MOPHATE SECONDARY SCHOOL
HISTORY RESEARCH
NAME : kuli duMA
GRAdE : 11 E
YEAR : ENd OF TERM 2 (2026)
diSCuSSiNG TO WHAT EXTENT NAZi POliCiE WERE
iNFluENCEd BY THE EuGENiCS MOVEMENT ANd SOCiAl
dARWiNiSM
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction to Nazi Racism
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis believed that the world was divided into distinct races.
According to the Nazis, each race had its own traits. These characteristics, in the Nazi
view, were passed on from one generation to the next. All members of a race
supposedly shared the same inherited traits. These traits then supposedly determined
the race’s appearance, intelligence, creativity, and strength.
Some races, in the Nazi view, had better traits than others. According to Nazi thinking,
the races with the best traits dominated other races.
Nazi beliefs and ideas about race shaped all aspects of everyday life and politics in Nazi
Germany. In particular, the Nazis embraced the false idea that Jews were a separate
and inferior race. This belief is known as racial antisemitism.
The combined set of Nazi beliefs and ideas about race is sometimes referred to as
“Nazi racism” or “Nazi racial ideology.” Like other forms of racism, Nazi racism was
based on prejudices and stereotypes.
The Nazis drew upon ideas about race that were widespread throughout much of
Europe and North America. However, the specifics of Nazi racism were extreme. They
were based on Adolf Hitler’s interpretation of race. In his book Mein Kampf (My
Struggle, published in 1925), Hitler explained his racist worldview. He idealized racial
purity and racial struggle. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, these ideas drove
government policy. Hitler’s ideas about race have been widely discredited as incorrect
and immoral.
Nazi racism resulted in the persecution and mass murder of six million Jews and
millions of other people.
Nazi Ideas about the Aryan Race
Hitler and the Nazis identified Germans as members of the “Aryan” race. According to
the Nazis, Aryans were at the top of the racial hierarchy. This is why the Nazis referred
to German Aryans as the “master race.”
The Nazis idealized Aryans as blonde, blue-eyed, athletic, and tall. Nazi propaganda
posters, photographs, and films showed people who fit this ideal. However, many
people whom the Nazis considered to be Aryan Germans did not look like this. For
example, Adolf Hitler had brown hair and was average height. The Nazis did not
persecute or murder people solely based on hair or eye color.
The Nazis believed that they had to protect Germans from inferior races. To stay strong,
they thought they had to remain racially pure. To Hitler and the Nazis, Jewish people
were the biggest threat to the Aryan race.
Nazi Racial Discrimination against Jews
The Nazis defined Jews by race, not religion. They claimed that Jews belonged to a
separate race. They also claimed that Jews were inferior to all other races. The Nazi
definition of Jews included people who did not practice Judaism.
Hitler and the Nazis claimed that the “Jewish race” was especially dangerous. It
supposedly exploited and harmed other races. Thus, the Nazis referred to Jews as a
“parasitic race.” In particular, they believed that Jews were parasites that were
destroying the Aryan race. This false and prejudiced belief was why the Nazis
persecuted Jewish people. They wanted to separate Jews and Aryan Germans. They
tried to force Jews to leave Germany.
The Nazis’ Failed Attempts to Measure and Identify Race
The Nazis tried to use science to prove their racial theories. They recruited doctors and
other scientists to help them. These officials tried to categorize people into races. They
measured and described people’s physical features, like noses, skulls, eyes, and hair.
These attempts at categorization failed to prove Nazi racial theories. In fact, their efforts
revealed that human beings could not be scientifically categorized into races.
Humankind is simply too naturally diverse. However, this reality did not stop the Nazis.
Nazi Racial Policies
Nazi racism determined how the Nazis treated people in Germany. People whom the
Nazis identified as Aryans benefited from Nazi economic and social policies. Those
whom the Nazis identified as non-Aryans (including Jews) were persecuted and
discriminated against. For example, the Nuremberg Race Laws stripped Jews of the
rights of citizenship. The laws also banned so-called race-mixing. In addition, the Nazis
carried out forced sterilizations of certain groups whom they considered inferior. These
procedures prevented people with disabilities, Roma, and Black people in Germany
from having children.
Nazi Racial War
Nazi ideology, including Nazi racism, led to World War II (1939–1945).
