DR. ARTHUR GÜTT
Head of the National Hygiene Department in the Ministry of the Interior
Head of the National Hygiene Department in the Ministry of the Interior
In most countries, neither
the governments nor the peoples have so far paid much attention to the
circumstances that account for the alternation of growth and decay in the
history of civilised nations. The rulers of ancient Greece and Imperial Rome
did not realise the need for a constructive population policy until the signs
of decay and degeneration were too patent to be ignored. The position is
exactly the same to-day. Statesmen everywhere have occupied themselves far too
little with the valuable racial assets inherited from an untold number of past
generations. They have been content to interest themselves in the promotion of
material and cultural assets without appreciating the fact that there is always
a close relationship between these latter and the hereditary racial
characteristics of the nation. Moreover, the real value of those assets will be
much impaired if the nation contains too small a number of thoroughly healthy
individuals. If that number is subject to a continuous decrease because of the
tendency on the part of married couples to remain childless or, at the best, to
be satisfied with one or two children, the nation must renounce all hope of
progressive development. Its civilisation will be doomed to ultimate
destruction. It is not however,
sufficient merely to realise the danger thus impending. What is wanted is an
active policy consistently aiming at the preservation of racial health.
Practical steps must be taken to prevent the further decline in the number of
births.
When at the close of
1932, Germany found herself faced with national bankruptcy and the danger of
racial disintegration the National Socialist Government resolutely put a stop
to the policy of laissez-faire
previously adopted. Due prominence was henceforth given to the importance of
the family, to the nation's special characteristics, and to its racial origins.
The governments of all civilised countries are aware that it is not enough to
safeguard the future of their respective populations by an adequate system of
administration and by an adequate economic policy. They know that equal care
must be given to the people's racial health. Notwithstanding this, there has
been a failure to consider the effects produced by their endeavours in that
direction - tinged, as they were - by Liberal principles. The object of the
legislation governing sickness, disablement and old-age insurance, and of the
various other measures taken to promote public welfare, has always been too
much concerned with the interests of each unhealthy individual, and too little
with the interests of the community as a whole.
The more sickness there
was and the more a person conducted himself in an anti-social way, the greater
were the efforts made by the State, the municipalities and the various
associations to relieve him of his troubles and worries. Many apparent
successes were thus achieved and the mortality index decreased more and more.
It is quite true that the spread of infectious diseases was largely prevented,
but in order to recover the cost of all those schemes, the healthy members of the community had to be increasingly taxed.
The more
instinctively a man had preserved intact his feeling for the family, the nation
and the race, and the more children he had, the more was he
"penalised" by the indirect taxes levied on articles of every-day
consumption, by social charges, and by insurance payments of all kinds. The
"success" of this system was only too visible: The family sense, the
sense of individual responsibility, and the economic foundations of the family
were destroyed. The masses, influenced by Marxist and Bolshevist teaching,
responded by selfishness, enmity to the State, a disinclination to marry, the
loosening of all mutual ties, and a lack of ambition. The decline in the
birth-rate began to assume menacing proportions in Germany as well as in Great
Britain. In Germany, in or about the year 1900, there was about one child to
every four marriages each year, but in 1932 there was only one child to every fourteen
marriages; and matters were not much better in Great Britain.
The cause of this
degeneration was believed to be connected with the economic conditions. It was
not realised that the family is the nucleus of the State and that, without it,
there can be no healthy political or economic conditions at all.
The aim of the population
policy now pursued in Germany is to preserve the numerical strength of the
nation and to ensure its racial health, Our first thought, therefore, must be
to maintain the very existence of our nation. Although it is generally assumed
that the term "nation" is so clearly understood that it needs no
further definition, it may be necessary to make a few remarks concerning it. It
is a mistake, for instance, to think that it comprises all those who are
citizens of the State concerned, irrespective of their race or their
origin. The science of heredity teaches
us that such a view is but superficial, and that the term must be restricted to
those persons who are racially akin to one another owing to their ancestry and
to their physical and intellectual features. On the other hand, it should not
be solely applied to those persons who are contemporary to one another at any
given moment, but also to all their ancestors and descendants. It is essential,
therefore, to remember that the term "nation" implies the element of
timelessness, as this circumstance has an important bearing upon all the
efforts made to preserve the national health, and the numerical strength of the
nation. If the present decline in the birth-rate is allowed to go on unchecked
in Germany, Great Britain and elsewhere, there is the grave danger of the
nations concerned losing the very foundations of their existence and their
civilisation. The table No.1 shows the present position in this respect in some
European countries.
