The Nazi Ancestral Proof: Genealogy, Racial Science, and the Final Solution

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Eric Ehrenreich “A fascinating study which will contribute to the general understanding of how a technologically advanced, sophisticated German people were capable of complying with many of the racial policies instituted by the National Socialist regime.” —Beth A. Griech-Polelle, author of Bishop von Galen: German Catholicism and National Socialism “A groundbreaking work in the history of state-institutionalized racism in Nazi Germany that shows, once again, that most Germans willingly accepted the racial state of Nazi Germany.” —Aaron Gillette, author of Radical Theories in Fascist Italy How could Germans, inhabitants of the most scientifically advanced nation in the world in the early twentieth century, have espoused the inherently unscientific racist doctrines put forward by the Nazi leadership? Eric Ehrenreich traces the widespread acceptance of Nazi policies requiring German individuals to prove their Aryan ancestry to the popularity of ideas about eugenics and racial science that were advanced in the late Imperial and Weimar periods by practitioners of genealogy and eugenics. After the enactment of Nazi racial laws in the 1930s, the Reich Genealogical Authority, employing professional genealogists, became the providers and arbiters of the ancestral proof. This is the first detailed study of the operation of the ancestral proof in the Third Reich and the link between Nazi racism and earlier German genealogical practices. The widespread acceptance of this racist ideology by ordinary Germans helped create the conditions for the Final Solution. Eric Ehrenreich holds a law degree from the University of California, Davis, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin– Madison. Dr. Ehrenreich has received numerous academic honors, including a Fulbright fellowship, a Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies fellowship, a George L. Mosse Wisconsin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship, and the Douglas and Carol Cohen Postdoctoral Fellowship at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. He has lectured on Nazi racial policy throughout the United States and has also taught courses on racism and Nazi science at the University of Wisconsin and George Mason University. He currently practices law in Washington, D.C. Jacket illustrations: Otmar von Verschuer, ca. 1930, courtesy of the Library and Archives of the Max Planck Society; Ahnenpass, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. European history Holocaust Traces the origins and implementation of the method by which one proved “racial acceptability” in Nazi Germany INDIANA INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis http://iupress.indiana.edu 1-800-842-6796 The Nazi Ancestral Proof Ehrenreich The Nazi Ancestral Proof Genealogy, Racial Science, and the Final Solution The Nazi Ancestr al Proof Genealogy, Racial Science, and the Final Solution The Nazi Ancestr al Proof Eric Ehrenreich Indiana University Press Bloomington and Indianapolis Book design: David Alcorn, Alcorn Publication Design This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, IN 47404-3797 USA http://iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mail iuporder@indiana.edu© 2007 by Eric Ehrenreich All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ehrenreich, Eric. The Nazi ancestral proof : genealogy, racial science, and the final solution / Eric Ehrenreich. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-253-34945-3 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. National socialism and genealogy. 2. Eugenics—Government policy—Germany—History—20th century. 3. Race discrimination— Germany—History—20th century. 4. Germany—Politics and government—1933–1945. 5. Germany—Politics and government—1918–1933. I. Title. DD256.7.E335 2007 940.53'1811—dc22 2007010547 1 2 3 4 5 12 11 10 09 08 07 For my parents William Ehrenreich ‫”ל‬‫ז‬ and Edith Ehrenreich, and my daughter Ariel Gill-Ehrenreich. ...