by Edwin Black

Sunday, November 9, 2003

from SFGate Webite

This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Edwin Black is author of the award-winning "IBM and the Holocaust" and the recently
released "ar !gainst the ea"" #pu$lished $y Four alls %ight indows&' fro( which
this article is adapted)

Hitler and his henchmen victimized an entire continent and exterminated millions in his quest for a so-
called Master Race.
But the concept of a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed master Nordic race didn't oriinate with Hitler. The
idea was created in the United States, and cultivated in !alifornia, decades before Hitler came to power.
!alifornia euenicists played an important, althouh little-"nown, role in the #merican euenics
movement's campain for ethnic cleansin.
Eu!enic was the pseudoscience aimed at $improvin$ the human race. %n its extreme, racist form, this
meant wipin away all human beins deemed $unfit,$ preservin only those who conformed to a Nordic
stereotype. &lements of the philosophy were enshrined as national policy by forced sterilization and
sereation laws, as well as marriae restrictions, enacted in '( states. %n )*+*, !alifornia became the
third state to adopt such laws. ,ltimately, euenics practitioners coercively sterilized some -+,+++
#mericans, barred the marriae of thousands, forcibly sereated thousands in $colonies,$ and
persecuted untold numbers in ways we are .ust learnin. Before /orld /ar %%, nearly half of coercive
sterilizations were done in !alifornia, and even after the war, the state accounted for a third of all such
sureries.
!alifornia was considered an epicenter of the #merican euenics movement. 0urin the '+th century's
first decades, !alifornia's euenicists included potent but little-"nown race scientists, such as #rmy
venereal disease specialist 0r. "aul "o#enoe, citrus manate "aul Goney, 1acramento ban"er
$%arle Goet%e, as well as members of the !alifornia state Board of !harities and !orrections and the
,niversity of !alifornia Board of 2eents.
Eugenics would have been so much bizarre parlor tal" had it not been for extensive financin by
corporate philanthropies, specifically the !arneie %nstitution, the 2oc"efeller 3oundation and the
Harriman railroad fortune. 4hey were all in leaue with some of #merica's most respected scientists
from such prestiious universities as 1tanford, 5ale, Harvard and 6rinceton. 4hese academicians
espoused race theory and race science, and then fa"ed and twisted data to serve euenics' racist aims.
1tanford 6resident &avid Starr 'ordan oriinated the notion of $race and blood$ in his )*+' racial
epistle $Blood of a Nation,$ in which the university scholar declared that human qualities and conditions
such as talent and poverty were passed throuh the blood.
%n )*+7, the !arneie %nstitution established a laboratory complex at !old 1prin Harbor on 8on %sland
that stoc"piled millions of index cards on ordinary #mericans, as researchers carefully plotted the
removal of families, bloodlines and whole peoples. 3rom !old 1prin Harbor, euenics advocates
aitated in the leislatures of #merica, as well as the nation's social service aencies and associations.
4he Harriman railroad fortune paid local charities, such as the New 5or" Bureau of %ndustries and
%mmiration, to see" out 9ewish, %talian and other immirants in New 5or" and other crowded cities and
sub.ect them to deportation, confinement or forced sterilization.
4he 2oc"efeller 3oundation helped found the :erman euenics proram and even funded the proram
that 'oef (en!ele wor"ed in before he went to #uschwitz.
;uch of the spiritual uidance and political aitation for the #merican euenics movement came from
!alifornia's quasi-autonomous euenic societies, such as 6asadena's Human Betterment Foundation
and the !alifornia branch of the American Eugenics Society, which coordinated much of their activity
with the Eugenics Research Society in 8on %sland. 4hese oranizations -- which functioned as part of a
closely-"nit networ" -- published racist euenic newsletters and pseudoscientific .ournals, such as
Eugenical News and Eugenics, and propaandized for the Nazis.
&uenics was born as a scientific curiosity in the <ictorian ae. %n )=->, 1ir Franci Galton, a cousin of
!harles 0arwin, theorized that if talented people married only other talented people, the result would be
measurably better offsprin. #t the turn of the last century, :alton's ideas were imported to the ,nited
1tates .ust as :reor ;endel's principles of heredity were rediscovered. #merican euenics advocates
believed with reliious fervor that the same ;endelian concepts determinin the color and size of peas,
corn and cattle also overned the social and intellectual character of man.
%n a ,nited 1tates demoraphically reelin from immiration upheaval and torn by post-2econstruction
chaos, race conflict was everywhere in the early '+th century. &litists, utopians and so-called
proressives fused their smolderin race fears and class bias with their desire to ma"e a better world.
4hey reinvented Galtons eugenics into a repressive and racist ideoloy. 4he intent? 6opulate the &arth
with vastly more of their own socioeconomic and bioloical "ind -- and less or none of everyone else.
4he superior species the euenics movement souht was populated not merely by tall, stron, talented
people. &uenicists craved blond, blue-eyed Nordic types. 4his roup alone, they believed, was fit to
inherit the &arth. %n the process, the movement intended to subtract emancipated Neroes, immirant
#sian laborers, %ndians, Hispanics, &ast &uropeans, 9ews, dar"-haired hill fol", poor people, the infirm
and anyone classified outside the entrified enetic lines drawn up by #merican raceoloists.
How@ By identifyin so-called defecti!e family trees and sub.ectin them to lifelon sereation and
sterilization prorams to "ill their bloodlines. 4he rand plan was to literally wipe away the reproductive
capability of those deemed wea" and inferior -- the so-called unfit. 4he euenicists hoped to neutralize
the viability of )+ percent of the population at a sweep, until none were left except themselves.
&ihteen solutions were explored in a !arneie-supported )*)) $6reliminary 2eport of the !ommittee
of the &uenic 1ection of the #merican Breeder's #ssociation to 1tudy and to 2eport on the Best
6ractical ;eans for !uttin Aff the 0efective :erm-6lasm in the Human 6opulation.$ 6oint No. = was
euthanasia.
4he most commonly suested method of eugenicide in the ,nited 1tates was a $lethal chamber$ or
public, locally operated as chambers. %n )*)=, "o#enoe, the #rmy venereal disease specialist durin
/orld /ar %, co-wrote the widely used textboo", $A""lied Eugenics,$ which arued,
$3rom an historical point of view, the first method which presents itself is execution... %ts
value in "eepin up the standard of the race should not be underestimated.$

