From Darwin to Hitler

From Darwin to Hitler ~

Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and

Racism in Germany

Richard Weikart

palgrave
macmillan
*
FROM DARWIN TO HITLER
© Richard Weikart
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 15t edition 2004 978-1-4039-6502-8
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in
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First published 2004 by
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in the European Union and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-4039-7201-9 ISBN 978-1-137-10986-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-10986-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wei kart, Richard, 1958-
From Darwin to Hitler: evolutionary ethics, eugenics, and racism in
Germany / by Richard Weikart.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Eugenics-Germany-History. 2. Ethics, Evolutionary.

3. Racism-Germany. 4. Germany-Race relations. I. Title.
HQ755.5.G3W435 2004
305.8'00943-dc22 2003065613

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, Chennai, India.
First edition: May 2004
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Transferred to digital printing in 2008.
Contents ~

Illustrations Vll

Preface IX

Introduction

1. Laying New Foundations for Ethics 19

1. The Origin of Ethics and the Rise of Moral Relativism 21
2. Evolutionary Progress as the Highest Good 43
3. Organizing Evolutionary Ethics 59

2. Devaluing Human Life 71

4. The Value of Life and the Value of Death 73
5. The Specter ofInferiority: Devaluing the Disabled
and "Unproductive" 89
6. The Science of Racial Inequality 103

3. Eliminating the "Inferior Ones" 127

7. Controlling Reproduction: Overturning Traditional
Sexual Morality 129
8. Killing the "Unfit" 145
9. War and Peace 163
10. Racial Struggle and Extermination 183

4. Impacts 207
11. Hitler's Ethic 209

Conclusion 229

Notes 235
Bibliography 279
Index 305
Illustrations ~

1.1 "Ape-like" Italian criminal 39

6.1 Frontispiece of Haeckel's Natiirliche Schopfongsgeschichte 107
6.2 Pithecanthropus alalus 109
6.3 Cover of Der Brummer magazine 125
10.1 Spaniards' dogs mauling Indians 190
Preface &:::8

I became fascinated with the topic of evolutionary ethics while doing

research for my dissertation, Socialist Darwinism: Evolution in German
Socialist Thought from Marx to Bernstein (published in 1999). Little
did I suspect the course my study would take. While examining Darwinian
discourse in Germany, I found that many Darwinists believed that
Darwinism had revolutionary implications for ethics and morality, provid-
ing a new foundation for ethics and overturning traditional moral codes.
Intrigued by these ideas, I intended at first merely to describe and analyze
the development of evolutionary ethics in Germany and elsewhere.
However, as I began to read the writings of Ernst Haeckel and other early
Darwinists, my focus shifted to a specific field of ethics-what is today
called biomedical ethics.
One cause for this shift was my study of Ernst Haeckel's works, in
which-to my surprise-he advocated infanticide for babies having certain
kinds of disabilities. Second, I discovered that many German eugenicists
wrote essays and passages in their books on how to apply Darwinism to
ethics. I had not initially intended eugenics to play an important part in
this study, but I could not avoid it-leaders of the eugenics movement were
some of the most prominent promoters of evolutionary ethics.
Last, but certainly not least, James Rachel's book, Created from Animals:
The Moral Implications ofDarwinism (Oxford, 1990), stimulated my think-
ing. Rachel's argument that Darwinism undermines the sanctity of human
life and his support for euthanasia seemed remarkably similar to some of
the ideas I encountered in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century
Germany. Rachel's book-together with what I already knew about the
views of Haeckel, some social Darwinists, and eugenicists-suggested
to me a new question to explore: Did German Darwinists use Darwinian
theory to undermine the traditionally held doctrine of the sanctity of
human life? To pose the question a different way, what did Darwinism-or
at least influential proponents of Darwinism-have to say about the value
of human life? As I framed the question in this way, other issues relating to
life and death emerged naturally, especially war and racial conflict.
x Prefoce

