r to defend Germany against the degenerate races. He left for the battlefield in 1940 as a member of the medical corp of the Waffan. Within weeks of his arrival on the Ukrainian front, he earned the Iron Cross Second class. A year later, Mengele heroically pulled two Germans from a burning tank behind enemy line, and earned himself the Iron Cross First Class. In addition, until sustaining wounds that permanently left him unable to serve in the German army, Josef earned the Black Badge for the Wounded and the Medal for the Care of the German People.Towards the end of 1942, permanently banned from the battlefields of Father Germany's war, Mengele joined his mentor, von Vershuer, in Berlin at the Race and Resettlement Office. Within five months of his posting at the Race and Resettlement Office, Mengele received another post, sending him off to Poland, to Auschwitz, where he was to serve as the women's inmate doctor. His task as an inmate doctor involved choosing which of the new arrivals were sent to work in the concentration camp and which were sent immediately to the gas chamber, to be slowly murdered using Zyklon B gas. Mengele adjusted to the new surroundings and new job quickly and painlessly. He was pleased to have so many subjects at his disposal for twin and genetic research. Lacking the squeamish dislike many assigned doctors held for the unbearable conditions and mistreatment at Auschwitz, Mengele seemed to enjoy the power he had as he stood immaculately on the ramp in his perfectly pressed uniform, shiny black boots, and white spotless gloves, riding crop in hand and a smile across his face. Most inmate doctors arrived intoxicated at the ramps, dampening their senses and emotions to the decisions they would have to make and the barbarity that took place before their very eyes. Even when not assigned to a selection process, Mengele would arrive at the ramp, sober and graceful in his tidy suit. One fellow inmate docto...
