Play turns spotlight on Austrian Nazi's experiments on children

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Play turns spotlight on Austrian Nazi's experiments on children
By Kate Connolly in Vienna
(Filed: 03/09/2005)

The shocking story of a Nazi doctor, who is alleged to have killed hundreds of children in his care before going on to enjoy a glittering career, has been dramatised for the Viennese stage in what the playwright calls "an attack on the whole of Austria".

Spiegelgrund, which opens at the Volkstheater tomorrow night, is based on allegations surrounding the tale of Heinrich Gross, an Austrian doctor who stands accused of carrying out the killings of at least 800 children as part of the Third Reich's euthanasia programme.


Heinrich Gross: accused of killing hundreds of childen
Gross kept body parts from his patients including brains and heads, boasting of a "unique collection" which he used until 1989 for extensive research that helped him secure an international reputation as a leading neurologist.

The 89-year-old, who still lives in Vienna with one of three daughters, was put on trial for murder of the children on the basis of fresh evidence five years ago, but the case was postponed indefinitely, after doctors ruled he was medically unfit to stand.

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