Scientific racism in Germany/Hans F. K. Günther/Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes

thumb|Ewald Banse's "Racial Map of Europe" is based on Hans F. K. Günther's data. Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes ("Racial studies of the German people") is a monograph on racial theory by Hans F. K. Günther. The original edition was published in 1922 with the Völkisch-oriented J. F. Lehmanns Verlag; numerous, partly revised, new editions followed until the 1940s, with a total circulation of 124,000 copies. An abridged version of the book (Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes), first published in 1924, was marketed by the publisher as "People's Günther" ("Volks-Günther"); the total circulation was 295,000 copies.Hossfeld Uwe Fahlbusch Michael Haar Ingo Pinwinkler Alexander 2017 Handbuch der völkischen Wissenschaften 2 Berlin, Boston DeGruyter 978-3-11-043891-8 248–253 (quote: p. 249) Hans F. K. Günther 249 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321075839_Hans_F_K_Gunther Online 2024-10-23 The two books are among the major works of Nordicism, a racial ideology in which the "Nordic race" is presented as a race that, on the one hand, is superior to all others and more suited to leadership than any other, but, on the other hand, is threatened in its dominance and even its very existence. Günther concludes from this that eugenic measures are urgently needed to "nordicize" the German people and prevent "degeneration". The reception of this theoretical position led to the practice of Nazi eugenics from 1933 onwards. Content The book's program But saving the Nordic soul is certainly the most important thing. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1929, p. 473 The intention that Günther pursues in the book and which he explicitly explains in the opening chapter is to "educate the eye of today’s man," who suffers from a "certain inability to observe and weakness of perception," so that he can perceive more attentively the "racial characteristics of his own body and the racial origins of his own people":Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 1f A racially trained eye will not rest until it has interpreted every detail of a face and a human figure. It will strive to go beyond the physical aspect to grasp the racially determined essence of a person, that essence to which the physical and spiritual aspects of the person under consideration point in mutual dependence and correspondence. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1929, p. 2 Günther has nothing less than a "racial rebirth" and a "turning point" in mind. He defines "race"—with William Z. RipleyWilliam Z. Ripley 1899 The Races of Europe. A Sociological Study https://books.google.com/books?id=XdQKAAAAIAAJ New York D. Appleton and Company https://archive.org/details/raceseuropeasoc00riplgoog Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-12 and in decided contradiction to the "environmental theories (milieu theories) of the 19th century" (meaning Johannes Ranke in particular)—as the "essence itself, the history-less being of things." It is "blood, race, ethnicity, and innate nature" that determine "even intellectual performance and scientific knowledge."Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 4, 244 Günther's starting point is the thesis that "all European peoples consist of mixtures, that in every people, in addition to pure representatives of the various races, there is an extremely large number of mixed-race people."Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 3 He expressly rejects ideas of a uniform "European", "white", "Caucasian", "Germanic", "Indo-European" or "Aryan" race.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 3,7 Günther Hans F. K. 1939 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes München J. F. Lehmanns 358 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend For him, "race" is "a concept of natural science, applied to humans: a concept of descriptive human science"; by "race" he understands a "genetically identical group of people" or "people with the same physical and mental hereditary disposition", with the latter being particularly important to him:Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 7, 15 A race is a group of people who, through their unique combination of physical characteristics and mental qualities, are distinguished from any other group of people (grouped together in such a way) and who always produce only their own kind. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1929, pp. 14f thumb|left|Distribution area of ​​the German language in 1910 Despite the title, Günther does not define the term "German people" in the book, but instead deals with the "territory of the German language". In addition to the German Empire and Austria, he includes the Frisian and Low Franconian language areas in the Netherlands, the Luxembourgish language, German-speaking Switzerland and the German language islands in Central and Southeast Europe.Günther Hans F. K. 1939 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes München J. F. Lehmanns 265 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend the introductory sections of the bookGünther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 4, 8, 10f Martin BuberMartin Buber Die jüdische Bewegung 1916 Joseph DenikerJoseph Deniker Races et peuples de la terre. Elements d'anthropologie et d'ethnographie Paris Schleicher Frères 1900 https://books.google.com/books?id=9G-AAAAAMAAJ https://archive.org/details/j.