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Weleda, the natural cosmetics company, has launched a study into its links to a Nazi concentration camp following claims an anti-freeze cream it produced was tested on prisoners.<\/p>\n
A report by historian Anne Sudrow alleges that the Swiss company ordered raw materials from a garden in the Dachau camp. It also made a cream to protect against hypothermia which an SS doctor allegedly used in human experiments. <\/p>\n
Weleda said a separate report in 2023 found no evidence Dr Sigmund Rascher tested the cream on prisoners kept in freezing conditions for hours.<\/p>\n
The firm said it condemned the Nazi regime’s “atrocities” and acknowledged the new findings “may not have been fully explored in previous research”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Dachau, near Munich, was the first concentration camp set up by the Nazis in 1933. <\/p>\n
It is thought about 200,000 people have been imprisoned there and more than 40,000 died there before its liberation in 1945. Some of those deaths have been attributed to medical experiments.<\/p>\n
In her book, commissioned by the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site, Ms Sudrow outlines the relationship between Weleda and the SS – the Nazi Party’s elite force founded by Adolf Hitler.<\/p>\n
The claims include Weleda being linked to experiments on up to 300 concentration camp prisoners between August 1942 and May 1943, according to German news magazine Der Spiegel.<\/p>\n
Weleda’s cream was intended to be used for treating hypothermia in German soldiers and Dr Rascher wanted to know whether the product could delay the medical condition in freezing temperatures.<\/p>\n
During his tests up to 90 prisoners died when they were forced into ice baths, Der Spiegel reported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The 104-year-old company, which is known for its Skin Food range of skincare products, said it was committed to “transparently researching our history”.<\/p>\n
It expects the results of its new investigation, conducted by German body Society for Corporate History (GuG), to be published in early 2027.<\/p>\n
Tina M\u00fcller, chief executive of Weleda, said: “We condemn the atrocities of National Socialism in the strongest possible terms. <\/p>\n
“Fascism, anti-Semitism, racism, or right-wing extremist ideology have no place with us. ‘Never again’ expresses our stance. That’s why we are committed to a complete reappraisal of our history.”<\/p>\n
The company said it had given historians “full access to the company archives” to carry out its 2023 study into the company’s history. <\/p>\n
The same was also provided to Ms Sudrow for her work, including access to “administrative board minutes from the Nazi era”, Weleda added.<\/p>\n