$#pplied &uenics$ also devoted a chapter to $8ethal 1election,$ which operated $throuh
the destruction of the individual by some adverse feature of the environment, such as
excessive cold, or bacteria, or by bodily deficiency.$
&uenic breeders believed #merican society was not ready to implement an oranized lethal solution.
But many mental institutions and doctors practiced improvised medical lethality and passive euthanasia
on their own. Ane institution in 8incoln, %ll., fed its incomin patients mil" from tubercular cows believin
a euenically stron individual would be immune. 4hirty to 7+ percent annual death rates resulted at
8incoln. 1ome doctors practiced passive euenicide one newborn infant at a time. Athers doctors at
mental institutions enaed in lethal nelect.
Nonetheless, with euenicide marinalized, the main solution for euenicists was the rapid expansion of
forced sereation and sterilization, as well as more marriae restrictions. !alifornia led the nation,
performin nearly all sterilization procedures with little or no due process. %n its first 'B years of
euenics leislation, !alifornia sterilized *,(=' individuals, mostly women. ;any were classified as $bad
irls,$ dianosed as $passionate,$ $oversexed$ or $sexually wayward.$ #t the Sonoma State Home,
some women were sterilized because of what was deemed an abnormally lare clitoris or labia.
%n )*>> alone, at least ),'(= coercive sterilizations were performed, (++ on women. 4he state's two
leadin sterilization mills in )*>> were 1onoma 1tate Home with >== operations and 6atton 1tate
Hospital with >-> operations. Ather sterilization centers included #news, ;endocino, Napa, Norwal",
1toc"ton and 6acific !olony state hospitals.
&ven the ,.1. 1upreme !ourt endorsed aspects of euenics. %n its infamous )*'( decision, 1upreme
!ourt 9ustice )liver Wendell *olme wrote,
$%t is better for all the world, if instead of waitin to execute deenerate offsprin for crime,
or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit
from continuin their "ind... 4hree enerations of imbeciles are enouh.$
4his decision opened the floodates for thousands to be coercively sterilized or otherwise persecuted
as subhuman. 5ears later, the Nazis at the Nurember trials quoted Holmes' words in their own
defense.
Anly after euenics became entrenched in the ,nited 1tates was the campain transplanted into
:ermany, in no small measure throuh the efforts of !alifornia euenicists, who published boo"lets
idealizin sterilization and circulated them to :erman officials and scientists.
Hitler studied #merican euenics laws. He tried to leitimize his anti-1emitism by medicalizin it, and
wrappin it in the more palatable pseudoscientific facade of euenics. Hitler was able to recruit more
followers amon reasonable :ermans by claimin that science was on his side. Hitler's race hatred
sprun from his own mind, but the intellectual outlines of the euenics Hitler adopted in )*'7 were
made in #merica.
0urin the ''+s, !arneie %nstitution euenic scientists cultivated deep personal and professional
relationships with :ermany's fascist euenicists. %n $;ein Campf,$ published in )*'7, Hitler quoted
#merican euenic ideoloy and openly displayed a thorouh "nowlede of #merican euenics.
$4here is today one state,$ wrote Hitler, $in which at least wea" beinnins toward a better
conception Dof immirationE are noticeable. Af course, it is not our model :erman 2epublic,
but the ,nited 1tates.$
Hitler proudly told his comrades .ust how closely he followed the proress of the #merican euenics
movement.
$% have studied with reat interest,$ he told a fellow Nazi, $the laws of several #merican
states concernin prevention of reproduction by people whose proeny would, in all
probability, be of no value or be in.urious to the racial stoc".$
Hitler even wrote a fan letter to #merican euenics leader (adion Grant, callin his race-based
euenics boo", $4he 6assin of the :reat 2ace,$ his $bible.$
Now, the #merican term $Nordic$ was freely exchaned with $:ermanic$ or $#ryan.$ 2ace science,
racial purity and racial dominance became the drivin force behind Hitler's Nazism. Nazi euenics
would ultimately dictate who would be persecuted in a 2eich-dominated &urope, how people would live,
and how they would die. Nazi doctors would become the unseen enerals in Hitler's war aainst the
9ews and other &uropeans deemed inferior. 0octors would create the science, devise the euenic
formulas, and hand-select the victims for sterilization, euthanasia and mass extermination.
0urin the 2eich's early years, euenicists across #merica welcomed Hitler's plans as the loical
fulfillment of their own decades of research and effort. !alifornia euenicists republished Nazi
propaanda for #merican consumption. 4hey also arraned for Nazi scientific exhibits, such as an
#uust )*>7 display at the 8.#. !ounty ;useum, for the annual meetin of the #merican 6ublic Health
#ssociation.
%n )*>7, as :ermany's sterilizations were acceleratin beyond B,+++ per month, the !alifornia
euenics leader $+(+ Goet%e, upon returnin from :ermany, ebulliently braed to a
colleaue,
$5ou will be interested to "now that your wor" has played a powerful part in shapin the
opinions of the roup of intellectuals who are behind Hitler in this epoch-ma"in
proram. &verywhere % sensed that their opinions have been tremendously stimulated
by #merican thouht... % want you, my dear friend, to carry this thouht with you for the
rest of your life, that you have really .olted into action a reat overnment of -+ million
people.$