-deniker-les-races-et-les-peuples-de-la-terre-1926 French original, online 2024-10-26 William Z. Ripley Paul TopinardOrally, "before an assembly of anthropologists from all countries", 1889. The "races" represented in the "German people" In Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, Günther postulates the seven human "races" for the "German people" (here in the order of their frequency among Germans as estimated by Günther): "Nordic race" "Eastern race" "Dinaric race" "East Baltic race" "Western race" "Phalian race" "Sudetic race" "Nordic race" thumb|left|upright|The Bavarian military leader Ludwig von Gebsattel is one of the people Günther cites with a photo as an example of a typical representative of the "Nordic race". Literature review Günther adopts the term "Nordic race" from DenikerJoseph Deniker Les races de l'Europe. L'indice céphalique en Europe Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences Paris 1897 https://books.google.com/books?id=bWMTAAAAYAAJ https://archive.org/details/lesracesdeleuro00sciegoog Online 2024-10-18 , whom he explicitly cites as the first author to use it. However, the "Nordic race" is essentially identical with Linnaeus' and Lapouge's Homo europaeus, Retzius' Germanic typus, Ruetimeyer's und His' Hohberg typus, Ecker's Row grave type, Broca's Cimbric race, Hermann Hölder's Germanic race, Kollmann's Dolicholept race, Ripley's Teutonic race, Reche's type II, Czekanowski's type α, and Sergi's "Nordic variety of the species eurafricana".Günther Hans F. K. 1939 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes München J. F. Lehmanns 22 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend Distribution area According to Günther, the "Nordic race" is mainly found in Scandinavia, and within Germany it is purest in Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 9, 179 He estimates the proportion of the "Nordic race" in the German people at "about 50%".Günther Hans F. K. 1939 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes München J. F. Lehmanns 295 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend Physical characteristics this sectionGünther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 44–73 Justus CarrièreJustus Carrière (not given) Archiv für Rassen- und Gesellschaftsbiologie 15 1923 Joseph DenikerJoseph Deniker Les races de l'Europe. L'indice céphalique en Europe Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences 1897 No page number by Günther given. Eugen FischerErwin Baur Eugen Fischer Fritz Lenz Grundriß der menschlichen Erblichkeitslehre und Rassenhygiene 1 Lehmann München 1921 No page number. Wilhelm HenkeWilhelm Henke Der Typus des germanischen Menschen und seine Verbreitung im deutschen Volke H. Lauppsche Buchhandlung Tübingen 1895 https://books.google.com/books?id=SZpgAAAAIAAJ Julius KollmannJulius Kollmann Les races de l’Europe et la composition des peuples 1881 No page number. Charles RobertsCharles Roberts A Manual of Anthropometry. Or, A Guide to the Physical Examination and Measurement of the Human Body J.&A. Churchill London 1878 https://books.google.com/books?id=Np4KAQAAIAAJ Ernst ScheffeltErnst Scheffelt Rassenanatomische Untersuchungen an europäischen Haaren Archiv für Anthropologie 14 1915 Rudolf VirchowRudolf Virchow Gesammtbericht über die von der deutschen anthropologischen Gesellschaft veranlassten Erhebungen über die Farbe der Haut, der Haare und der Augen der Schulkinder in Deutschland Archiv für Anthropologie 16 1886 275–475 One of the structural principles of his book is that Günther presents the "physical" (leiblich) and "mental characteristics" (seelische Merkmale) of the "races" he describes in separate chapters: Günther cites the physical characteristics of the "Nordic race" as a tall and slender stature, a slender neck, a strong arch in the feet, broad shoulders, narrow hips, and often slim, gaunt thighs in men, and conversely, narrow shoulders and broader hips in women. Especially in light of the physique and the "taut and gymnastic posture" of the Nordic people, Günther speaks of an "impression of aristocratic stature."Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 39–44 Nordic people mature later and remain youthful and beautiful longer than others.Günther Hans F. K. 1939 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes München J. F. Lehmanns 174 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend Like all racial anthropologists of the time who were oriented towards craniometry, Günther pays particular attention to the shape of the head, which he characterizes in the "Nordic race" as "long-skulled and narrow-faced".Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 44–49 Typical features of the face are strongly pronounced brow ridges, narrow cheekbones, a narrow, high nose with a bridge that is more concave than convex, narrow nostrils, large upper central incisors, narrow lips and very light, delicate skin that is often prone to freckles.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 49–62 The hair growth is particularly strong on the head hair and on the male beard, the hair itself is blond, occasionally also red, less greasy than in other "races", and fine and either straight or wavy.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 62–72 The iris is very bright and blue to grey in colour.