 23 Nazi doctors were found, there must have been many more. To top it off only 16 were found guilty. Only 7 of them were hanged and the rest were let off easily by serving about 15 years in prison. This shows that only 16 of the people who committed these inhumane experiments on kids, adults, etc. were convicted. For example, the most infamous was the experiments of Josef Mengele on twins of all ages at Auschwitz to determine how different "races" withstood various contagious diseases. The Doctors' trials impacted a lot on history and as well proved the lack of convicted Nazis in the Nuremberg trials overall.
The prosecution team during the Doctors Trial, including Chief of Counsel Brigadier General Telford Taylor (standing, lower left) and Chief Prosecutor James M. McHaney (seated behind Taylor).
Victim of a medical experiment immersed in freezing water at the Dachau concentration camp. Dachau, Germany, between August 1942 and May 1943.
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