4hat same year, )+ years after <irinia passed its sterilization act, 9oseph 0e9arnette,
superintendent of <irinia's /estern 1tate Hospital, observed in the Richmond Times#$is"atch,
$4he :ermans are beatin us at our own ame.$
;ore than .ust providin the scientific roadmap, #merica funded :ermany's euenic institutions.

By )*'-, 2oc"efeller had donated some F7)+,+++ -- almost F7 million in today's money -- to
hundreds of :erman researchers. %n ;ay )*'-, 2oc"efeller awarded F'B+,+++ toward creation
of the Caiser /ilhelm %nstitute for 6sychiatry. #mon the leadin psychiatrists at the :erman
6sychiatric %nstitute was Ernt ,-din, who became director and eventually an architect of
Hitler's systematic medical repression.
#nother in the Caiser /ilhelm %nstitute's complex of euenics institutions was the %nstitute for
Brain Research. 1ince )*)B, it had operated out of a sinle room. &verythin chaned when
2oc"efeller money arrived in )*'*. # rant of F>)(,+++ allowed the institute to construct a
ma.or buildin and ta"e center stae in :erman race bioloy. 4he institute received additional
rants from the Roc&efeller Foundation durin the next several years. 8eadin the institute,
once aain, was Hitler's medical henchman &rnst 2Gdin. 2Gdin's oranization became a prime
director and recipient of the murderous experimentation and research conducted on 9ews,
:ypsies and others.

Beinnin in )*7+, thousands of :ermans ta"en from old ae homes, mental institutions and
other custodial facilities were systematically assed. Between B+,+++ and )++,+++ were
eventually "illed.
8eon /hitney, executive secretary of the American Eugenics Society, declared of Nazism,
$/hile we were pussy-footin around ... the :ermans were callin a spade a spade.$
# special recipient of 2oc"efeller fundin was the 'aiser (ilhelm %nstitute for Anthro"ology)
Human Heredity and Eugenics in Berlin. 3or decades, #merican euenicists had craved twins
to advance their research into heredity.
4he %nstitute was now prepared to underta"e such research on an unprecedented level. An
;ay )>, )*>', the 2oc"efeller 3oundation in New 5or" dispatched a radioram to its 6aris
office?
9,N& ;&&4%N: &H&!,4%<& !A;;%44&& N%N& 4HA,1#N0 0A88#21 A<&2
4H2&& 5&#2 6&2%A0 4A C/: %N14%4,4& #N4H2A6A8A:5 3A2 2&1&#2!H AN
4/%N1 #N0 &33&!41 AN 8#4&2 :&N&2#4%AN1 A3 1,B14#N!&1 4AH%! 3A2
:&2; 68#1;.
#t the time of 2oc"efeller's endowment, )tmar Frei%err von .erc%uer, a hero in #merican
euenics circles, functioned as a head of the %nstitute for Anthro"ology) Human Heredity and
Eugenics. 2oc"efeller fundin of that institute continued both directly and throuh other
research conduits durin <erschuer's early tenure. %n )*>B, <erschuer left the institute to form a
rival euenics facility in 3ran"furt that was much heralded in the #merican euenics press.
2esearch on twins in the 4hird 2eich exploded, bac"ed by overnment decrees. <erschuer
wrote in $er Er*ar+t, a euenics doctor's .ournal he edited, that :ermany's war would yield a
$total solution to the 9ewish problem.$
<erschuer had a lontime assistant. His name was 9osef ;enele.

