German Society for Racial Hygiene
Encyclopedia
The German Society for Racial Hygiene was an organization founded on June 22, 1905 by the physician Alfred Ploetz
in Berlin
. Its goal was for society to return to a healthy and blooming, strong and beautiful life" as Ploetz put it. The Nordic race was supposed to regain its "purity" through selective reproduction and sterilization.
At the time the society received generous support by the imperial government and it was the only organization of its kind in the world. Since Ploetz wanted to establish an international movement, the society was soon renamed International Society for Racial Hygiene with branches in Berlin
including Erwin Bauer
, Munich
, and Freiburg
with the well-known human geneticists Fritz Lenz
and Eugen Fischer
and from 1910 Stuttgart
, which included the geneticist Wilhelm Weinberg
. Branches in Sweden
, the United Kingdom
, the United States
, and the Netherlands
were also established in the early 20th century. In 1924, the organization was named back to German Society for Racial Hygiene.
By 1933, the Society for Racial Hygiene had 1,300 members, many of them academics, as well as high functionaries in the NSDAP.
The society wanted to establish "Racial Hygiene
/Eugenics
" as a scientific subject and contributed substantially to their implementation in Germany
. With both adoption of the ideas of "Racial Hygiene" by the National Socialist movement
and with concrete consultations on political racial measures, the society took directly to influence on important law changes, which were integral part of the National Socialist regime led by Adolf Hitler
.
Alfred Ploetz
Alfred Ploetz was a German physician, biologist, eugenicist known for coining the term racial hygiene and promoting the concept in Germany. Rassenhygiene is a form of eugenics.-Biography:...
in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Its goal was for society to return to a healthy and blooming, strong and beautiful life" as Ploetz put it. The Nordic race was supposed to regain its "purity" through selective reproduction and sterilization.
At the time the society received generous support by the imperial government and it was the only organization of its kind in the world. Since Ploetz wanted to establish an international movement, the society was soon renamed International Society for Racial Hygiene with branches in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
including Erwin Bauer
Erwin Bauer
Erwin Bauer was a German Formula One driver who raced a privately-entered Veritas in his one World Championship Grand Prix....
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
with the well-known human geneticists Fritz Lenz
Fritz Lenz
Fritz A Lenz was a German geneticist, member of the Nazi party, and influential specialist in "racial hygiene" during the Third Reich, one of the leading German theorists of "scientific racism" which legitimized the Nazi racial policies, starting with the 1935 Nuremberg Laws.- Biography...
and Eugen Fischer
Eugen Fischer
Eugen Fischer was a German professor of medicine, anthropology and eugenics. He was director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics between 1927 and 1942...
and from 1910 Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, which included the geneticist Wilhelm Weinberg
Wilhelm Weinberg
Dr Wilhelm Weinberg was a German half-Jewish physician and obstetrician-gynecologist, practicing in Stuttgart, who in a 1908 paper Dr Wilhelm Weinberg (Stuttgart, December 25, 1862 – Tübingen, November 27, 1937) was a German half-Jewish physician and obstetrician-gynecologist, practicing in...
. Branches in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
were also established in the early 20th century. In 1924, the organization was named back to German Society for Racial Hygiene.
By 1933, the Society for Racial Hygiene had 1,300 members, many of them academics, as well as high functionaries in the NSDAP.
The society wanted to establish "Racial Hygiene
Racial hygiene
Racial hygiene was a set of early twentieth century state sanctioned policies by which certain groups of individuals were allowed to procreate and others not, with the expressed purpose of promoting certain characteristics deemed to be particularly desirable...
/Eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
" as a scientific subject and contributed substantially to their implementation in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. With both adoption of the ideas of "Racial Hygiene" by the National Socialist movement
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and with concrete consultations on political racial measures, the society took directly to influence on important law changes, which were integral part of the National Socialist regime led by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
.