Bad as these figures are,
they do not yet indicate the position as it really is. The apparent excess of
births over deaths is not due to any increase in the number of births, but
rather to a decrease in that of deaths. On account. of the improved standards
of living, the progress of medical science and the greater care bestowed on
matters of hygiene, the age classes originating from the years during which the
birth-rate was still high die much later than. the corresponding classes in the
past. The rate of mortality has gone down two and even threefold with the
result that-in - Germany and Great Britain - the number of persons now living
exceeds the number of those living some sixty years ago by the equivalent of
about twenty age classes. This circumstance effectively conceals the actual
dying-out of the nations concerned, As soon as those age classes begin to die,
the present illusion regarding the excess of births over deaths will be
destroyed. By that time, the numerically weak age classes dating from the
present time of declining birth rates will have reached the marriageable age,
and the death-rate will undergo a sudden and considerable rise. The offspring
then born will be inadequate to maintain the numerical strength of the nations
because of the reduced number of potential fathers and mothers. If we want to
obtain a true idea of the situation, we must allow for all these facts and
adjust the figures accordingly. We shall then find that, as already stated
above, the nations concerned are gradually dying out.
Burgdörfer has made the
adjustment which the statistical figures demand in accordance with the foregoing
explanations and has ascertained that in all the Germanic countries (except the
Netherlands) the natural growth of the population has ceased altogether. In
France, a certain stagnation may be said to exist, whilst in the Netherlands,
Italy, Poland and the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic the population still
continues its natural growth. The diagram (Diagram No. 1) on the preceding page
clearly shows this development.
The decline of the birth-rate,
especially in the Germanic countries, may be clearly seen by a glance at Table
No. 2 or at the two sketch maps of Europe on the following page.
The two maps on page 30 show the considerable
difference in the birth-rate between the western and the eastern parts of
Europe.
In the Slavonic countries, the
birth-rate is twice as high as, for instance, it is in Germany (cf. Map No. 2).
These diagrams and maps
indicate the extent of the danger to which the Germanic countries of Europe are
exposed by the falling birth-rate. They also show the menace to which the
racial and political independence of the Central and North European nations
will be subjected in future by the incessant pressure exerted by the Slavonic
peoples.
The outward cause of the
decline in the birth-rate is the desire on the part of many families to have
but few, if any, children.
The two-child system has been
largely adopted, and there are also considerable sections of the population
that have adopted the one-child system. No more than 10 per cent. of all
families have now four or more children.
From Diagram No. 2 it may
be seen that a nationwide adoption of the two-child system would lead to the
practical extinction of the nation after three hundred years.
No statesman, least of
all in Germany or Great Britain, can ignore these circumstances without grave
injury to the country he represents.
Let us now consider the
effects that will be produced by the present development. They may not be
openly discernible just yet, but they will be distinctly noticeable after the
lapse of another ten years.
There can be no doubt
that these effects will make themselves felt in every branch of public
activity, e.g., In the labour market, the production and consumption of goods,
the building trade, school education, social politics, and the defence of the
country. Seeing that children are consumers only, and not producers as well, the
shortage of children below 15 (which age class in Germany, for example, is now
about 9,000,000 less numerous in proportion to the number of persons working
for a living than it was before the War) is bound to upset the equilibrium
between producers and consumers. Indeed, the huge decrease in the number of
children below 15 has been, in addition to the other causes of the world-wide
depression, such as the mechanisation of work and the international currency
situation, one of the principal reasons for the spread of unemployment in the
countries affected and for the decrease of their foreign trade. During the
second half of the present century, conditions will be almost entirely
reversed. There will be such a shortage of workers not only in Germany, but in
Great Britain as well, that serious inconvenience will result therefrom.
History has taught us that conditions such as these invariably lead to a large
influx of foreign labour; and as the situation in the Slavonic countries, more
particularly Russia, is the exact reverse, the pressure exercised upon our
population will become so great that we shall be unable to resist it.