As I reformulated my study on evolutionary ethics to include discus-

sions on the value of human life, another topic became inescapable: the
influence of this discourse on Hitler. Hitler was not even on my radar
screen when I began my research, and Daniel Gasman's one-sided attempt
to link Haeckel and Hitler made me wary. However, the more books,
articles, and documents I read by Darwinists and eugenicists in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the more I read by and about
Hitler, the more I became convinced that there were significant historical
connections between Darwinism and Hitler's ideology. I will leave it to the
reader to decide how straight or twisted the path is from Darwinism to
Hitler after reading my account. It is my task now to trace this path from
Darwin's time to approximately World War I (in the case of Hitler, I extend
the discussion a little later chronologically, since all of Hitler's speeches and
writings came after World War I).
Some of the material presented in this book has appeared previously in
journal articles: "The Origins of Social Darwinism in Germany, 1859-1895,"
Journal ofthe History ofIdeas 54 (1993): 469-88; "Darwinism and Death:
Devaluing Human Life in Germany, 1860-1920," Journal of the History
of Ideas 63 (2002): 323-44; and "Progress through Racial Extermination:
Social Darwinism, Eugenics, and Pacifism in Germany, 1860-1918,"
German Studies Review 26 (2003): 273-94. Thanks to the anonymous
readers and to Diethelm Prowe, editor of German Studies Review, for their
helpful comments on these essays.
I would also like to thank the many other people who made this
book possible. First and foremost, California State University, Stanislaus,
provided many resources, including a sabbatical and research grants.
Crucial for this project was the CSU, Stanislaus, Inter-Library Loan depart-
ment (thanks, Julie Reuben), without which this study would have been
extremely difficult or impossible. My colleagues in the History Department
have given constant encouragement and inspiration. Many thanks also to
the Center for Science and Culture (especially Jay Richards and Steve
Meyer), which provided crucial funding and much encouragement, with-
out which this project would have taken much longer to complete. I also
want to thank the Templeton Foundation for their funding of a Faculty
Summer Seminar in 2001 on "Biology and Purpose: Altruism, Morality,
and Human Nature in Evolutionary Theory," which helped stimulate my
thinking.
I also thank the many libraries and archives who allowed me to gain
access to the information I needed for my research: University of
California, Berkeley Library, Stanford University Library and Archives,
Hoover Institution, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz (Berlin),
 Prefoce XI

Akademie der Klinste Archives (Berlin), Humboldt University Archives

(Berlin), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaft Archives
(Berlin), Bundesarchiv Koblenz, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Munich),
Ernst-Haeckel-Haus Archives (Jena), University of Freiburg Archives,
University of Zurich Archives, Wiener Land- und Stadtarchiv (Vienna),
Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek (Vienna), Forschungsstelle und
Dokumentationszentrum flir osterreichische Philosophie (Graz), League of
Nations Archives (Geneva), University of Geneva Archives, and the
University of Wroclaw Archives. Special thanks to Wilfried Ploetz, who
allowed me to examine the papers of his father, Alfred Ploetz, and who was
wonderfully hospitable.
I have also benefited from my interaction with many colleagues, who
have contributed immensely to my intellectual development and without
whom this project would have been impossible. I would especially like to
thank Mitch Ash and Allan Megill for grounding me in German intellec-
tual history and the history of science. I'm especially grateful to Edward
Ross Dickinson for reading part of the manuscript and making suggestions
for improvement, as well as his input at conferences and via e-mail
exchanges. Many others-too numerous to name-provided input at con-
ferences, through e-mail, or especially through their books and articles.
Whatever faults remain are mine alone, but any merit in this work owes
much to these and other scholars, most of whose names may be found in
my bibliography.
My editor, Brendan O'Malley, did a terrific job. He kept me well-
informed at each stage of the review process and answered all my concerns
in a timely fashion. Many thanks to him for all this.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Ray and Lois, for their
support and encouragement in ways far too numerous to list. I dedicate this
book to my wife, Lisa, and my six precious children: Joy, John, Joseph,
Miriam, Christine, and Hannah. They brought me great joy while I was
working on this project and were a constant reminder of the immense value
of human life.