War was part of Nazi racial theory. The Nazis believed that races were destined to wage
war against each other. For them, war was a way for the Aryan race to gain land and
resources. Specifically, the Nazis wanted to conquer territory in eastern Europe. They
planned to remove, dominate, or murder the people who lived there. They believed that
Aryan Germans should control this land because they were the supposed master race.
The Nazis called this territory “living space” (Lebensraum). Hoping to achieve these
goals, the Nazis invaded and occupied much of eastern Europe, beginning with Poland.
In occupied eastern Europe, the Nazis behaved with extreme brutality. They oppressed
and murdered civilians across the region.
The Influence of the Eugenics Movement
The Eugenics Movement emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries and argued that the human race could be improved by encouraging
reproduction among those considered genetically superior and discouraging or
preventing reproduction among those regarded as inferior. Nazi leaders adopted
these ideas and made them part of state policy.
One of the earliest examples was the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased
Offspring, introduced in 1933. This law authorised the compulsory sterilisation of people
with conditions that the Nazis believed were hereditary, including mental illnesses,
epilepsy and physical disabilities. More than 400 000 people were sterilised under this
programme. The Nazis claimed that these measures would improve the genetic quality
of the German population and reduce the burden on society.
The regime also encouraged healthy Aryan families to have more children.
Programmes such as the Lebensborn Project provided support for women
considered racially valuable to increase the birth rate of the so-called Aryan
race. These policies demonstrate the strong influence of eugenic thinking on
Nazi social and population policies.
The Influence of Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism was another major influence on Nazi ideology. It was based on
the belief that life is a struggle between competing groups and that the strongest
survive while the weakest disappear. Hitler believed that human history was
driven by racial competition and that the German people needed to remain
strong in order to dominate other nations.
The Nazis regarded the Aryans as the superior race and viewed Jews, Roma
people, Slavs and other groups as racially inferior. According to Social Darwinist
thinking, these groups threatened the survival and progress of the German
nation. As a result, Nazi policies aimed to exclude, segregate and eventually
eliminate those considered inferior. This belief also influenced Nazi foreign
policy. Hitler argued that Germany needed more living space, or Lebensraum, to
ensure the survival of the German people. The conquest of Eastern Europe was
therefore justified as a natural struggle between stronger and weaker races.
Millions of people were displaced, enslaved or killed as a result of these
expansionist policies.
The T4 Euthanasia Programme further reflected the influence of eugenics.
Under this programme, thousands of people with physical and mental disabilities
were killed because they were considered unfit and a burden on society. This
programme became a model for later mass killings carried out during the
Holocaust.
The Holocaust and Nazi Racism
Nazi racism led to the mass murder of six million Jews. The Nazis falsely claimed that
Jews were an inferior race. They also falsely claimed that all Jews were an existential
threat to Germany and that they had to be destroyed. Motivated by this racist thinking,
the Nazis carried out a genocide of Europe’s Jews during World War II. This genocide is
referred to as the Holocaust.
Other Factors Influencing Nazi Policies
While Eugenics and Social Darwinism had a profound influence on Nazi policies,
they were not the only factors involved. Anti-Semitism had existed in Europe for
centuries before Hitler came to power and played a major role in Nazi hostility
towards Jews. German nationalism and resentment following Germany's defeat
in the First World War also contributed to the popularity of Nazi ideas.
Economic difficulties during the Great Depression created conditions that
allowed the Nazi Party to gain support. Hitler's personal beliefs, political
ambitions and desire for territorial expansion further shaped government
policies. Therefore, Nazi actions resulted from a combination of ideological,
political and economic factors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Nazi policies were influenced to a large extent by the Eugenics
movement and Social Darwinism, as these ideas provided a foundation for beliefs about
racial superiority and population control. However, the Nazis did not simply follow these
theories—they transformed them into a radical and violent ideology. As a result, while
these movements were important influences, the true nature of Nazi policies was
shaped by a combination of these ideas with other factors such as anti-Semitism and
authoritarian rule.
Bibliography
Evans, R. J. (2005). The Coming of the Third Reich. London: Penguin Books.
Friedländer, S. (1997). Nazi Germany and the Jews, Volume 1: The Years of
Persecution, 1933–1939. New York: HarperCollins.
Kershaw, I. (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Holocaust Encyclopedia. Available
at:
[Link]
The National Archives (UK). The Origins of Nazi Genocide. Available at:
[Link]