The number of persons of
65 or more, which is about 4,000,000 at present, will rise to about 10,000,000
within the not too distant future. This will bring about an unhealthy
disproportion between those who are the beneficiaries of our social and
insurance legislation and those who have to pay the contributions. The
country's social policy will then have to face a complete collapse. The
position is exactly the same as regards the defensive forces of the nation, as
may be seen from the following table:
The figures given in the
foregoing table refer to the young people who have become (or will become) of
military age in the years named. No deductions have been made in respect of
those that may be physically unfit for military service. The minima reached in
each of the six countries concerned are printed in italics. The figures plainly
show the great numerical inferiority of the Western European countries to
Russia and Japan twenty years after the worst year of the World War. The fact
that in or about 1937 the figures are so exceedingly low is a direct, although
belated, result of the War. Germany and France are the two countries where the
shortage of births due to that cause is most pronounced. The corresponding
shortage in Russia is attributable to the 1917 revolution. As regards the
Western countries, the figures will be more unfavourable still in the years
after 1940. By 1946, the age class here concerned will increase to more than
2,000,000 in Russia, and its average strength is expected to amount to four
times that of the corresponding class in Germany.
It is evident from this
development and from these statistics that the European nations cannot possibly
afford another war among themselves. If such a war should come about, their
fate would be sealed. Great Britain too, will not be able to retain her sway
over her distant possessions and dependencies unless she can rely upon the
support rendered by a Central European bloc. Germany, however, is not only the
heart, but also the backbone of Europe; and Bolshevism, if victorious, would
not stay its progress on the banks of the Rhine or the Seine, but only after
reaching Copenhagen, Stockholm and London.
The numerical decline of
the population, however, is but one aspect of the danger that confronts the
nations and their governments. Its other aspect is the biological and racial
degeneration that is becoming more and more evident as time goes on. It is a
fact that the limitation of the number of children to one or two is practised
by the physically and mentally superior members of all classes, including the
working class, and that childlessness, too, is spreading among them to an
alarming extent. The very opposite development is taking place among persons
suffering from inherited physical or mental defects, including persons of a
morbidly anti-social type and criminals. Statistics prove that three, four or
even more children are by no means uncommon in these biologically inferior
sections of the population. These facts indicate the extent of the danger we
have to face to-day in Germany, and also in Great Britain. Once, however, the
inferior sections actually predominate and the position is further worsened by
wholesale racial mixture, it will be too late to apply a remedy. Our proud, race-conscious
nations will perish, and European civilisation along with them. Their place will be taken, in all
probability, by the Bolshevist mixture of Russian and Asiatic peoples that has
sprung up in Eastern Europe owing to the dissolution of all family ties. During
my internment as a prisoner of war, I became acquainted with the former Russia
and the former Siberia; and I know that these countries are no longer now what
they were then. The members of the upper strata, who were educated along
Western European lines, have been killed or have fled the country; and a
section racially foreign to the European Russians has replaced them. We must
bear in mind that a new generation of mixed racial origin is now growing up in
Russia, that it is intellectually trained by Jews, that it does not appreciate
our Western civilisation and does not understand our Western views. It will be
a bad day for Europe when an army consisting of 17,000,000 members of that
Russo-Asiatic mixture, allied with some European nations and supported by negro
armies, is let loose on it and finally destroys it. No European nation can hope
to be victorious against such opponents single-handed. A common front and a
sense of solidarity are necessary to avert disaster. Will that necessity be
realised in time? That is the decisive question which Europe will have to
answer.
It appears to me that the
deceptive technical progress of our age and the dominance of financial
interests have given rise to a certain feeling of conceit among us. Old
standards have made room for new ones. What was valuable yesterday, seems
worthless to-day; and what was regarded as indispensable then is now thrown
overboard. "Have not all the forces of Nature been tamed and subordinated
to our will? Surely, it will soon be possible to subject to human interference
the last of the secrets surrounding our knowledge of the origin and the decay
of life! What, therefore, do we care for the past and for such things as family
life, tradition, ancestry, racial up-grading, and racial ties?" Such were
the views we had to listen to in this country before the advent of the National
Socialist regime.
Moreover, we were asked,
What is the use of proclaiming the kinship of the Germanic peoples and their
sense of solidarity? All conceptions of this kind are rejected and ridiculed by
the Liberalistic and Jewish-Bolshevist spokesmen. And yet, it is true that not
only our own nation, but almost all the nations of Northern and Western Europe
are - as the racial biologist sees it - on the brink of an abyss. The excessive
hold of city life upon our civilisation and the excessive influence exercised
by international finance and international intellectualism have created
political and economic insecurity among the peoples. In our country, the
disgraceful terms of the Versailles treaty, the material and ideal losses, the
Jewish domination over everything, the currency depreciation during the
inflation period, and the impoverishment of our middle classes - all these
circumstances caused our economic system to break down completely and the
number of unemployed to rise to seven millions. People felt disinclined to take
upon themselves the responsibilities of married life; birth-control was
practised to an unparalleled extent, and the German people were drifting
towards utter ruin.