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 73–75 In a later chapter, Günther remarks on the "Nordic race" that their gait is calm and light, a kind of "striding," and in women, often "strikingly graceful." The "Nordic posture" is either "taut" or "characterized by a calm, upright, cool fluidity."Günther Hans F. K. 1939 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes München J. F. Lehmanns 185, 187 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend Mental characteristics this sectionGünther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 176–195 Otto Ammon (1893)Otto Ammon Die natürliche Auslese beim Menschen. Auf Grund der anthropologischen Untersuchungen der Wehrpflichtigen in Baden und anderer Materialien Gustav Fischer Jena 1893 https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_3iQOAAAAYAAJ#page/n7/mode/2up Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-03 Carl ArboCarl O. E. Arbo Er det foregået nye invandriger i Norden? Ymer 20 1 1900 25–50 https://runeberg.org/ymer/1900/0027.html Online (runeberg.org) 2024-10-24 Baur/Fischer/LenzErwin Baur Eugen Fischer Fritz Lenz Grundriß der menschlichen Erblichkeitslehre und Rassenhygiene Lehmann München 1921 537f John BeddoeJohn Beddow The Races of Britain. A Contribution To The Anthropology Of Western Europe J. W. Arrowsmith Bristol 1885 https://books.google.com/books?id=RlhnAAAAMAAJ Alphonse BertillonAlphonse Bertillon Identification anthropométrique Imprimerie Administrative Melun 1893 https://archive.org/details/identificationan00bert Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-24 Ludwig Ferdinand ClaußLudwig Ferdinand Clauß Die nordische Seele. Eine Einführung in die Rassenseelenkunde Niemeyer Halle 1923Ludwig Ferdinand Clauß Rasse und Seele. Eine Einführung in die Gegenwart J. F. Lehmann München 1926 Andreas HeuslerAndreas Heusler Die altgermanische Religion Paul Hinneberg Die Kultur der Gegenwart. Teil 1. Abteilung 3,1: Die orientalischen Religionen 2 1913 258–272 https://archive.org/details/diereligionendes00lehm/page/258/mode/2up Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-24 Ernst KretschmerErnst Kretschmer Körperbau und Charakter. Untersuchungen zum Konstitutionsproblem und zur Lehre von den Temperamenten Springer Berlin 1921 Carl LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus Systema Naturae 1 12 1766 28 Livio LiviLivio Livi Gli Ebrei alla Luce della Statistica. Caratteristiche antropologiche e patologiche ed individualità etnica Vallecchi Firenze 1918 https://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/pageview/546364 Online (sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de) 2024-10-30 Cesare LombrosoCesare Lombroso Le crime. Causes et remédes Félix Alcan Paris 1899 https://ia801306.us.archive.org/10/items/lecrimecausesetr00lombuoft/lecrimecausesetr00lombuoft.pdf Online 2024-10-25 Hector MacLeanHector MacLean On the Comparative Anthropology of Scotland Anthropological Review 14 July 1866 209–226 https://archive.org/details/jstor-3025082/mode/1up Online 2024-10-24 Gustave MichaudGustave Michaud The Brain of the Nation Century Magazine November 1904 Henri MuffangHenry Muffang Études d'anthropo-sociologie. Écoliers et paysans de Saint-Brieuc V. Giard et E. Brière Paris 1897 Karl Valentin MüllerKarl Valentin Müller Arbeiterbewegung und Bevölkerungsfrage Zwing Jena 1927Karl Valentin Müller Rasse und Sozialismus Süddeutsche Monatshefte July 1927 280–282 Karl Valentin Müller, Martin Springer Sozialanthropologische Betrachtungen Archiv für Rassen- und Gesellschaftsbiologie 18 1 1926 55–68 Alfredo NiceforoAlfredo Niceforo Anthropologie der nicht-besitzenden Klassen Leipzig 1910 German translation of the Italian original: Antropologia delle classi povere, 1910 Alfred OdinAlfred Odin Genèse des grands hommes. Gens de lettres français modernes Henri Mignot Lausanne 1895 https://books.google.com/books?id=tFZGAAAAYAAJ 2 volumes. Wilhelm PfitznerWilhelm Pfitzner Der Einfluß der sozialen Schichtung auf die anthropologischen Charaktere Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie 4 1902 Alfred PloetzAlfred Ploetz Sozialanthropologie Die Kultur der Gegenwart. Teil 3. Abteilung 5: Anthropologie einschließlich naturwissenschaftlicher Ethnographie 1923 588–656 William Z. Ripley Carl Röse Carl Röse Beiträge zur europäischen Rassenkunde und die Beziehungen zwischen Rasse und Zahnverderbnis Archiv für Rassen- und Gesellschaftsbiologie 2 5–6 1905 689–798 Gustav SundbärgGustav Sundbärg Det svenska folklynnet P. A. Norstedt & söners förlag Stockholm 4 1911 https://runeberg.org/folklynn/ Online 2024-10-24 Georges Vacher de LapougeGeorges Vacher de Lapouge L'Aryen: Son Rôle Social Albert Fontemoing Paris 1899 https://books.google.com/books?id=6J9YAAAAMAAJ https://archive.org/stream/laryensonrlesoc00lapogoog#page/n5/mode/2up Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-18 Ludwig Woltmann Ludwig Woltmann Die Germanen und die Renaissance in Italien Thüringische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig 1905 https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_BqcNAAAAYAAJ/page/n3/mode/1up Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-24Ludwig Woltmann Die Germanen in Frankreich E. Diederichs Jena 1907 https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_wX1WAAAAMAAJ Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-24 In a later chapter of the book Günther also examines the "mental qualities of the Nordic race", where he identifies "power of judgment, truthfulness and energy" (Urteilsfähigkeit, Wahrhaftigkeit und Tatkraft) as their "core qualities".Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 178 Related to the quality of power of judgment described here is a sense of justice, a tendency toward individualism and secession, a tendency toward incorruptible objectivity, and an inaccessibility to verbiage and the spirit of the masses, as well as a tendency to approach phenomena with doubt. Related to judgment is a calm, often seemingly relentless and harsh sense of reality; related to it is a tendency toward distrust of strangers, as well as open-hearted loyalty to those who have been accepted into one's confidence. Even the low degree of placability is related to Nordic judgment: the one recognized as an opponent through clear judgment remains essentially the same. