Hitler and the Nazi Darwinian Worldview

Hitler and the Nazi Darwinian Worldview: How the Nazi Eugenic Crusade for a Superior Race Caused the Greatest Holocaust in World History [1]

by Jerry Bergman

Reviewed by David J. Oberpriller
david.oberpriller@cox.net

Adolph Hitler and his top Nazi leaders were products of German education, science, and the prevailing social worldview of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. Their participation in what was one of the most infamous episodes of human suffering and death in the history of the human race could probably have been predicted. This should not be taken as an attempt to excuse them of the crimes and suffering that became known as the Holocaust – not just against the Jews – but also against the races and ethnic groups that were considered inferior to the Nazi-favored Aryan race. These groups included “Slavic peoples (especially Poles and Russians), Gypsies, Asiatic and Mongolian races, and the disabled.” (Page 18.) In fact, Jews amounted to only slightly more than half of the 11 million people directly murdered by the Nazi state as part of the Holocaust. (Page 21.)

Hitler stands out against a hazy German background of evolutionary thought, Darwinist teaching, and eugenic science; a background that needed only to be brought into focus. And Hitler became the lens that bent the rays of social Darwinism to a searing focus; much like the famous precision-engineered German optics. Bergman also reminds us that both America and Britain participated in the anti-Semitism that was rampant in the early 20^th century. (Page 161 and Chapter 16.) In fact, the German scientists relied heavily on research being done in Britain and America, especially the work related to sterilization (page 83); research that is not widely known or often discussed. Anti-Semitism in America was apparent, even after the war, as depicted by the highly-acclaimed 1947 Hollywood movie “Gentleman’s Agreement” dealing with the various forms – some subtle and some not so subtle – and results of anti-Semitism that ran rampant in America at that time. [NOTE 1] And they were often “swept under the table” and not discussed or acknowledged by tacit gentleman’s agreement.

The German education system of the era in which Hitler and the Nazi leaders grew up was steeped in Darwinism and the concept of eugenics, a “science” that studied the inequality of races and peoples. (Pages 47 and 108ff, for example.) The German scientists who were involved in evolution and eugenics research and were responsible for directing the teaching of evolution enthusiastically supported this educational system. And the products of this education became the Nazi leaders who established and promoted the racial policies of the Nazi state. (Chapter 16.) As the Nazi concept of a Master Race infused the education system, the emphasis turned to eugenics which dealt with cleansing society of the undesirable characteristics of the “lower” races (called negative eugenics) and promoting selective breeding to enhance the desired characteristics (called positive eugenics) of the “superior” races. Both of these schemes became regular practices under the Nazi regime. The importance of the educational system in assisting the state to control the thinking of the young citizens is well documented in Bergman’s book. Hitler understood the leveraging power of education well, as exemplified by a statement often attributed to him, “let me control the textbooks and I will control the state.” (Page 265.) That quote should strike a cacophonous chord among those involved in the current creation/evolution debate. The American education system today is often criticized as a system of state brainwashing.

It is interesting to note that many of the future Nazi leaders had a history of hatred based on the social Darwinism worldview even before the era of Nazi power; their beliefs were obviously rooted in their early schooling as described here. On the other hand,  some of the Nazi leaders were seemingly decent men, such as Hermann Göring (page 207), Joseph Goebbels (page 192), and Heinrich Himmler (page 178), who were changed later in life by their association with Hitler and the Nazi power elite.

It is ironic that most of the Nazi leaders did not fit the description of the “ideal” blond, blue-eyed Aryan race and many were even suspected of having Jewish ancestry. (Page  226.) This made their promotion of the Nazi racial policies somewhat unexpected. In fact, their negative eugenics policies can only be justified by Göring’s famous statement, “Wer Jude ist, bestimme ich” (“I will decide who is a Jew”) (page 212) and not by any reasonable biological means. (Remember that the science of genetics was still in its infancy and DNA was decades away from discovery and decoding.)

A number of parallels – and warnings – are described for America and England. Bergman appropriately mentions the oft-used quote by historian George Santayana regarding ignoring the lessons of history and repeating them. (Page 125.) Bergman makes a point that the parallel of the “weaning of Americans from Christianity by banning public display of Christian symbols and ritual is remarkably reminiscent of what Nazi Germany did.” (Page 16.) In general, the German church’s abandonment of both biblical Christianity and its role in politics is noted as a parallel to the situation in America today. (Page 74.) Bergman provides example after example of parallels in Chapter 17, descriptively titled, “What can be learned from attempts to apply Darwinism to society.”