When Herr Hitler took
over the Government in 1933, he was aware that, first of all, family life must
be restored to what it was. That was indispensable if a brighter future was to
be in store for the nation. On June 28th, 1933, Dr. Frick, the Minister of the
Interior, announced the Government's programme in connection with its
population policy. In the course of his speech he said, inter alia, that "the greatest task before the Government of
the national revolution is to ensure the racial regeneration of our people and
to preserve its numerical strength in the centre of Europe."
Much has been achieved
since then - but much more remains to be done. Two requirements must be
fulfilled in order to attain final success. First, the Government must
intervene by adequate legislation; and second, each individual must regain due
consciousness of his duties towards the country of his birth.
The Government, acting
under Herr Hitler's direction, has done much by legislation. Trade and industry
have been promoted and the unemployment situation has been improved. We have
regained our internal and external liberty of action; and in addition to
solving these and other important problems in the political and economic
spheres, we have embarked upon a systematic campaign of practical population
policy.
The nation and the race
must be regarded as the pivot upon which all State activity hinges. "The
nation as such," Herr Hitler has said, "is the eternal fountain from
which new life is always emanating; and this fountain must be kept in a healthy
state. "Hence, our struggle is concerned with the preservation of racial
health and the encouragement of large-sized families. Measures aiming at the
reduction of unemployment, the protection of the home soil, the provision of
small holdings and settlements near the outskirts of large cities, and a
suitable readjustment of our fiscal and population policies, have already been
introduced; and others will follow.
The results achieved,
however, can only be of practical value and of a lasting character when the
change of attitude is complete and makes itself felt in every branch of State
activity. Moreover, there must be a uniformly directed administrative apparatus
to assist in carrying out the necessary hygienic reforms.
In spite of the
unsatisfactory economic and financial conditions ruling in 1933, the Ministry
of the Interior succeeded in unifying the public health system of the country
and in doing away with the wasteful decentralisation previously existing. By
the Act passed on July 3rd, 1934, the various boards of health established by
the subordinate public authorities were given over to central administration,
and a new department - that for racial hygiene - was added. The new boards of
health set up in every municipality or district are directed by a State appointed
physician, assisted by an efficient staff. The scope of the work done by the
Public Health Department has been extended by the addition to it of the
Advisory Offices for Racial Culture and Heredity. Their functions are: to watch
the natural growth (or otherwise) of the population, to safeguard the nation's
inherited assets, and to enlighten persons intending to marry.
The progress of racial
science has been very considerable in recent years; and much benefit to the
community has been derived from it. Although it is not possible to influence
the course of the racial development by direct methods, it can be done
indirectly. Darwin explained the upward development in the animal and vegetable
kingdoms by pointing out that those animals and plants which are capable of
assimilating themselves to their surroundings more successfully than others are
best fitted to survive in the struggle for existence and to pass their
characteristic features on to their descendants. This is called "natural
selection," and its opposite (in the domain of human development) is the
artificial selection brought about by the influences of civilisation. The very
progress of human knowledge produces an increasing amount of artificial
interference with the influences that are at work naturally. The weaker
elements - which, if Nature alone were at work, would soon be eliminated - are
kept alive and are even specially cared for by the skill of our physicians and
by the improved conditions of life. In the realm of Nature and among the
uncivilised peoples, everything that is unhealthy speedily perishes. Among
civilised nations, the opposite development takes place. The healthy and
valuable individuals either refuse to marry or, if they do, largely practise
family limitation.
During the Liberalist and
Marxist regime in Germany, it was also believed that the human race could be improved
by artificial means. It was thought that the characteristics thus acquired were
hereditable; and this view is still largely advocated. But, we may ask, what
useful purpose can be served by the constant extension of public welfare work, so
long as the efforts in that direction fail to deal with the real causes of a
nation's decay? It has been proved that the unhealthy traits are usually
reproduced to a larger extent than the healthy ones; and Galton has already
emphasised that this circumstance tends to increase the danger of racial
degeneration.
