El Che
18th September 2002, 15:25
Book Review
The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism, and German National
Socialism
by Stefan Kühl
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002
Reviewed by Nigel Hunt, Senior Lecturer, Psychology Division,
Nottingham
Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU, United Kingdom.
This book is concerned with exploring the relationship between the
eugenics
movement in pre-war USA and the German National Socialist policies and
experiments between 1933-1945. It has been widely known that the USA,
particularly some states, had racist policies in place long before the
Nazis came to power in Germany. The Nazi policy of mass sterilisation
of
mentally handicapped people followed very similar policies that were
applied across the USA from the early years of the Twentieth Century.
Bodies such as the International Eugenics Movement had a great
influence in
the USA and also on the policies of the Nazis that eventually led to
the
extermination programme carried out in Germany.
The book is a detailed study of the relationship between the USA and
German
scientists during the first half of the Twentieth Century. It considers
German-American relations within the International Eugenics movement
before
1933, the support of Nazi race policy through the International
Eugenics
Movement, sterilisation in Germany and the USA, American Eugenicists in
Nazi Germany, concepts of race and science, the influence of Nazi race
policies on Eugenics in the USA, American support in Nazi Germany, and
the
temporary end of relations between German and American Eugenicists with
the
advent of the Second World War.
The book is well-researched and contains extensive references and
notes,
which occupy around 50 pages - about one third of the book. Kühl draws
on
material published in the USA and in Germany, and elsewhere as
appropriate.
Kühl explores the international nature of the eugenics movement,
beginning
with the first international meeting organised by the International
Society
for Racial Hygiene in Dresden in 1911. The meeting drew people from all
over Europe and the United States. A further meeting the following year
included the son of Charles Darwin and Winston Churchill as
representatives
- the latter being the Home Secretary at the time. At this time the
eugenics movement was respected in the scientific community. German
eugenicists admired the success of people in the USA in obtaining
eugenics
legislation and receiving extensive financial support. The first major
meeting after World War One excluded German delegates. Later, in 1923
the
Germans would not take part in meetings with French and Belgian
scientists
because their countries still occupied parts of Germany. Instead, ties
between Germany and the USA were strengthened; to the extent that the
Rockefeller Foundation helped establish and support several German
institutes.
Both German and US eugenicists supported the case for sterilising
handicapped people, and were successful in obtaining legislation. In
the
USA there were both sterilisation and immigration policies. German
supporters of legislation successfully put forward the USA as an
example of
good practice. When the Nazi party came to power in Germany there was
no
sudden change of policy, rather an evolution of the policies already
developing in both Germany and the USA. Americans went to work in
Germany,
and in many cases took back to the USA very positive views about Nazi
policies.
It was not until Hitler had been in power some time that American
eugenicists expressed serious doubts about Nazi policies. In 1936 a
group
of American geneticists proposed a motion proclaiming their dismay and
the
way racial policies were developing in Germany. The Nazi government’s
response was to boycott a planned eugenics congress in Moscow. That
congress was itself postponed until 1939, when it was held in
Edinburgh. At
this meeting a group of leading eugenicists - mainly from the USA -
successfully drafted a manifesto against Nazi race policy. US support
for
German policies had waned with the gradual realisation that the main
thrust
of the policy was anti-Semitic. Even though anti-Semitism was rife
among US
eugenicists, most considered the German policies went too far.
The Second World War intervened to stop all links between scientists of
the
two nations, but after the war Kühl makes it quite clear that the
Eugenics
movement continued - albeit under a different name, and many of the
“scientists” associated with German policies continued to work in
post-war
Europe. They were supported in this by people in the USA. He is clear
that
the attempt to separate eugenics from the Nazi programme of race
improvement were only partially successful. After the war eugenicists
started to use different names because the term eugenics became
unacceptable. Herman Muller started to use “genetic load” and “cost of
selection”. The scientific journals also changed their names. The
“Annals
of Eugenics” became the “Annals of Human Genetics”, “Eugenics
Quarterly”
became the “Journal of Social Biology”. Eugenicists renamed themselves
as
population scientists, human geneticists, psychiatrists,
anthropologists,
and family politicians. The notion of ethnic racism was eliminated from
research programmes in an attempt to separate scientists from the
Holocaust. Kühl provides an excellent argument as to how combining
eugenics
and ethnic racism can lead to policies of extermination. He also shows
quite clearly that American eugenicists had a major influence on the
development of thought within Nazi Germany; yet no American eugenicist
was
ever brought before the Nuremberg court to stand trial for war crimes.
Kühl’s thesis is that the relationship between American and German
Eugenicists had a major influence on German policies, including the
policy
of extermination of the handicapped. This is a clearly-argued book
containing ample evidence for the thesis. It brings together a lot of
research concerning the eugenics movements in the USA and Germany, and
clearly demonstrates the strong influence American policies and
practice
had in Germany, before, during and after the Nazi period. Perhaps the
main
message is that the Nazis were not responsible for the introduction of
eugenic ideas into Germany; the process was evolutionary, and stemmed
in
large part from the eugenic ideas and legislative policies in the USA
during the first half of the Twentieth Century
The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism, and German National
Socialism
by Stefan Kühl
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002
Reviewed by Nigel Hunt, Senior Lecturer, Psychology Division,
Nottingham
Trent University, Burton Street, Nottingham, NG1 4BU, United Kingdom.
