8Josef Mengele the angel Of Death was Born in 1911 to a wealthy family in Ulm in southern Germany the young Josef Mengele studied both medicine and philosophy at university, whilst there he became particularly interested in the field of eugenics. The science of eugenics was at the peak of its popularity during the early decades of the twentieth century. Mengele's interest in eugenics was developed further when, as a young practitioner, came under the guidance of Dr. von Verschuer, a prominent German eugenicist.During the following chapters, we shall look at how Germany's turbulent, racist and anti-Semitic society, which was particularly virulent in the post World War I Weimar Republic period, shaped the views of the young Josef Mengele. This ultimately led to him joining the Nazi party, an organization that held similar views to Mengele on the subject of eugenics. The Nazi party would also allow him free reign to conduct his ghastly experiments.