We know that we cannot
restore the natural conditions of life, and we do not intend to do so or to
throw overboard the blessings of a higher civilisation. But as we are aware of
the causes of degeneration, we can counteract the effects of an artificial
environment by an artificial selection of the right kind, i.e., by promoting
racial culture; and the final outcome will correspond to our intentions. If we
facilitate the propagation of healthy stock by systematic selection and by the
elimination of the unhealthy elements, we shall be able to improve the physical
standards not, perhaps, of the present generation, but of those that will
succeed us. Credit is due to the National Socialist Government for perceiving
the danger of degeneration and for issuing legislation dealing with it, e.g.,
the Acts for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring, for the
Restoration of Professionalism in the Public Services, for dealing with
Habitual Offenders and Immoral Offences, and many others.
It goes without saying
that the medical activities carried out by physicians on behalf of individuals
and on that of the community will continue to go on along the lines universally
adopted in conformity with the researches of Koch, Lister, Pasteur, and other
celebrated scientists.
It was a great
achievement on the part of Robert Koch when he succeeded, many years ago, in
discovering that various micro-organisms are the cause of anthrax, tuberculosis,
cholera, etc. The result was that a systematic campaign against these
infectious diseases was organised throughout the civilised world. Acts were
passed by which the State was given the right to interfere with the private
life of individuals, on the ground that such interference, although restricting
individual liberty, would benefit the nation as a whole. It can hardly be
denied that - in pursuance of such legislation - the State was not only
entitled, but compelled, to issue regulations governing the duty of individuals
to report all cases of infection, providing for the isolation of the patients
concerned, and so on. The same right must therefore be claimed by the State for
its activities in the wider domain of racial hygiene.
Germany has taken the
lead in these endeavours by taking practical steps towards the initiation of a
systematic population policy. The Advisory Offices already referred to are
required, among other matters, to administer the Act for the Prevention of
Hereditarily Diseased Offspring. Whenever it may be assumed, with a fair
measure of probability, that a serious hereditary disease will be propagated,
sterilisation may be resorted to. The scope of the Act is limited to the most
important diseases, e.g., congenital imbecility or insanity, epilepsy, hereditary
deafness or blindness, etc., and stringent regulations have been issued to
prevent any misuse.
Special courts have been
created to decide whether, in any given instance, the provisions of the Act are
to be applied to it. They are composed of physicians and judges. Prior to
making their decision, they carefully examine the circumstances of the case in
question. It must be remembered, in this connection, that sterilisation is by
no means identical with castration. It may be effected by means of X-rays or
radium treatment, so that an operation is not necessarily required. The work performed
by the courts is of a highly responsible nature, its ultimate object being to
stamp out all hereditary diseases.
A clearly defined legal
position has been created in every domain of racial biology. The interception
of pregnancy for hygienic reasons - a difficult problem in every civilised
country - has been dealt with in a satisfactory way by giving the necessary
discretionary powers to commissions composed of medical men.
Additional safeguards are
provided by the Act dealing with Habitual Offenders and Immoral Offences,
passed on November 24th, 1936. It empowers the ordinary courts to inflict
adequate punishment upon habitual offenders and upon persons committing immoral
offences against women and children.
It is obvious that the
measures hitherto discussed are of a negative character only. Their chief aim
is to remove the dangers that have arisen as the result of many decades of
neglect. They must, of course, be supplemented by others intended to ensure a
healthy offspring and the economic safeguarding of the family.
Thus, steps have been
taken to diminish unemployment and to protect the German soil. The Act of July
14th, 1933, providing for the improvement in the position of the rural
population, has transferred to the Reich the whole domain of agricultural
settlement. Similar objects are to be achieved by the Act governing hereditary
farmsteads and by various laws granting tax relief to persons with large families.
The decree issued on July
1st, 1933, in pursuance of Section 5 of the Act governing the reduction of unemployment,
provided for the grant of loans to persons intending to marry. Subject to
certain regulations, the repayment of the money can be partly or wholly waived
upon the birth of one or more children. The effect produced by this decree has
been an immediate increase in the number of marriages (to more than 600,000).
Whilst not more than
about 957,000 children were born in 1933, the corresponding figures for 1934
and 1935 were 1,197,000 and 1,265,000 respectively; and whilst, as already
stated, the relation between the annual number of births and that of marriages
was 1 to 14 in 1933, it had improved to 1 to 11 two years later.