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1929, p. 178 Günther then names further characteristic traits as taciturnity, outward emotional coolness, combined however with great depth of feeling (Gemüt), low sociability, low empathy, low knowledge of human nature, harshness, ruthlessness, sense of responsibility, conscientiousness, high standards, low sense of family, high sense of community and tribe, "objective passion", will to achieve and sense of freedom.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 178–182, 202 Despite all their "precaution" (Vorbedenklichkeit), Nordic people also tend to be careless, reckless, foolhardy, and high-spirited.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 182 Günther particularly emphasizes their "physical cleanliness" and "enjoyment in physical exercise".Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 198–200 According to Günther, the "Nordic race" is more highly developed in creativity and intelligence than any other race, with a particular talent for poetry and music. Nordic people are also eager to conquer and are born "organizers," with a particular talent "for acts of enterprise, conquest, war, statecraft, and nation-building".Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 182–184, 197 In this chapter, the author devotes considerable space to the "special leadership qualities of the Nordic race", which qualify these people—not least because of their "heroic nature"—among other things as "military leaders". In this race, these leadership qualities are linked to a "religious feeling," a "pronounced sense of nature," and a "creative talent" (formschöpferische Begabung).Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 187–194 The "breadth of development of the Nordic race" is unique, "both in the creative and heroic, as well as in the criminal and wicked".Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 194 Günther also classifies suicide as a "Nordic racial phenomenon". In international crime statistics, the "Nordic race" is underrepresented overall, particularly in property crimes.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 195f However, divorces are common because disputes between spouses tend to become chronic rather than being resolved through outbursts of temper.Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 195 Furthermore, in no other race are the two sexes as different from each other, not only physically but also mentally, as in the "Nordic".Günther Hans F. K. 1929 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes 13 München J. F. Lehmanns 196 Origin, history, and destination this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 309 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Theodor ArldtTheodor Arldt Die Stammesgeschichte der Primaten und die Entwicklung A. Hirschwald Berlin 1915 https://books.google.com/books?id=SMcoAQAAMAAJ Halfdan BrynHalfdan Bryn Menneskerasene og deres utviklingshistorie Det Norske studentersamfund Oslo 1925 Georg BuschanGeorg Hermann Theodor Buschan Illustrierte Völkerkunde Strecker & Schröder Stuttgart 3 Volumes, 1910–1926. https://archive.org/details/illustriertevl01busc/page/n7/mode/2up Online (Internet Archive) 2024-11-04 Eugen FischerEugen Fischer Rasse und Rassenentstehung beim Menschen Ullstein Berlin 1927 https://books.google.com/books?id=exELAQAAIAAJ Hermann KlaatschHermann Klaatsch Entstehung und Entwicklung des Menschengeschlechtes Hans Kraemer Weltall und Menschheit. Geschichte der Erforschung der Natur und der Verwertung der Naturkräfte im Dienste der Völker 2 Deutsches Verlagshaus Bong & Co. Berlin u. a. 1902 3–338 Eugen KurzEugen Kurz Das Gehirn des Gelben und die mehrstämmige Abkunft der Menschenarten Anatomischer Anzeiger 58 1924 107–117 Giuseppe Sergi Gustav SteinmannGustav Steinmann Die geologischen Grundlagen der Abstammungslehre Wilhelm Engelmann Leipzig 1908 https://books.google.com/books?id=9CLPAAAAMAAJ Günther is a proponent of polygenism, i.e. he assumes that the "races" he describes do not have a common origin, but rather go back to different ancestors. Several hypotheses regarding the origins of the "Nordic race" circulated in the contemporary research community, which Günther discussed in detail, starting with the one (immediately rejected by Günther) that this "race" emerged from the "Cro-Magnon race".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 320f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. A second group of authors – including Marcellin BouleMarcellin Boule Les hommes fossiles Masson et Cie. Paris 1921 https://archive.org/details/b29978257/page/n6/mode/1up Online (Internet Archive) 2024-11-05 , Gunnar EkholmGunnar Ekholm Die erste Besiedlung des Ostseegebietes Wiener Prähistorische Zeitschrift 12 1925 1–16 , Carl Magnus FürstCarl Magnus Fürst Stångenäskraniets renässans Fornvännen 20 1925 274–294, Hermann Klaatsch, and Emil WerthEmil Werth Der fossile Mensch. Grundzüge einer Paläanthropologie 1921 332 https://books.google.com/books?id=pObNAAAAMAAJ , – had, however, assumed that it had originated as a rebreeding (Umzüchtung) from a "race of Aurignac".