Genetic viability is not simply a matter of comparing the number of chromosomes between related species. The beaver cross-mating experiment was a failure, the conclusion was that the two species wouldn't successfully interbreed. This is not supporting evidence that Mengele would somehow wave a magic wand and get successful crossbreeding between apes and humans.
What is this belief that Mengele was a genius able to do the impossible based on? As well as being a sadistic monster he appears to have been a meticulous record keeper but that does not make him a scientific genius. And he cannot break the laws of science. I'm not a geneticist but I am a biologist and a fairly successful scientist in my field. Human-ape hybrids are not going to happen with a 1940s understanding of biology.
I *Never* said that I expected Mengele to *succeed* at the level of the Horse x Donkey cross, simply that it was reasonable for him to be at least as successful as the Castor Castor x Castor Fiber cross. I've never seen anything written about the differences in the Chromosomes in the Great Apes (Hominididae) to indicate that it would be less successful that the crosses within Castor. And a single stillborn offspring would be viewed as simply the first successful step in experimentation that would be expected to occur throughout the 1000-year Reich.
I'm not saying the Mengele was a genius, he had a PhD in Anthropology as well as an MD and the PhD was in a program that was well tainted with German Aryan views on Anthropology. It would be quite reasonable to pose the question with Dr. Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, who Mengele served as an assistant to.
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