An ;ay >+, )*7>, (en!ele arrived at #uschwitz. .erc%uer notified the :erman 2esearch
1ociety,
$;y assistant, 0r. 9osef ;enele D;.0., 6h.0.E .oined me in this branch of research. He
is presently employed as HauptsturmfGhrer DcaptainE and camp physician in the
#uschwitz concentration camp. #nthropoloical testin of the most diverse racial roups
in this concentration camp is bein carried out with permission of the 11 2eichsfGhrer
DHimmlerE.$

;enele bean searchin the boxcar arrivals for twins. /hen he found them, he performed
beastly experiments, scrupulously wrote up the reports and sent the paperwor" bac" to
<erschuer's institute for evaluation. Aften, cadavers, eyes and other body parts were also
dispatched to Berlin's euenic institutes.
2oc"efeller executives never "new of ;enele. /ith few exceptions, the foundation had ceased
all euenics studies in Nazi-occupied &urope before the war erupted in )*>*. But by that time
the die had been cast. 4he talented men 2oc"efeller and !arneie financed, the reat
institutions they helped found, and the science they helped create too" on a scientific
momentum of their own.
After the war) eugenics was declared a crime against humanity -- an act of enocide. :ermans
were tried and they cited the !alifornia statutes in their defense -- to no avail. 4hey were found
uilty.
However, ;enele's boss <erschuer escaped prosecution. <erschuer re-established his
connections with !alifornia euenicists who had one underround and renamed their crusade
$human enetics.$ 4ypical was an exchane 9uly 'B, )*7-, when 6openoe wrote <erschuer,
$%t was indeed a pleasure to hear from you aain. % have been very anxious about my
colleaues in :ermany . . . % suppose sterilization has been discontinued in :ermany@$

6openoe offered tidbits about various #merican euenics luminaries and then sent various
euenics publications. %n a separate pac"ae, 6openoe sent some cocoa, coffee and other
oodies.
<erschuer wrote bac",
$5our very friendly letter of (I'B ave me a reat deal of pleasure and you have my
heartfelt than"s for it. 4he letter builds another bride between your and my scientific
wor"J % hope that this bride will never aain collapse but rather ma"e possible valuable
mutual enrichment and stimulation.$

1oon, <erschuer aain became a respected scientist in :ermany and around the world. %n
)*7*, he became a correspondin member of the newly formed #merican 1ociety of Human
:enetics, oranized by #merican euenicists and eneticists.

%n the fall of )*B+, the ,niversity of ;Gnster offered .erc%uer a position at its new %nstitute of
Human :enetics, where he later became a dean. %n the early and mid-)*B+s, <erschuer
became an honorary member of numerous prestiious societies, includin the %talian Society of
Genetics, the Anthro"ological Society of <ienna, and the ,a"anese Society for Human
Genetics.
Human genetics genocidal roots in eugenics were inored by a victorious eneration that refused to
lin" itself to the crimes of Nazism and by succeedin enerations that never "new the truth of the years
leadin up to war. Now overnors of five states, includin !alifornia, have issued public apoloies to
their citizens, past and present, for sterilization and other abuses spawned by the euenics movement.
Human enetics became an enlihtened endeavor in the late '+th century. Hard-wor"in, devoted
scientists finally crac"ed the human code throuh the Human :enome 6ro.ect. Now, every individual
can be bioloically identified and classified by trait and ancestry. 5et even now, some leadin voices in
the enetic world are callin for a cleansin of the unwanted amon us, and even a master human
species.

4here is understandable wariness about more ordinary forms of abuse, for example, in denyin
insurance or employment based on enetic tests. An Act. )7, the ,nited 1tates' first enetic anti-
discrimination leislation passed the 1enate by unanimous vote. 5et because enetics research is
lobal, no sinle nation's law can stop the threats.