This book is concerned with exploring the relationship between the
eugenics
movement in pre-war USA and the German National Socialist policies and
experiments between 1933-1945. It has been widely known that the USA,
particularly some states, had racist policies in place long before the
Nazis came to power in Germany. The Nazi policy of mass sterilisation
of
mentally handicapped people followed very similar policies that were
applied across the USA from the early years of the Twentieth Century.
Bodies such as the International Eugenics Movement had a great
influence in
the USA and also on the policies of the Nazis that eventually led to
the
extermination programme carried out in Germany.
The book is a detailed study of the relationship between the USA and
German
scientists during the first half of the Twentieth Century. It considers
German-American relations within the International Eugenics movement
before
1933, the support of Nazi race policy through the International
Eugenics
Movement, sterilisation in Germany and the USA, American Eugenicists in
Nazi Germany, concepts of race and science, the influence of Nazi race
policies on Eugenics in the USA, American support in Nazi Germany, and
the
temporary end of relations between German and American Eugenicists with
the
advent of the Second World War.
The book is well-researched and contains extensive references and
notes,
which occupy around 50 pages - about one third of the book. Kühl draws
on
material published in the USA and in Germany, and elsewhere as
appropriate.
Kühl explores the international nature of the eugenics movement,
beginning
with the first international meeting organised by the International
Society
for Racial Hygiene in Dresden in 1911. The meeting drew people from all
over Europe and the United States. A further meeting the following year
included the son of Charles Darwin and Winston Churchill as
representatives
- the latter being the Home Secretary at the time. At this time the
eugenics movement was respected in the scientific community. German
eugenicists admired the success of people in the USA in obtaining
eugenics
legislation and receiving extensive financial support. The first major
meeting after World War One excluded German delegates. Later, in 1923
the
Germans would not take part in meetings with French and Belgian
scientists
because their countries still occupied parts of Germany. Instead, ties
between Germany and the USA were strengthened; to the extent that the
Rockefeller Foundation helped establish and support several German
institutes.
Both German and US eugenicists supported the case for sterilising
handicapped people, and were successful in obtaining legislation. In
the
USA there were both sterilisation and immigration policies. German
supporters of legislation successfully put forward the USA as an
example of
good practice. When the Nazi party came to power in Germany there was
no
sudden change of policy, rather an evolution of the policies already
developing in both Germany and the USA. Americans went to work in
Germany,
and in many cases took back to the USA very positive views about Nazi
policies.
It was not until Hitler had been in power some time that American
eugenicists expressed serious doubts about Nazi policies. In 1936 a
group
of American geneticists proposed a motion proclaiming their dismay and
the
way racial policies were developing in Germany. The Nazi government’s
response was to boycott a planned eugenics congress in Moscow. That
congress was itself postponed until 1939, when it was held in
Edinburgh. At
this meeting a group of leading eugenicists - mainly from the USA -
successfully drafted a manifesto against Nazi race policy. US support
for
German policies had waned with the gradual realisation that the main
thrust
of the policy was anti-Semitic. Even though anti-Semitism was rife
among US
eugenicists, most considered the German policies went too far.
The Second World War intervened to stop all links between scientists of
the
two nations, but after the war Kühl makes it quite clear that the
Eugenics
movement continued - albeit under a different name, and many of the
“scientists” associated with German policies continued to work in
post-war
Europe. They were supported in this by people in the USA. He is clear
that
the attempt to separate eugenics from the Nazi programme of race
improvement were only partially successful. After the war eugenicists
started to use different names because the term eugenics became
unacceptable. Herman Muller started to use “genetic load” and “cost of
selection”. The scientific journals also changed their names. The
“Annals
of Eugenics” became the “Annals of Human Genetics”, “Eugenics
Quarterly”
became the “Journal of Social Biology”. Eugenicists renamed themselves
as
population scientists, human geneticists, psychiatrists,
anthropologists,
and family politicians. The notion of ethnic racism was eliminated from
research programmes in an attempt to separate scientists from the
Holocaust. Kühl provides an excellent argument as to how combining
eugenics
and ethnic racism can lead to policies of extermination. He also shows
quite clearly that American eugenicists had a major influence on the
development of thought within Nazi Germany; yet no American eugenicist
was
ever brought before the Nuremberg court to stand trial for war crimes.
Kühl’s thesis is that the relationship between American and German
Eugenicists had a major influence on German policies, including the
policy
of extermination of the handicapped. This is a clearly-argued book
containing ample evidence for the thesis. It brings together a lot of
research concerning the eugenics movements in the USA and Germany, and
clearly demonstrates the strong influence American policies and
practice
had in Germany, before, during and after the Nazi period. Perhaps the
main
message is that the Nazis were not responsible for the introduction of
eugenic ideas into Germany; the process was evolutionary, and stemmed
in
large part from the eugenic ideas and legislative policies in the USA
during the first half of the Twentieth Century