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 313f, 321f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. A third group – including Otto RecheOtto Reche Das rassische Werden des deutschen Volkes im Lauf der Jahrtausende Zeitschrift für Volkaufartung und Erbkunde 2 4 1927 38–41, 52–57Otto Reche Die Schädel aus der Ancyluszeit vom Pritzerber See und ihre Beziehungen zu den steinzeitlichen Rassen Europas Archiv für Anthropologie 21 1928 122–190 , under whom Günther studied, and Karl SallerKarl Saller Die Entstehung der „nordischen Rasse“ Zeitschrift für Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte 83 4 1927 411–590 Professoral dissertation. – suspects the origin of the "Nordic race" to be a "Chancelade race" (named after a archaeological site of the same name in the Dordogne).Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 322f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Fourthly, Günther mentions Fritz KernFritz Kern Stammbaum und Artbild der Deutschen. Ein kultur- und rassengeschichtlicher Versuch Lehmann München 1927 https://books.google.com/books?id=vaKyAAAAIAAJ , according to whom the "Nordic race" is said to have originated from a "North Eurasian race".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 324–326 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther leaves open which hypothesis he favors. Regarding the question of which region the "Nordic race" originally settled, he also only presents a number of hypotheses, none of which he himself favors.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 326–339 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. However, he has no doubt that the “Nordic conquests”, in which peoples of the European south and east were subjugated, came from the north.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 357 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He emphasizes the warlike character of the "Nordic race": It is clear from all the facts of prehistory and history: the spread of the Northern race since the Neolithic period has never been an infiltration; everywhere it has been a conquest, an armed search for land and the seizure of land by peasant clans and tribal associations; everywhere it took place in heavy armor [...] and shows a history-making power that is unparalleled in all of history. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1939, S. 359 As a result of the early "incursions […] of Nordic tribes in the Mediterranean region" and beyond, "the ancient Indians like the ancient Persians, the Greeks like the Romans, the Celts like the ancient Slavs" were "northern racial".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 356f, 360 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther is convinced that the Nordic race in the context of its conquests not only spread its high civilization, but also the Indo-European languages.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 358f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. In view of the "extremely endangered situation of the Nordic race," which is "simply facing extinction", Günther declares its strengthening through eugenic efforts (see below) to be urgently required:Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 471 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. A consistent, pure and value-generating development of German life is only possible from the blood and spirit of the Nordic race. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1939, p. 463 A meaningful continued existence of the German people is […] only possible through a striving of its spiritual powers toward the Nordic spirit. A new rise from the impending "decline" can only emerge if the Nordic blood, to which the historical greatness of all Indo-European peoples is due, is revived and Nordic peoples once again become numerous, rich in children, and leaders. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1939, p. 464 "Eastern race" In his chapter, Günther includes images of people whom he considers to be typical representatives of the "Eastern race". Those people include, among others: According to Günther, the "Eastern race" (ostische Rasse) is the second most strongly represented race among the German people after the "Nordic". His opinion of it—and all the other "races" he discusses except the "Nordic"—is extremely low; he declares them "worthless", justifying this, among other things, by the fact that "there is no such thing as an Eastern esprit".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 463, 466 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. The term "Eastern race" is Günther's own coinage. He writes that this "race" is identical with, among other things, with Hölder's Turanian race, Broca's Celtique type, Beddoe's Avernian race, Sergi's species eurasica, Deniker's race occicentale resp. race cévénole, and Lapouge's und Ripley's Alpine race, although Günther rejects the term "Alpine race" because what he means is widespread far beyond the Alps.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 23 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. In parentheses, he also refers to the "Eastern race" as the "Alpine" or "dark Eastern race" in order to distinguish it from the "East Baltic race", which he also refers to as the "light Eastern".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 112, 130 Günther suspects "that the Eastern race could also be understood as a rebreeding of a part of the inner-Asian ['Mongolian'] race", whereby he dates its appearance and the beginning of its spread in Central Europe – Günther speaks of an "infiltration" and a "slow, but tenacious creeping" – to the Neolithic.