February 17-22, 2025, Baltimore Convention Center
LAST WORD SOCIETY
The Lampshades and Pocket Knife Pouch From the Buchenwald Concentration Camp Are Made From Human Skin
Mark Benecke, PhD*; Antoneta Trommer, MSc; Sandra Stenzel, PhD; Kristina Baumjohann, MSc; Holm Kirsten, MSc
Learning Objectives
We show how different, unrelated techniques were integrated into one final expert witness statement over the course of three year work. To perform conclusive tests on the last and only available remains of Buchenwald concentration camp (the camp was destroyed after the war), we had to use a number of forensic techniques and technologies, including microscopy, hair & fibre, comparison of old photographs, historical research and adaption of DNA techniques. Remarks about handling such a sensitive case will be made, including handling of press affairs and the need for independent testing techniques and stages.
Impact Statement
The uncertainty around the only remaining Buchenwald concentration camp artifacts was finally resolved. It was unknown if they were of human origin or not. The items were a matter of controversy over decades but thought to be impossible to test.
Abstract Text
A shrunken head, a heart (in liquid), a pocket knife soft pouch and two lampshades — one fully intact, one originally given as a sample to British forces — were long thought not to be of human origin. After study of the original files relating to the production as gifts and the general use of such materials in Buchenwald concentration camp, we decided to perform a final and conclusive check on the items using microscopy, DNA and historical as well as criminalistic approaches.
The samples are not on display any more at the memorial site due to their grim history, their political nature and the formerly established idea of possible forgery. Another lamp shade found in the U.S. coming from unclear sources had received wide public interest but was found to be made of non-human (cattle) skin. All of our samples came from the collection of the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial site's archive including a recent acquisition from England.
Stain-wise, we performed a step-by-step approach to conserve as much material as possible. We used samples as small as possible and performed each analysis only after the previous one was fully done. This caused long delays which we decided to be preferable over a loss of stain evidence or a diagnostically less conclusive statement.
We double-checked results in different laboratories wherever possible, including laboratories in other countries, and also including checks of negative results. All laboratories involved except that of the presenting author's laboratory did not know which samples and which case they handled to avoid possible bias.
The hair of the shrunken head was microscopically not excluded as being made of horse hair; DNA revealed that it was made of goat skin and goat hair. Some anatomical features do not match those from shrunken human heads that we usually encounter, so we reported the shrunken head skin and hair as not being of human origin.
The pieces that we cut out of of two lampshades as well as the pocket knife soft pouch not only microscopically resemble the structure of human skin made into leather-like materials but also contained human DNA. Genetic fingerprinting was done with COI barcoding primers. DNA Quantity was low, therefore, we applied nested PCR. Sequencing and BLAST revealed a 99% match to Homo sapiens.
Initially, the heart could not be identified using DNA approaches since no DNA could be extracted. Several specialized forensic and industrial testing laboratories were involved into extraction but to no avail. A clear anatomical distinction from a pig heart was not possible. By using old photographic evidence and visible features of the heart which we compared to the photographs, we found that the heart is most likely human.
Videos from the 2022 AAFS Meeting: