Nazi 'Behind Brazil's Twin Town'

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A Nazi death camp doctor is behind the unusual number of twins born in a small Brazilian farming town, according to a new book. Skip related content
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Nazi 'Behind Brazil's Twin Town'

Josef Mengele - known as the Angel Of Death - was commissioned by Adolf Hitler to artificially increase the Aryan birthrate in order to create a master race.

He earned his nickname for his cruel human experiments at the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, where he focused his research on twins.

Now Argentine historian Jorge Camarasa believes Mengele continued his genetic experiments in South America, where he fled at the end of the Second World War.

In the Brazilian town of Candido Godoi, one in five pregnancies produces twins, often with blond hair and blue eyes.

A road sign at the edge of the town welcomes visitors to a "Farming Community and Land of the Twins" where they can visit the "House of Twins" museum.

Locals claim the Nazi physician made repeated visits there from his home in Paraguay in the 60s, first posing as a vet but then offering medical treatment to women.

The birthrate of twins in the German farming community began to rise soon after, Mr Camarasa says in his book Mengele: The Angel of Death in South America.

"I think Candido Godoi may have been Mengele's laboratory, where he finally managed to fulfill his dreams of creating a master race of blond-haired, blue-eyed Aryans," the Daily Telegraph quotes the author as saying.

He goes on: "There is testimony that he attended women, followed their pregnancies, treated them with new types of drugs and preparations, that he talked of artificial insemination in human beings."

One local farmer reportedly told Mr Camarasa: "He told us he was a vet. He asked about illnesses we had among our animals, and told us not to worry, he could cure them. He appeared a cultured and dignified man."

Another farmer, Leonardo Boufler, said: "He said he could carry out artificial insemination of cows and humans, which we thought impossible as in those days. It was unheard of."

A former mayor and town doctor has also tried to solve the mystery of the town's twins, according to the Telegraph.

Anencia Flores da Silva says he has interviewed hundreds of people and came across one figure who cropped up repeatedly - an itinerant medic calling himself Rudolph Weiss.

Dr da Silva said: "In the testimonies we collected we came across women who were treated by him, he appeared to be some sort of rural medic who went from house to house."

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