George Pitt-Rivers and the Nazis PDF
Preview George Pitt-Rivers and the Nazis
George Pitt-Rivers and the Nazis George Pitt-Rivers and the Nazis BRADLEY W. HART Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc LONDON • NEW DELHI • NEW YORK • SYDNEY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2015 © Bradley W. Hart, 2015 Bradley W. Hart has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4725-6995-0 PB: 978-1-4725-6994-3 ePDF: 978-1-4725-6996-7 ePub: 978-1-4725-6997-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hart, Bradley W. George Pitt-Rivers and the Nazis/Bradley W. Hart. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4725-6995-0 (hardback) – ISBN 978-1-4725-6994-3 (paperback) – ISBN 978-1-4725-6996-7 (ePDF) – ISBN 978-1-4725-6997-4 (ePub) 1. Pitt-Rivers, George Henry Lane Fox, 1890–1966. 2. Pitt-Rivers, George Henry Lane Fox, 1890-1966– Political and social views. 3. Anthropologists–Great Britain–Biography. 4. Gentry–Great Britain–Biography. 5. Politicians–Great Britain–Biography. 6. Eugenics–Great Britain– History–20th century. 7. Fascism–Great Britain–History–20th century. 8. Antisemitism– Great Britain–History–20th century. 9. Churchill, Clementine, 1885-1977–Family. 10. Great Britain–Politics and government–1936-1945. I. Title. DA566.9.P55H37 2015 942.3'32082092 – dc23 [B] 2014047442 Typeset by Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. For Val and Anthony CONTENTS List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 1 A World Destroyed 9 2 From Nietzsche to the Antipodes 27 3 Australia and the Science of Man 43 4 Eugenics and the Science of Population 67 5 Becky and the Nazis 91 6 ‘My dear cousin Clementine’ 121 7 A World Destroyed, Again 153 Afterword: A Life of Contradictions 175 Notes 181 Bibliography 217 Index 230 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 3.1 Pitt-Rivers taking anthropological notes in the South Pacific, 1921 (courtesy Churchill Archives Centre/Pitt-Rivers family). 51 Figure 3.2 Pitt-Rivers travelling to conduct field research, 1921 (courtesy Churchill Archives Centre/Pitt-Rivers family). 52 Figure 5.1 Pitt-Rivers and Catherine Sharpe in Spain, 1936 (courtesy Churchill Archives Centre/Pitt-Rivers family). 112 Figure 6.1 Adolf Hitler at the 1937 Nuremberg Rally, as photographed by Pitt-Rivers (courtesy Churchill Archives Centre/ Pitt-Rivers family). 127 Figure 6.2 Catherine Taylor (née Sharpe) and Lance Taylor following their marriage in Cape Town, 1939 (courtesy Michael Taylor). 140 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Any project acquires a number of debts along the way, and the present work has incurred more than most. First, and most importantly, this book would have been impossible without the incredible generosity of Anthony and Valerie Pitt-Rivers, to whom it is gratefully dedicated. From my first contact with them in 2009, they have shown me incredible kindness and in 2010 made the decision to donate the George Pitt-Rivers archive to the Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge. These materials have provided the archival base for this book and will undoubtedly feature in the work of other scholars over the years and decades to come. In addition, Mr Pitt- Rivers made an extraordinary effort to help me during my research and writing, saving me from many mistakes along the way and giving me context beyond the archival materials themselves. In a similar vein, others have shown immense kindness along the way as well. Michael Taylor kindly allowed me access to materials related to his mother’s life and career that were hugely valuable. The discovery of the South African aspect of this project relatively late in the research process has added an unexpected and entirely new dimension of interest, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to tell this important part of the story. This project also relied on access to a number of archives and collections in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and elsewhere. Allen Packwood and his outstanding staff at the Churchill Archives Centre not only took in the Pitt-Rivers collection when it was offered but also did an outstanding job with its preservation. Thanks to their efforts, these materials will be available to researchers in perpetuity. In addition, Churchill College once again became my home for much of this research, and I am grateful to the former master, Sir David Wallace, and the fellows of the college for granting me a visiting by-fellowship during Easter Term 2014. Without support from the Archives Centre and the College, this project would never have been completed. There are many others to thank as well. My doctoral supervisor, Sir Richard J. Evans, made many helpful suggestions over the years that gave me both wider perspectives on my work and taught me how to write history. Richard Carr read early drafts of this work and
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