Race and the Third Reich aims to set out the key concepts, debates and controversies that marked the academic study of race in Nazi Germany. It looks in particular at the discipline of racial anthropology and its relationship to linguistics and human biology. Christopher Hutton identifies the central figures involved in the study of race during the Nazi regime, and traces continuities and discontinuities between Nazism and the study of human diversity in the Western tradition. Whilst Nazi race theory is commonly associated with the idea of a superior "Aryan race" and with the idealization of the Nordic ideal of blond hair, blue eyes and a "long–skull", Nazi race theorists, in common with their colleagues outside Germany, without exception denied the existence of an Aryan race. After 1935 official publications were at pains to stress that the term "Aryan" belonged to linguistics and was not a racial category at all. Under the influence of Mendelian genetics, racial anthropologists concluded that there was no necessary link between ideal physical appearance and ideal racial character. In the course of the Third Reich, racial anthropology was marginalized in favour of the rising science of human genetics. However, racial anthropologists played a key role in the crimes of the Nazi state by defining Jews and others as racial outsiders to be excluded at all costs from the body of the German Volk. Anyone studying the Third Reich or who is interested in race theory will find this a fascinating, informative and accessible study.
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"Hutton’s goal, which he achieves in a highly accessible manner, is to inform the discussion on the link between race theory, National Socialist ideology and broader trends in European thought." Political Studies Review "Christopher Hutton’s new book is a masterful in–depth study of the intricate connection between ideas, ideology, and politics; a connection which in the case of German National Socialism resulted in the most horrific crimes against humanity." Dov–Ber Kerler, Indiana University " Race and the Third Reich shows all the marks of intellectual distinction that we have now come to associate with the work of Chris Hutton. He gives us a comprehensive coverage of the subject, with a sharp eye for significant detail, debunking notions about political control over ideological matters and exposing the confusion which surrounded such key concepts as ′Aryan′ and the ′Nordic ideal′. Readers who take Hutton as their guide through this political, academic and linguistic maze will learn a great deal about figures whom they have heard of only vaguely as ′names′, in the context of nineteenth– and twentieth–century European history." Roy Harris, University of Oxford "Hutton’s book takes a fresh perspective on race and Nazism. It probes into and presents a more sophisticated understanding of the complex and partly contradictory intellectual roots of Nazi ideology and its relationship to science, racial anthropology and biology than its predecessors. Most importantly Hutton shows convincingly and in fascinating detail how ideology and science were separate and intellectual discourse much more in line with international developments than commonly realized." Peter Weingart, University of Bielefeld
From the Back Cover
Race and the Third Reich aims to set out the key concepts, debates and controversies that marked the academic study of race in Nazi Germany. It looks in particular at the discipline of racial anthropology and its relationship to linguistics and human biology. Christopher Hutton identifies the central figures involved in the study of race during the Nazi regime, and traces continuities and discontinuities between Nazism and the study of human diversity in the Western tradition. Whilst Nazi race theory is commonly associated with the idea of a superior "Aryan race" and with the idealization of the Nordic ideal of blond hair, blue eyes and a "long–skull", Nazi race theorists, in common with their colleagues outside Germany, without exception denied the existence of an Aryan race. After 1935 official publications were at pains to stress that the term "Aryan" belonged to linguistics and was not a racial category at all. Under the influence of Mendelian genetics, racial anthropologists concluded that there was no necessary link between ideal physical appearance and ideal racial character. In the course of the Third Reich, racial anthropology was marginalized in favour of the rising science of human genetics. However, racial anthropologists played a key role in the crimes of the Nazi state by defining Jews and others as racial outsiders to be excluded at all costs from the body of the German Volk. Anyone studying the Third Reich or who is interested in race theory will find this a fascinating, informative and accessible study.
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Race and the Third Reich aims to set out the `key concepts, debates and controversies that marked the academic study of race in Nazi Germany'. The book focuses particularly upon racial anthropology as a discipline and how it relates to human genetics.
In his introduction, Hutton states that he has set out to `give an introduction to the major questions addressed in the study of race in Nazi Germany, and to assess their place within its evolving intellectual and ideological landscape'. He tells the reader that he has concentrated on `points of tension, controversy and uncertainty, both among academic theorists of race and between academics and the political authorities'. Race and the Third Reich has essentially been written with the `intention of informing debate'.
The book is split into many different sections which cover such subjects as `Peoples, Races, Genes', `The Myth of an Aryan Race', `The Nordic Race and the German Volk' and the `Dynamics of Nazi Science'. Each separate section contains an introduction which gives some background to the area in question. This allows the reader to fully understand the text which follows. The sections also include a conclusion, in which Hutton effectively draws together what he has written in the preceding paragraphs, giving a broader but still relatively detailed overview.
Pictures have been included throughout in order to further illustrate points. The appendices contain a wealth of texts which Hutton has encountered and which have helped his study of race and the Third Reich, as well as short biographical sketches of leading figures and examples of Nazi legislation, which have been shown in both German and English.
Race and the Third Reich is aimed at those studying the Third Reich, as well as people merely interested in `race theory'. It is certainly an informative and well-researched book. As the language used throughout is not overly complex, it would certainly be a good reference point for students of the Third Reich.
In his introduction, Hutton states that he has set out to `give an introduction to the major questions addressed in the study of race in Nazi Germany, and to assess their place within its evolving intellectual and ideological landscape'. He tells the reader that he has concentrated on `points of tension, controversy and uncertainty, both among academic theorists of race and between academics and the political authorities'. Race and the Third Reich has essentially been written with the `intention of informing debate'.
The book is split into many different sections which cover such subjects as `Peoples, Races, Genes', `The Myth of an Aryan Race', `The Nordic Race and the German Volk' and the `Dynamics of Nazi Science'. Each separate section contains an introduction which gives some background to the area in question. This allows the reader to fully understand the text which follows. The sections also include a conclusion, in which Hutton effectively draws together what he has written in the preceding paragraphs, giving a broader but still relatively detailed overview.
Pictures have been included throughout in order to further illustrate points. The appendices contain a wealth of texts which Hutton has encountered and which have helped his study of race and the Third Reich, as well as short biographical sketches of leading figures and examples of Nazi legislation, which have been shown in both German and English.
Race and the Third Reich is aimed at those studying the Third Reich, as well as people merely interested in `race theory'. It is certainly an informative and well-researched book. As the language used throughout is not overly complex, it would certainly be a good reference point for students of the Third Reich.
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