German World War II Eugenics

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Introduction

Leading up to the start of World War II, there were Eugenic practices being enacted throughout the world. None were quite as severe or as widespread as the Eugenic practices in Germany. Even before Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Germany was born, Germany was leading towards simple Eugenic sterilization laws. This was not out of the ordinary for the time, many other nations including the United States had sterilization laws on the books before Germany. The German laws were just not passed until after Hitler had began to take control of the country in 1933. The Germans used policies of both positive and negative eugenics. They are remembered more for the negative Eugenic practices inflicted upon the Jewish people. They also used positive Eugenic policies on their own citizens who were not Jewish. The people affected by the positive Eugenics were typically of a mental handicapped nature. There were also positive eugenics used in the selection of SS members or the marriage of a woman to any member of the SS.

Hitler's Eugenic Ideas

Fürher Adolf Hitler

Many of Adolf Hitler's eugenic ideas surfaced in his book Mein Kampf. In the book he describes the Jews as the best example of eugenics at work. He gives examples of how much suffering they have been through and how their people still survive. Ironically, he is trying to wipe them off the planet even after he states these facts. He also believed that the breeding of higher races (Nordic Race/Aryan Race) with that of lower races(Jews) was going to quickly ruin thousands of years of breeding of the higher races and return them all back into a lower race. In Hitler's mind the Jews were a contamination that were going to take over the world. He blamed them for everything that was wrong with society. In Hitler's understanding of Eugenics "Evolution justified or even demanded violence." This attributes to his willingness to go to war. Hitler believed it was acceptable for the Germans to kill because they were better than the Jews and they belonged at the top of society. In contrast the Jews were of a lesser race and did not deserve to exist in his mind.

Hitler also believed in positive eugenic practices. In Mein Kampf, he states "those who are not physically and mentally healthy and worthy must not perpetuate his misery in the body of his child." He wanted the children of Germany to not believed it was a disgrace to be sick or weakly, rather it was a misfortune. Then he believed if it was instilled into their minds that it was actually a crime to burden it again upon an innocent child, they would be able to slowly breed out some of the mentally ill traits.

Hitler was quoted to have said, "All who are not of good race in this world are chaff." He is saying those who are not of good race are worthless matter, and therefore he is implying there is no need for their existence.


German Eugenic Laws

  • July 14th, 1933- The Act for Averting Descendants Afflicted with Hereditary Disease
    • This law was to be directed towards any man or woman who suffered from the nine conditions assumed to be hereditary.
      • Feeblemindedness
      • Schizophrenia
      • Manic-depressive disorder
      • Genetic epilepsy
      • Huntington's Chorea(a fatal form of dementia)
      • Genetic blindness
      • Genetic deafness
      • Severe physical deformity
      • Chronic alcoholism

Anyone who was thought to have any of these conditions was sterilized. Over an estimated 400,000 people were sterilized because of this law. The men were subject to vasectomy and the women were required to have a tubal ligation (which resulted in the death of hundreds of women).

This law also brought about the creation of the "Hereditary Health Courts" which would act as the district courts on the judgment of these sterilization cases. If appeal was to be made it would be annexed to the Provincial Courts of Appeal. Finally, if there was still a problem it would be sent to the Eugenic Supreme Court in Charlottenburg.

The next two laws were part of the Nuremberg Laws and were enacted on September 15th, 1935

  • - Blood Protection Law(for the protection of German blood and German honour)
    • This law criminalized marriage or sexual relations between Jews and non-Jewish Germans
    • Banned unions between the "hereditary healthy" and persons who were declared genetically unfit
  • - The Reich Law of Citizenship
    • The Reich Law divided the nation into two different classes of citizens.
      • The two groups varied by those who were merely subjects of the state and those who possessed full citizenship including political rights.
      • This new law essentially made all of the Jews second class German citizens.


Nazi Eugenic Practices

The Nazi used many different Eugenic practices. For the selection of their SS members they used a positive Eugenics process. Also, the Nazi used a negative Eugenics policy in regard to the Jewish Question and with the Euthanasia program they implemented to help deal with the mentally ill. The reasoning behind the euthanasia programs was to devote the resources they were requiring to more important sources. The patients were taking up medical care that was needed for Hitler's upcoming campaigns and the new patients more of a "national priority" than the current misfortunate people. The euthanasia programs offered an immediate solution to this problem.