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 163, 339–346 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He gives the "Furfooz-Grenelle race" as its earliest archaeologically confirmed ancestor, which is named after an excavation site in Paris.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 313f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. As the main area of distribution of the "Eastern race" in the German-speaking area, Günther mentions Upper Silesia and the mountain landscapes of Saxony.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 274 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He estimates the proportion of this "race" in the German people at "about 20 %". this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 114, 123f, 128 Wilhelm Henke Hella PöchHella Pöch Beiträge zur Anthropologie der ukrainischen Wolhynier Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft Wien 55 1925 289–333 Continued in: Volume 56, 1926, pp. 16–52 William Z. Ripley Carl Röse Ernst Scheffelt According to Günther, the physical characteristics of the "Eastern race" are a "short" stature with a broad, coarse, "pyknic" physique and short, stocky limbs, round, short-skulled head and short "bull's neck".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 112–115 The face is broad, the forehead broad, strongly arched with "peculiar spherical formation of the lateral forehead", the brow ridge underdeveloped, the zygomatic arches very wide, the nose set low with a flat bridge, the nose itself concave, "bluntly rounded" and very short, the chin "unformed" (unausgesprochen) and "bluntly rounded". The face appears thick-skinned, the skin itself is yellow-brownish, the eyebrows strongly arched, the eyelids heavy, the eyes embedded in fat pads, which makes the eyelid opening look small, the iris is brown, the conjunctiva "yellowish tinted", the head hair brown or black, head and body hair strong, but the beard growth is weak.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 115–129 In a later chapter, Günther remarks that the "Eastern race" is prone to develop goitre and "associated cretinism".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 177 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther characterizes the gait of the "Eastern man" as heavy or "sedate and calm" and his movements as rather clumsy overall.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 187f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 214–221 Otto Ammon Carl ArboCarl O. E. Arbo Fortsatte bidrag til Nordmændenes Antropologi. Band 4: Lister og mandals amt 1897 Videnskapsselskapets Skrifter I 1897 nr. 1 Ludwig Ferdinand Clauß Georges Vacher de Lapouge Hector MacLean William Z. Ripley As typical mental characteristics Günther names "grumpiness" and "grumpy reserve towards strangers", mistrust, a tendency towards spite, irritability with simultaneous fear of actual confrontation, nagging, resentment and envy, lack of humor, "a special attachment to family and place", emotional warmth, "love of agriculture and one’s ancestral soil" (Scholle), settledness, perseverance, a "certain immobility and patience", patient diligence, moderate economic talent, monetary greed, thrift, economic zeal (Erwerbsamkeit), with a changeable work ethic, lack of keeping one’s word, underhandedness and cunning, poor sense of cleanliness, an intellect that is only suitable for the ordinary, little curiosity to understand things, a narrow perspective, narrow-mindedness, philistinism, "a certain calm, contemplative or sedate respectability", lack of sense of daring and of greatness, lack of creative power (Schöpferkraft), lack of "warlike tendencies", politically conservative attitudes and a high willingness to quietly submit to authority.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 214–220 The Eastern race itself is hardly fit for leadership; it wants to be led. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1929, p. 220 Günther describes the "sexual life of the Eastern people" as simultaneously uninhibited and lacking in energy. Although they are "generally not prone to breaking the law," "coercion, threats, and incest" are relatively common here.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 220f "Dinaric race" In his chapter, Günther includes images of people whom he considers to be typical representatives of the "Dinaric race". Those people include, among others: Günther borrows the term "Dinaric race" from Deniker, who used it as an alternative term for the "Adriatic race".Joseph Deniker The Races of Man. An Outline of Anthropology and Ethnography Walter Scott, Charles Scribner's Sons London, New York 1906 327, 333 https://books.google.com/books?id=9G-AAAAAMAAJ Nevenko Bartulin The Racial Idea in the Independent State of Croatia Brill Leiden 2014 978-90-04-26283-6 175 https://books.google.com/books?id=K0VWAgAAQBAJ According to Günther, this "race" is congruent with Hölder's Rhätosarmaten resp. Sarmatentypus, with Czekanowskis Type δ, with the Defregger type, and "in some features" with Lapouge's Homo acrogonus.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 22f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther emphasizes the proximity of the "Dinaric race" to the "Near Eastern race", which corresponds to Chamberlain's Homo syriacus – a race which, according to Günther's assessment, is particularly strongly represented among the Armenians and the Jews.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 107–111 Alexander Koch-Hesse Ursprachen und Urrassen der Mittelmeerländer Politisch-Anthropologische Revue 5 1906 162–168, here p. 164 https://books.google.com/books?id=gOgqAAAAYAAJ Günther assumes that the origin of the "Dinaric race" was in West Asia and that they only settled in Europe in the "later Hallstatt period".