However gratifying these
improvements may be, they must not make us think that the dangers threatening
the German people have now been completely overcome. Owing to the
unsatisfactory economic conditions during the past few years, some 300,000
marriages had to be postponed until now. We may perhaps assume that, on an
average, one child has so far resulted from each of these delayed marriages;
and it remains to be seen whether second or third children will follow. In addition,
the men and women born during the years of war (and therefore representing the
numerically weak age classes) are now getting of marriageable age, so that
there will presumably be fewer marriages and fewer births. It is a great
mistake to believe that the German people has become a growing people again.
Even the number of children born in 1935 is insufficient to ensure a numerical
increase or even to maintain the nation's present numerical strength. Those
critics, therefore, who contend that Germany's population policy is a menace to
the equilibrium of Europe, fail to view the situation aright. We are surrounded
by growing populations in the south and east; and it is our position as a
people inhabiting the heart of Europe that is actually at stake. Even though it
is true that Britain is not handicapped by such open and unprotected frontiers
as is Germany, the statistics prove that the danger of a numerical decline in
the near future is just as great in her case as it is in our own. The same
remark, indeed, applies to other North and West European nations (cf. Table No.
2).
The decree providing for
the grant of loans to persons intending to marry laid it down that applicants
had to undergo a medical examination in order to ascertain that they were not
suffering from some hereditary physical or mental disease detrimental to the
nation's health. Apart from this provision, no similar evidence was
demanded-until recently - in connection with the contraction of marriages, and
even the diseases referred to did not constitute an obstacle to marriage. It is
true that in Prussia and elsewhere, the registrar would advise the young people
to interchange certificates of health; but there was no need for them to follow
that advice. Since then, however, an Act has been passed (on October 18th, 1935)
which makes it possible to prevent marriages that would be undesirable for
reasons of racial health, thus protecting from untold misery and suffering not
only the persons intending to marry, but also any possible offspring as well as
the whole community.
In the course of the past
thousand years or so, people had quite forgotten that they are the result of
heredity and environment. Marriages, therefore, were frequently brought about
by purely external reasons, such as the desire for a dowry, for social
preferment, etc. Men of good physique did not hesitate to marry girls suffering
from grave physical or mental defects; and healthy girls often regarded it as a
work of Christian charity to choose for their partner in life a sick and
unhealthy man for whom they could care and to whose needs they could
administer.
No one seemed to mind
that marriages thus contracted would tend to produce an offspring liable to the
same grave defects. A mistaken sense of charity prompted people to commit acts
of ruthless cruelty towards those who - being racially inferior or suffering
from an incurable disease – furnished visible evidence of "the sin against
the race." Statistical evidence of the great danger to which such an
attitude must lead is by no means lacking. Up to now people have failed to see
that the ultimate outcome of this development must be the decay and the utter
ruin of our civilisation. They are still governed by too strong a faith in the
doctrines with which they were conversant throughout their lives, without
realising all their implications. It was therefore an event of the utmost
historical importance when the National Socialist Government proceeded to enact
the various legislative measures by which the evil could be tackled at its
root.
The racial purity of a
nation and its freedom from hereditary disease are just as closely related to
one another as body and soul. The former is mainly concerned with the
preservation of that which is good and healthy. To ensure the latter, the Act
prohibiting marriages between persons suffering from hereditary disease makes
it incumbent upon registrars to refuse a marriage licence if one or other of
the following conditions obtains:
(a) If either the man or the woman is suffering
from an infectious disease likely to inflict grave injury upon the other party
or their issue.
(b) If either party is under restraint or
tutelage.
(c) If either party, although not under
restraint, is yet suffering from a mental disability which makes it undesirable
in the national interest that he or she should marry.
(d) f either party is suffering from one of the congenital
diseases specified in the Act governing the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased
Offspring.
Clause (d) will not be
considered an obstacle to marriage if the other party is sterile.
Thus, the contraction of
a marriage can now be legally prohibited if its consummation would be certain
to cause grave damage to the parties concerned. In drawing up these
regulations, the legislator has wisely limited the scope of his interference to
a minimum and has carefully defined their exact meaning. Even the most uncompromising
opponents of National Socialism will probably admit that the prohibitions cover
those circumstances only in which a citizen conscious of his responsibilities
would abstain from marrying in any case. Foreign critics, indeed, have not
found fault with any of them, well knowing that the propagation of infectious
diseases and mental defects is bound to undermine the health of any nation.
