After the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the world was horrified to discover the terrible genocide perpetrated by fascism. But missing from much of our discussion of history is the role played by British and American eugenicists, from the late 19th century onwards, in fuelling ideas of racial superiority and ultimately inspiring the Nazi project to promote a ‘master race’ at the expense of those deemed ‘unfit’. Some of the very characters involved in the defeat of Hitler in fact played a key role in nurturing the seeds of his fascist ideology.
Eugenics… Here they go again…
After the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the world was horrified to discover the terrible genocide perpetrated by fascism. But missing from much of our discussion of history is the role played by British and American eugenicists, from the late 19th century onwards, in fuelling ideas of racial superiority and ultimately inspiring the Nazi project to promote a ‘master race’ at the expense of those deemed ‘unfit’. Some of the very characters involved in the defeat of Hitler in fact played a key role in nurturing the seeds of his fascist ideology.