Eugenics
From RationalWiki
This topic is a pseudoscience, and is not accepted by the scientific community as a valid discipline.
Although it may use scientific terminology, it does not use scientific methodology.
Remember: just because it sounds right doesn't mean it's actually right.
Eugenics is the study of altering human reproduction with the goal of changing the relative frequency of traits in a human population.
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[edit] Origins in brief
Eugenics was first developed in the 19th century, primarily by Francis Galton, based on over-simplified ideas about evolution and ideas about Social Darwinism which were popular at the time.
[edit] Uses
Some eugenics-based ideas were implemented both in the United States and in Europe. In the U.S., this strongly influenced immigration policy, as in the Johnson Immigration Act of 1924, which showed a preference for Northern Europeans, as they were felt to be somehow superior to Asians and South and Eastern Europeans.
The Supreme Court gave legal backing to forced sterilization using eugenic ideas in the 1927 Buck v. Bell [1] case.
[edit] Nazi Germany
In Europe, the Nazis made full-scale use of eugenics' ideas via mass sterilization and mass murder.
[edit] Lebensborn
The Nazis went one step further with their eugenics program. In 1935, by order of Heinrich Himmler, the SS established a selective breeding program called Lebensborn. Under this program, men and women considered to be of "good Aryan stock" were matched in order to produce Aryan children. Later, when Germany invaded other northern European countries during World War II, then Nazis kidnapped many local children whose parents were thought to be ideal Aryans. These children were then sent to reeducation camps in Germany, then adopted out to Nazi party members.
When Germany invaded Norway, the SS accelerated the Lebensborn program within that country. Because the Nazis believed that all Scandinavians -- but especially Norwegians and Swedes -- were of the purest Aryan stock, Himmler ordered all SS officers stationed in Norway to father children with local women, even if those SS officers were married. When the local women got pregnant, they were sent to special Lebensborn houses in southern Norway.[2] After giving birth, the babies were taken from their mothers and sent to Germany to be raised by Nazi party members. During the 4½ year occupation of Norway, the German invaders produced as many children there (about 8,000) as were produced by Germans in Germany during the 10 years that the program was active.
As for the Lebensborn children who were born after the Nazis evacuated, let's just say that the Norwegians were not kind to them or their collaborating mothers.
The SS also operated at least 12 other Lebensborn facilities that were scattered across the countries that they invaded, stretching from France to Poland.[3]
[edit] Absurdity
Eugenics is not a valid science. Most human traits are multifactorial, and simple breeding cannot reinforce or diminish their frequency. Furthermore, it usually seems to be carried out for racist reasons instead of genetic ones.
Biologist Stephen J. Gould has written extensively on the topic, including his treatment on intelligence in The Mismeasure of Man.
[edit] External links
- Slide show/text introduction to the Lebensborn program
- Documentary: "Hitler's Perfect Children"
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Findlaw.com entry on Buck v. Bell (1927)
- ↑ There were at least 9 of these facilities in southern Norway, and perhaps as many as 15. Only Germany, with 10, had as many facilities.
- ↑ See the Wikipedia article on Lebensborn.