Responsible parents have
always felt that it is advisable to consult a physician before any of their
children contract a marriage. It is therefore in harmony with this feeling that
the issuance of a certificate of fitness to marry is described, in one of the
new Acts, as one of the functions of the offices giving advice to persons
intending to marry. A medical examination is compulsory upon all candidates for
such a certificate. In order to be thus examined, they may either apply to a
private medical practitioner or to the physicians appointed by the boards of
health. The certificate itself will always be issued by the board of health
within whose district the fiancée is domiciled. For the present, it has been
provided that the certificate will only be demanded whenever the registrar or
the board of health has reason to assume that one of the obstacles to marriage
specified above applies to the case in question. Applicants are not compelled
to produce any evidence on that point; but if they decline to give the
information requested by the board, the latter will be unable to issue a
certificate.
In the event of the
medical examination being effected by a private medical practitioner, no charge
will be made if the candidate is insured with an officially recognised sickness
insurance society, either directly or indirectly, or if the cost of any illness
he or she might contract would be payable by a public-welfare institution.
Persons claiming this privilege must produce the necessary evidence.
If the certificate is
refused on the ground that one or other of the obstacles to marriage already
referred to applies to the case, the applicant may appeal to one of the
competent courts specially established to deal with matters of racial hygiene.
If he or she is dissatisfied with the decision, a second appeal may be made
(within fourteen days) to a superior court of like character, the decision of
which will be final. Whenever recourse is had to this procedure, the demand for
a certificate to marry may be waived. There are also cases in which the appeal
against the decision of the board of health can only be lodged with an
administrative official, such as, for instance, the Government President of the
district (in so far as Prussia is concerned). These superior authorities may,
in special instances, grant exemption from the ordinary rules. Lastly, there
are certain cases in which the Minister of the Interior may be appealed to,
whose decision will then be final.
All the biological
information collected will be entered in special registers, so that - after the
lapse of ten years or so - we shall have at our disposal an almost complete
record of the state of our nation's racial health. When that time has come, the
boards of health will be able to supply full hygienic details of every
individual and every family in the country.
As regards actual
practice, the prohibitions to marry will only be issued in a relatively small
number of cases. Normally, the certificate will be drawn up by a private
medical practitioner. If he is of the opinion that both applicants-though apparently
in good health - are of an unhealthy hereditary disposition, he will urge them
to abstain from marrying, but it rests with them whether they will follow his
advice or reject it.
All competent and unbiased
critics will presumably agree that the legislation governing racial hygiene
cannot but be of great benefit to the national development. It is quite true
that many of the measures now introduced are disliked because of the extent to
which they may be thought to interfere with individual liberty; but after the
lapse of a few decades they will probably be regarded, not only in Germany, but
also elsewhere, as matters concerning which disagreement is no longer possible.
Marriages detrimental to
the racial purity of the German stock have been made illegal by the Nuremberg
Law for the Protection of the German Race and German Honour (September 15th,
1935). In the preamble, a concise statement is given of the objects aimed at by
the National Socialist Government in the domain of racial policy. It begins as
follows:
Fully
convinced that the purity of the German stock is indispensable to the continued
existence of the German nation and animated by the inflexible determination to
safeguard its existence for all times, the Reichstag has unanimously resolved
upon the following law.
The law prohibits all
marriages between Jews and any German nationals who are of German stock or of
kindred ancestry. Any marriages contracted abroad in order to evade this
prohibition are illegal. Proceedings to have them annulled can only be
instituted by the public prosecutor. The same prohibition applies to illicit
sexual intercourse between the persons named. Any infringement of the law will
be punished.
It stands to reason,
however, that all these measures - if isolated - will still fail in their
objective unless steps are also taken to protect the vital rights of all
healthy families by due recognition of their economic needs.
The political and social
future of our country can only be definitely safeguarded on condition that the
middle classes, the employees and the workers have their proper share in the
national assets. The State is required to make it possible for all citizens to
carry out their appointed tasks and to become part-owners of the means of production.
Economic and social legislation will be needed to enable prolific families to
purchase the means of subsistence. This can only be achieved by an adjustment
of the burdens each family has to carry; and this, in turn, can be brought
about by tax remission, by educational assistance, or other measures.