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 348–352 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther names the "mountains of Albania, Bosnia, and Serbia" as the main distribution area of the "Dinaric race"; within the German-speaking area, it is most common in the Bavarian and Austrian Alps.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 9, 209 Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 273f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He estimates the proportion of this "race" in the German population at "about 15&nbsp%". this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 87, 107 Ernst Scheffelt Carl ToldtCarl Toldt Zur Somatologie der Tiroler Separat-Abruck aus dem Correspondenz-Blatt der Deutschen anthropologischen Gesellschaft. Nr.9 Wien 24 1894 Physical characteristics: Günther describes the "Dinaric race" as tall and slender, but somewhat stockier and shorter-armed than the Nordic race, as "leptosome," with a short head and narrow face, a broad, vertical forehead, and pronounced frontal protuberances. The face appears long and coarse overall. The nose is an "eagle nose", narrow but very high, large, and often thick at the bottom, with a convex ridge; the lips are coarse, fleshy, and broad; the chin is coarse, fleshy, round, broad, and high; the eyebrows are comparatively slightly curved; the cheekbones are inconspicuous.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 84–106 The skin is brownish, appears thick and tends to develop bags under the eyes with age; the ears are large and fleshy, the upper eyelid is so smooth and thin that the eyeball stands out clearly beneath it, the iris is brown to blackish-brown, the hair on the head is very thin, blackish-brown to black and usually curly, and the facial and body hair is thick.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 107 Günther describes the gait of the "Dinaric man" as "expansive […] and often downright warlike".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 188 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 209 Wilhelm Heinrich RiehlWilhelm Heinrich Riehl Die Naturgeschichte des Volkes als Grundlage einer deutschen Social-Politik. Band 1: Land und Leute Cottascher Verlag Stuttgart, Tübingen 1854 According to Günther, the characteristic "mental qualities of the Dinaric race" include a coarse, "uncouth nature," a "tendency toward clumsiness," "rough martial strength," a "special sense of honor," patriotic pride and a "patriotic disposition," "rough strength and straightforwardness," efficiency, endurance, and bravery. According to his account, the Dinaric people tend toward excitability, short-temperedness, irascibility, and combativeness, which, however, are generally paired with good nature, that is, "a mixture of good nature and decisive coarseness." They are good judges of character and gifted at learning foreign languages. However, compared to the Nordic race, the "Dinaric race" is "mentally simpler, less rich, and more limited in their possibilities for development". Their emotions are less complex. They are easily carried away by their moods, but are inclined to cheerfulness, coarsely witty, quick-witted, oratorical, and exuberant. They demonstrate a "certain talent for trade and business"; in addition, they also exhibit an "aptitude for acting" and "a talent for music," but little inclination "for scientific pursuits".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 209–212 "East Baltic race" In his chapter, Günther includes images of people whom he considers to be typical representatives of the "East Baltic race". Those people include, among others: The "East Baltic race" is only covered in the Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes from the 6th edition onwards; Günther only introduces this "race" after he took notice of the writings of the Finland Swedish folklorist Rolf Nordenstreng. In 1917, Nordenstreng, referring to Giuseppe Sergi, mentioned a "short-headed blond Finnish race" and in 1926 postulated an "East Baltic race.Rolf Nordenstreng Europas människoraser og folkslag P. A. Norstedt & Söner Stockholm 3 1926 98 https://books.google.com/books?id=6RsEAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA98 Rolf Nordenstreng An Orientating Synopsis of the Racial Status of Europe Hermann Lundborg, F. J. Linders, S. Wahlund The Racial Characters of the Swedish Nation The Swedish State Institute for Race Biology Uppsala 1926 36–49 Günther takes over this name from Nordenstreng and explains that the “East Baltic race” is congruent with Sergi's Homo arcticus fennicus resp. Finnish race, Deniker's race orientale, Pöch's Eastern race (Ostrasse) resp. Light-Eastern race (hell-ostische Rasse) , and Victor Valerianovic Bunak's Baltic race.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 24 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Due to their strong similarity to the "Eastern race", Günther also refers to the "East Baltic race" in parentheses – following Hella Pöch’s usage – as the "Light-Eastern race".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 IV, 130 He assumes that they – like the "Eastern" and the "Sudetic race" – are of "Asiatic origin", i.e. they immigrated from Central Asia.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 346–348 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Along with the "Nordic," he names them as the only "race" with light hair and light eyes, and then places great emphasis on distinguishing them from the "Nordic" and marking them as inferior to those. He cites "Northeastern Germany, especially East Prussia" as their main distribution area within the German-speaking world.