Positive Eugenics

  • December 31st, 1931- Himmler issues Marriage Law for SS Men
    • In this marriage law Himmler states that SS Men can marry "solely if the necessary conditions of race and healthy stock were fulfilled."
    • The couples had to take a comprehensive physical examination administered by an approved SS doctor, had to provide photographs of themselves in bathing suits (the photos had to be taken from three angles), and finally submit proof of Aryan ancestry back to 1800. If it was someone trying to marry an officer the proof had to go back as far as 1750.
    • Additionally, the marriage could only be entered into the SS clan book if approved by the Race and Settlement Main office (RuSHA). For SS Leaders, Himmler would make the final decision personally.

For the German SS it was a priority for them to get married and have children. They were the "racially fit" and for the Nordic race to be able to continue and grow it needed the help of the "racially fit" SS.

Reichfürher-SS Heinrich Himmler
  • SS Selection

The selection process to be admitted into the SS had many aspects which related to positive Eugenics. To begin with the applicants must submit a photograph. They could not even be admitted to the selection process unless Himmler believed they had "good blood".

There were three main criteria for SS selection:

  • Racial Phenotype
  • Physical Condition
  • "General Bearing"

There were five different racial types in which each applicant was classified as:

  • Pure Nordic
  • Predominately Nordic or Falic
  • Harmonious cross-breed with slight Alpine, Dinaric or Mediterranean characteristics
  • Bastards of predominately East Baltic or Alpine Origin
  • Bastards of extra-European origin

Only those determined to be of the first three racial types were able to be admitted into the SS.

The last deals with the idea of physical condition or "general bearing". There were nine categories for physical examination, a person must be determined to fulfill 6-9 of the categories to pass, exception were made for those who had 4 or 5 but displayed Nordic qualities in their behavior. Those who were only able to pass 1-3 were failed.

Himmler believed, "A people of good race which has too few children has a one-way ticket to the grave."


Negative Eugenics

At the beginning of the National Socialist movement the Jews were just treated as second class citizens and slowly lost their rights. But it got much worse for them and ended with the implementation of the "Final Solution" which was of course the answer the "Jewish Question". In the Nazi's mind the Jews were considered to be "alien" and the Nazi's had them purged from universities, scientific research institutions, hospitals, and public health care.

  • Euthanasia Program
    • The mercy death programs began in 1939 and lasted until 1945, it is estimated 5,000 boys and girls alone were killed in 30 special children’s wards at state hospitals.(The children were killed for apparent birth defects)
    • Operation T-4- January 1940-August 1941
      • 70,000 unproductive men and women were transported from hospitals and other areas of Germany to be killed by Carbon monoxide poisoning.
  • Final Solution to the Jewish Question
    • New special SS squads were formed with the specific task of murdering Jews
    • Approximated 2 million Jews were transported during this Final Solution period to various "death camps" in Chelmno, Sobibor, Treblinka, and Belzec. (These were all SS camps in Poland)
    • The former T-4 staff manned the gas chambers and crematoriums at these camps.
  • Auschwitz-Birkenau
    • 1 million Jews are deported from German controlled countries and Germany
    • The staff at these camps filters through the adults and the fitter adults are selected for forced labor.
      • At this camp both adults and children were used as guinea pigs in eugenic sterilization experiments and also for new genetic research.




Bibliography

The Biological State: Nazi Racial Hygiene, 1933-1939. (2008). Retrieved November 23, 2008, from http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10007057

Eugenics- A planned Evolution for Life. Retrieved November 23, 2008, from http://www.onelife.com/ethics/eugenics.html

Men behind Hilter. Retrieved November 23, 2008, from http://www.toolan.com/hitler/seizep.html

Saetz, S. B. (1985). Eugenics and the Third Reich. Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://www.eugenics.net/papers/3rdreich.html

World War II and the Nazi Holocaust. Retrieved November 19,2008, 2008, from http://www.eugenics-watch.com/roots/chap09.html

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