The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism, and German National Socialism

185 Pages·1994·9.59 MB·English

by  Stefan Kühl

THE NAZI
CONNECTION
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THE NAZI
CONNECTION
Eugenics, American Racism,
and German National Socialism
STEFAN KUHL

New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford University Press
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Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
First published in 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2002
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Kuhl, Stefan.
The Nazi connection: eugenics, American racism, and German national socialism / Stefan Kuhl.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-19-508260-5; ISBN 0-19-514978-5 (pbk.)
1. Eugenics—United States-History—20th century. 2. Eugenics—Government policy—Germany—
History-20th century. 3. Racism—Germany—History—20th century. 4. National socialism. I. Title.
HQ755.5.U5K84 1994
363.9'2'09730904—dc20 93-17283

987654321
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Rebecca Jo
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Preface
While researching the connection of German National Socialists to
American eugenicists, I was able to view Erbkrank [Hereditary Defec-
tive], a Nazi race propaganda movie that was also used by the Ameri-
can eugenics movement for informing high school students about the
need to sterilize mentally handicapped people. The movie showed
mentally handicapped people living in a luxurious asylum near Berlin
and contrasted their "atypicality" to the "saneness" of "hereditarily
healthy" children who had to live in the slums of Germany's large
cities. By stressing the "abnormality" of the handicapped people, this
movie helped to pave the way for Nazi policies of mass sterilization and
elimination of the mentally handicapped.
The years I spent working with such "atypical" and "abnormal"
people at Protestant Youth in Munich was the impetus behind my
decision to begin working on the history of mentally handicapped
people under the Naz is. Without having met Karla Weber, Peter
Schonauer, Elmar Wanke, Wolfgang Frisch, Franki Hausler, and many
others, this book would not have been written. By revealing one of the
darkest moments in the history of handicapped people, I hope to thank
them for the many things they taught me.
Two of my history teachers deserve special acknowledgment.
Horst Dieter Geetz at the Gymnasium of Quickborn introduced me to
the multicausality of history, and helped me see the critical relevance of
history to my work in the social sciences. My adviser at the University
of Bielefeld, Gisela Bock, encouraged my interest in the development
of scientific racism. Over the past four years she supported me in nearly
every aspect of my work. She generously made time for lengthy discus-
sions, shared many of her own sources, commented extensively on
several of my papers, and helped me to gain financial assistance for the
timely completion of this endeavor.
At an early stage of my work, Peter Weingart and Hans Walther
Schmuhl from the University of Bielefeld helped me to clarify the
Preface
outline of my project; they later commented on an early draft of this
book. Michael Schwartz from the University of Munster was especially
helpful in shaping my thinking about the concept of racism I used in
this book. Paul Weindling from the University of Oxford and Peter
Lindley at the University of Kent at Canterbury provided me with
information and valuable comments. My research was made possible
by two different organizations: The German Academic Exchange Ser-
vice supported a one-year stay in the United States, and the West-
falisch-Lippische Universitatsgesellschaft agreed on short notice to
provide the necessary resources for my archival work.
Many archivists and librarians in the United States, Germany,
Great Britain, and France helped me uncover the explosive sources that
show the extent and character of the relationship between Nazi and
American scientists. I want to thank Martha Harrison of the American
Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, Odessa Ofstad of the Pickler
Memorial Library in Kirksville, Missouri, and Dr. Alan Burdock of the
Milton S. Eisenhower Library at the Johns Hopkins University in Bal-
timore.
Several teachers and colleagues from my year at Johns Hopkins
deserve my thanks. My adviser, Vernon Lidtke, patiently helped me
organize my research and commented on several drafts of this book.
Sharon Kingsland was exceptionally generous in sharing her impres-
sive knowledge about eugenics and genetics in the United States; she
encouraged me to rethink some aspects of my approach. I also want to
thank Daniel Walkowitz and Leslie Reagan, both visiting professors at
Johns Hopkins in 1991-1992, for commenting on a shorter version of
this book.
Many American historians, notably Daniel Kevles, Garland Al-

len, Sheila Weiss, Robert Proctor, and Barry Mehler, introduced me to
the latest research on American eugenics. Sheila Weiss and Robert
Proctor commented on an early draft of this work. Barry Mehler pro-
vided insightful comments and spent several days discussing aspects of
my research. He also generously shared many sources. Carl Degler and
Robert Pois provided useful comments and convinced me to rewrite
some details of an early draft.
Writing a study in a foreign language is always difficult, partic-
ularly under the burden of pressing deadlines and time constraints. At
Oxford University Press, Nancy Lane, senior editor, and Edward Har-
court, editorial assistant, were enthusiastic about this project from the
very beginning. Because they made themselves so available for me,
this book was readied for the press in perhaps record time.
viii
Preface
I also deeply appreciate the help of my friends and fellow graduate
students in Baltimore. Colin Essamuah, Wolfgang Splitter, and Jurgen
Wagner all gave editorial advice on various sections of an early draft.
Tanya Kervokian looked over my German translations. Alisa Plant was
always a great help in clarifying uncertainties about the use of lan-
guage. During the final week of editing, Lynn Gorchov read and com-
mented on the final version. My two dear roommates in Baltimore, Lori
Bernstein and David Bernell, urged me to turn my research into a book
and were unfailing sources of encouragement while I was writing the
bulk of the manuscript.
More than anyone else, however, Rebecca Jo Plant participated in
the genesis of this book. She painstakingly edited several drafts of the
manuscript, helped me to clarify some of my ideas, and improved the
style of the final draft. In the process, she convinced me that working
on a fascinating subject can be, for a certain time, nearly the most
important thing in life.
Paris S. K.
May 1993

IX