The book is divided implicitly into three sections covering the topics above and much more. Chapters 1 through 6 provide the background of Darwinism and eugenics before the Nazi regime and discuss Hitler’s background and worldview. Chapters 7 through 14 provide biographies of eight of the important figures of Hitler’s Nazi engine with an emphasis on their background in Darwinism and eugenics. Chapters 15 through 17 provide additional material on the applications of Darwinism to the Nazi breeding program (positive eugenics), the handling of Darwinism in the textbooks used in the schools of Nazi Germany, and a final chapter on the lessons we can learn from this history.

I found Chapter 16, titled “Darwinism in the biology textbooks of the Third Reich,” a bit confusing. It contains 15 figures that show various depictions of the evolution of the races of man and primates gleaned from various sources. Thirteen of them were published in America or Britain and several are from the post-WW II era, making their significance to the topic of the chapter elusive. While interesting, they would have been more meaningful if the text provided context for the figures. (The use of American and British sources in this chapteris due to the facts that (1) the same or similar figures were often used in textbooks of different countries, and (2) the general unavailability of copies of the German textbooks to use as sources. These are both reasonable points, but they are not explicitly made in the book. Hopefully this aspect will be improved in future editions. [NOTE 2]) The book also lacks an index, which would be a useful addition; but it does include an extensive 13-page bibliography.

I was eager to read this book when I heard it was coming out. In my younger days, I was quite a World War II history buff. At that time, I focused exclusively on the military technology used in fighting the war, the military tactics employed [NOTE 3], the political aspects of the war, and the international events leading up to it. A social and scientific history of the Third Reich was a gap in my knowledge that I hoped this book would help to fill. It definitely has. Including the 11 million people of “inferior races,” the total dead attributed to the war is 55 million people. (Page 21.) I believe the number may be considerably higher if the vengeful post-war atrocities committed upon the German people by the Allies are added. [NOTE 4] The results of social Darwinism, as applied “scientifically” by the Third Reich, is a very important lesson that we in the 21^st century would do well to heed. Exposiing one of he fruits of Darwinism, this study of the Nazi worldview and its consequences make this book worth reading.

NOTES:

[NOTE 1]  “Gentleman’s Agreement”, 20th Century Fox Film, 1947. Produced by Darrell F. Zanuck, directed by Elia Kazan, starring Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and John Garfield. At the 1948 Academy Awards, it was nominated for 8 Oscars and took 3 home. It was very controversial in its time in dealing explicitly with the many types and results of current American anti-Semitism in a very realistic – and judgmental – way. Part of the controversy was also the irony that the Hollywood of that time was strongly Jewish. Also refer to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039416/

[NOTE 2]  Personal communication with Dr. Bergman.

[NOTE 3]  Refer to the inside flaps of dust cover of “Strategy”, B. H. Liddell Hart, Frederick A. Praeger, New York (2d rev. ed. 1967). It is a little-known fact outside military history circles that German military leaders were avid readers of a British writer on military history and tactics – B. H. Liddell Hart – and they appropriated concepts that became the devastatingly successful “blitzkrieg” tactics used by the German army. “German General Guderian acknowledged, ‘I was one of Captain Liddell Hart’s disciples in tank affairs.’” (Back of dust cover.) Yet another “borrowing” by the Nazis from their soon-to-be enemies.

[NOTE 4]  Refer to Crimes and Mercies: The Fate of German Civilians under Allied Occupation 1945-1950, James Bacque, Talonbooks, Vacouver (Rev. ed. 2007). It is alleged that more than 9 million Germans died and another 15 million were displaced due to deliberate starvation and expulsion policies as part of the Allied food-aid programs administered in the aftermath of WW II. This was likely a reaction to the atrocities of the Third Reich and a retaliation against the German people by the only means available. Much of what is in this book is still denied by governments today.

Hitler and the Nazi Darwinian Worldview: How the Nazi Eugenic Crusade for a Superior Race Caused the Greatest Holocaust in World History by Jerry Bergman; Joshua Press; Kitchener, Ontario, Canada;2012;356 Pages; Suggested Retail: US$25.99, CAN$25.99, UK£16.99