Mengele was born in March 16, 1911 in a typical village in Germany and grew up southwest of Germany in Gunzberg, Bavaria. He studied philosophy at Munich and medicine at Frankfurt University. Josef Mengele lived a very happy childhood with his immediate family members. He grew up with his parents and his two younger brothers, Karl Jr. and Alois. His family owned a foundry in which they made and sold manufactured farm equipment. As a result of the business, he did not see much of his father and saw much more of his mother. His mother was a strict parent who treated them severely. Love and affection were rather rare in his life, but he still loved and admired his mother greatly.
Mengele was a frail, unhealthy child who commonly suffered from illnesses and accidents. For example, he almost drowned at the age of six when he fell into a barrel of rainwater. When he was fifteen, he missed more than half a year of school because he was diagnosed with osteomylitis, an inflammation of the bone marrow. He also suffered from nephritis, a painful inflammation of the kidneys.
Several different events during his early life actually led to his Holocaust involvement. Firstly, Mengele became committed to the Nazi Party’s ideals and philosophy by May 1937. The following year he joined the S.S but became injured in 1942 while at the Russian Front. He was determined to be unfit for his duty in the S.S. He then volunteered to go to one of the concentration camps and he was sent to Auschwitz where he would become infamous.
Mengele was a frail, unhealthy child who commonly suffered from illnesses and accidents. For example, he almost drowned at the age of six when he fell into a barrel of rainwater. When he was fifteen, he missed more than half a year of school because he was diagnosed with osteomylitis, an inflammation of the bone marrow. He also suffered from nephritis, a painful inflammation of the kidneys.
Several different events during his early life actually led to his Holocaust involvement. Firstly, Mengele became committed to the Nazi Party’s ideals and philosophy by May 1937. The following year he joined the S.S but became injured in 1942 while at the Russian Front. He was determined to be unfit for his duty in the S.S. He then volunteered to go to one of the concentration camps and he was sent to Auschwitz where he would become infamous.