The problem we have to
solve is this: How can we provide financial aid to all prolific and
biologically healthy families by way of uniform and comprehensive action? It is
evident that such assistance - if it is to benefit racial health - must be
graded according to the income of the persons concerned. Its precise form will
therefore vary, although the general principle underlying it will be the same.
In the upper middle classes, the object aimed at may be attained by tax reform;
those who are employed in the public services may have their salaries
increased; the masses of workers and employees in private undertakings may be
assisted by creating a "national family adjustment fund," whilst an
altogether different method may have to be adopted in connection with the
farming community, handicraftsmen, and others. In no case will this involve
additional taxation. All that will happen will be a re-distribution of incomes
in conformity with the principles of a sound population policy. Owing to the
economic difficulties caused by the Versailles Treaty and the incompetency of
previous governments, it has been impossible so far to provide the adjustment
fund referred to. Its creation, however, is a vitally important necessity, which
must overrule all other considerations, even though it may involve increased
social charges for families with few children or no children at all. This
necessity can now be explained to workers and employees far more convincingly
than could have been done in the past; and there is no doubt that they will
grasp its significance. If we succeed in convincing all classes of the vital
importance of this task, they will continue to be content with the present
modest level of the provision made against the vicissitudes of life, because,
in doing so, they will help to attain the higher aims before us, viz., the
maintenance of our national existence and the safeguarding of our national
future.
The conviction must
become universal that the problems in the domain of our population policy
cannot be solved unless we have the courage to adjust the whole of our
financial, social and economic policy to the principles already set forth. We
can no longer carry on social policy in this country without, at the same time,
combating unemployment and carrying on a healthy population policy.
Unemployment, however, can only be definitely overcome if we succeed in finding
a satisfactory solution of the problem concerning the position of women and in
safeguarding the vital rights of the family.
The German nation has now
realised, just before it was too late, that a breach with its past and a
neglect of its racial ideals is bound to inflict grave injury upon everyone.
Houston Stewart Chamberlain has somewhere referred to the nineteenth century as
"the age of irreverence," thus foreseeing the development that took
place during the past thirty years. A man's actions are not determined, in the
last resort, by his education, his intelligence or his surroundings, but by the
racial traits bequeathed to him by his remote ancestors. Just as a nation's
past history can be a source of strength to it, the history of our family can
be an inspiration to us throughout our lives. A study of it can teach us where
our ancestors came from, What work they were doing, what was their worth or
worthlessness, and what characteristics they may have passed on to us. When
every individual realises that he is only a link in the long chain that
connects him with his ancestors and that he has the same obligations towards
the future as they had, it will be time to dismiss our apprehensions regarding
the continued existence of our people. Thus, it will always be necessary to
cultivate the family sense. Women, especially, must again become the custodians
of the family traditions. It is therefore very gratifying to see that the
various women's organisations make it their special business to teach young
girls to be conscious of their responsibilities, just as the corresponding
men's organisations endeavour to foster the same spirit in men and youths.
The increased attention
given by Germany to racial hygiene has resulted in a widening of the scope
covered by the activities of the public health authorities. Numerous foreign
scientists and also foreign nations are prepared to follow the lead thus given
by us. It is not intended to replace the existing system of public hygienic
services by a different one, but rather to supplement the one by the other. The
work already done to combat disease will be continued as usual, in close
collaboration with medical science. The introduction of a practical system of
biological and racial culture, however, is certain to increase the public's
appreciation of its duties towards the family and towards future generations,
and will therefore raise the physical and intellectual standards of our people.
Beyond that, it strengthens our desire for the preservation of peace.
For all these reasons we
consider it our duty to direct the attention of the European nations, and of
the white race in general, towards the dangers threatening our common
civilisation from Russia in the east and from Africa - by way of large armies
composed of races of non European stock specially trained by France-in the
south.
If there were another
war, valuable national assets would be destroyed not only at the front, but
also at home. Thus, racial hygiene and war (to quote Professor Ploetz) will
always be irreconcilable enemies. The Chancellor wants peace not only for his
own country's sake, but also because a European war would be the end of the
white races and of white civilisation. Not only Central Europe, but France,
Italy and Great Britain also, would perish, whilst Bolshevism would be the real
victor.
I firmly believe that the
recognition of this danger will bring the highly civilised nations closer
together and will strengthen the feeling of solidarity.
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