Biography of Josef MengeleJosef Mengele was born on March 16, 1911, the son of Karl and Walburga Mengele, and had two brothers. He was considered an intelligent young man and learned philosophy and National Socialism in Munich, reinforcing his anti-Semitic views early in life. He received his doctorate in physical anthropology at the University of Munich in 1935 and eventually became an assistant to Dr. Otmar von Verschuer at the Institute of Hereditary Biology and Racial Hygiene in Frankfurt in 1937. Dr. Otmar von Vershuer was known to have a particular interest in twin research and it was possible that he passed this interest on to Mengele. A member of the Nazi Party before the end of his studies, Mengele was part of the Schutzstaffel (SS) in 1938. After basic training and 6 After a month's stay in a mountain infantry unit, he was called up in 1940 in the Waffen-SS where he became a military doctor. He was a decorated soldier for his combat efforts on the Eastern Front before being declared unfit for combat in 1943. This was due to his injuries sustained on the Donets River in Russia in combat. Mengele returned to Germany for a short time before being asked to work at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. It is suggested that he requested work at Auschwitz to continue his genetic research on the camp's prisoners. Mengele eventually became chief physician at the Auschwitz II (Birkenau) camp. Doctors working in the camp had to take care of the selection of prisoners; whether they would be considered fit to work in the camp or sent to die by gas. Unlike most doctors, Mengele seemed to enjoy this selection process. We saw him ready to train...... middle of paper ......Auschwitz.dk. Np, and Web. March 03, 2014. .Encyclopedia of World Biography. Copyright 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. “Facts About Josef Mengele.” YourDictionary.com. YourDictionary, 2010. Web. February 27, 2014. .Trueman, Chris. “Josef Mengele.” Historylearningsite.co.uk. History learning site, June 10, 2013. Web. February 28, 2014. .United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC. “Josef Mengele.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council, June 10, 2013. Web. March 1, 2014. "Who was Josef Mengele?" Holocaust-History.org. History of the Holocaust, nd Web. March 1. 2014. .