Blood and Homeland: Eugenics and Racial Nationalism in Central and Southeast Europe, 1900-1940

Introduction: Eugenics, Race and Nation in Central and Southeast Europe, 1900–1940: A Historiographic Overview

Eugenics, Race and Nation in Central and Southeast Europe, 1900–1940: A Historiographic Overview Marius Turda and Paul J. Weindling In the concluding chapter to The Wellborn Science: Eugenics in Germany , France, Brazil and Russia (1990), Mark B. Adams complained about the lack of diversity in the comparative history of eugenics: “We are beginning to know something of Russian eugenics, but what of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Slavic eastern Europe––Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine? As a Catholic Slavic country, Poland should be an especially intriguing test case. Lemaine, Schneider, Clark, and others are clarifying the character of eugenics in France; what of other Latin cultures of Europe, what of eugenics in Italy, Spain, Portugal , Romania?”1 After the collapse of Communism in 1989, topics such as eugenics, anti-Semitism and racism were resurrected as scholarly areas of interest, and researchers were given access to materials previously controlled by Communist regimes. As a result, a number of recently published monographs have quickly become essential readings of eugenic movements in Romania, Austria and Poland.2 Yet studies and monographs are still lacking on the history of eugenic movements in other Central and Southeast European countries.3 However, as this volume demonstrates, substantial analytical effort has been recently devoted to compensate for the lack of historiographic interest in these topics. It should not be assumed that comparative histories of eugenic movements in Central and Southeast Europe have never preoccupied eugenicists and scholars of eugenics. In 1921, the Hungarian eugenicist Géza von Hoffmann (1885–1921) wrote an article under the title “Eugenics in the Central Empires since 1914,” which constitutes the first analysis of various eugenic movements in Central Europe. Hoffmann compared the activities of various eugenics societies, including the Berlin Society for Racial Hygiene; the German Society for Racial Hygiene in Munich; the International Society for Racial Hygiene; the Austrian Society for the Study of the Science of Population; the Czech Society for Eugenics; and the Hungarian Society for Racial Hygiene and Population Policy.4 In 1924, the American eugenicist Samuel J. Holmes (1868–1964), professor of zoology at the University of California, published A Bibliography of Eugenics, which is arguably the first attempt to produce a comprehensive review of the main themes related to eugenics since the late nineteenth century. In contrast to Hoffmann, Holmes offered a more technical perspective on the achievements of Central European eugenics. In addition to American, British, French and German eugenicists, he cited several Central European supporters of eugenics under the following subheadings: “Eugenics and Works of a General Character” (János Bársony, Ladislav Haškovec and Géza von Hoffmann); “Genealogy” (Géza von Hoffmann); “The Problem of Degeneracy ” (Emil Mattauschek); “The Birthrate” (Géza Vitéz); “Selective Influence of War” (János Bársony); “Immigration and Emigration as Related to Racial Changes” (Géza von Hoffmann); and, finally, “Negative Eugenics, Sterilization, Segregation, etc.” (Géza von Hoffmann). Holmes’ intention was to enumerate rather than to comment upon works on eugenics included in his anthology. With the exception of Hoffmann’s Die Rassenhygiene in den Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika (Racial Hygiene in the United States of America), which was regarded as “the most comprehensive work on the subject,” Holmes did not insist on any eugenic study from Central or Southeast Europe. Nevertheless, the thematic arrangement of his book meant that the general interests of Central European eugenicists were clearly identifiable. They were preoccupied not only with the historiography of eugenics, but also with critical social and medical issues, including degeneracy, decline in birthrates and sterilization.5 One question, therefore, is appropriate: Did Holmes’ comparative survey of eugenic literature reflect the practical objectives of the eugenics societies and organizations in Central and Southeast Europe? Eugenics Societies and Programs of Social Hygiene Following the precedent set by the Society for Racial Hygiene (1905) in Germany and the Eugenics Education Society (1907) in Britain, eugenics societies flourished in Central and Southeast Europe, starting with Prague and Vienna in 1913 and followed by Budapest in 1914.6 2 “Blood and Homeland” Towards the end of the First World War, such organizations increased in number and scope. The Hungarian Society for Racial Hygiene and Population Policy, and the Polish Society for the Struggle against Race Degeneration were both established in 1917 (the latter was renamed the Polish Eugenics Society in 1922).7 After the war, eugenics and social hygiene received increased financial support. In...