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 272f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He estimates the proportion of the "East Baltic race" in the German population at "about 8%". this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 135, 142 Hella Pöch Gustaf RetziusGustaf Retzius Hvad har studiet af menniskorasernas hufvudskålsbildning hittils uträttat och hvad torde vi närmast hafva at vänta af denna forskning? Tidskrift för antropologi och kulturhistoria 30 2 1875 As physical characteristics of the "East Baltic race" Günther names a coarse-boned, strong, stocky, short stature with a large shoulder width in men, often strongly developed muscular strength, a pyknic constitution, a broad, short neck, short hands and fingers, a heavy, short and broad, angularly built skull with a poorly developed occiput, strong bulges and humps and a massive, large face.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 130f The forehead is flat and very broad with a strong glabella, the cheekbones are broad and well-defined, the eyebrows are only slightly arched; the eyes (especially in women) are set far apart and appear small and slanted ("Mongolian"); the nose, whose shape Günther explicitly describes as "ugly," has a broad, flat root, a concave bridge, and a fleshy, very broad lower part; the mouth is wide, the lower jaw very broad, high, massive, and "coarsly built," the chin set back and very little "pronounced". The skin is light "with a gray undertone", in some cases even "olive gray". The hair is hard, tight, and blond, but not golden blond like that of the "Nordic race", but rather "ash blond," thus having a "gray undertone". The iris is light-colored, i.e., blue or gray, without possessing the "brightness, even radiance of Nordic eyes". Günther emphasizes that "the East Baltic eyes have something uncanny in their expression".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 131–142 this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 222–226 Fyodor DostoevskyFjodor Dostojewski The Brothers Karamazov 1878–1880. Maxim GorkyMaxim Gorki Мои университеты (My universities) 1923 Rolf Nordenstreng Gustaf RetziusGustaf Retzius Finska Kranier. Jämte några natur- och literatur-studier, inom andra områden af finsk antropolog Central-Tryckeriet Stockholm 1878 Mental characteristics: In "psychological" terms, Günther characterizes the "East Baltic people" as extraordinarily incapable of making decisions and creating. Furthermore, they are serious, melancholy, brooding, slow to move, taciturn and withdrawn with strangers, but "very talkative" and even "excessively verbose" in more intimate relationships. Although they are content with a "meager lifestyle," they are deeply dissatisfied, and their modesty often turns into "prodigality." Their emotional life is "very fluid" with frequent mood swings. Although he is incapable of enthusiasm in dealing with strangers, in dealing with familiar people he also "easily becomes a dreamer," a plan-maker and fanatic, who "feverishly enthusiastically" gives himself over to his "almost immeasurably productive, yet confused" imagination and pays no attention to "the surrounding reality." "Creative talent" in the "East Baltic people" is evident at best in the fields of music and narrative, with the former easily becoming "blurred, drawn-out melodies" without a clear structure, while the latter easily becomes gloomy, confused, wandering, adventurous, unreal, and supernatural.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 222–226 Günther estimates the "intellectual capacity" of the "East Baltic people" to be lower than that of the "Nordic" but higher than that of the other "races" discussed in the book. While they are slow but sure in their comprehension, "their intellect is less sharp, but pliable and resourceful". They are not very individualistic, cultivate community with their peers, and willingly submit to both those they know well and to the authorities. They behave reservedly and cautiously, but are also envious, vindictive, insidious, and deceitful. They are prone to spiteful brutality, such as "brutish crimes" or dangerous bodily harm, but their "sex life" is also crude. Their "sense of cleanliness" is poor.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 224-226 "Western race" thumb|upright|left|Günther names Concha Espina as a typical representative of the "Western race". According to Günther, the "Western race" (westische Rasse, Westrasse) is identical with Haeckel's Homo mediterraneus, Sergi's mediterranean resp. Euro-African race resp. "Mediterranean variety of the species eurafricana", Peschel's and Clauß' mittelländische Rasse, and Lapouge's Homo mediionalis. Günther here, for once, deviates from Deniker, who had refused to accept the idea of a uniform Mediterranean race and had instead postulated an Iberian-insular race and an Atlantic-Mediterranean race.Joseph Deniker Les races de l'Europe. L'indice céphalique en Europe Association Française pour l'Avancement des Sciences Paris 1897 https://books.google.com/books?id=bWMTAAAAYAAJ https://archive.org/details/lesracesdeleuro00sciegoog Online (Internet Archive) 2024-10-18 Günther believes that the "Western race" spread into Central Europe from the west, namely from the British Isles, France and Spain; like EickstedtEgon von Eickstedt Rassenkunde und Rassengeschichte der Menschheit Enke Stuttgart 1934 https://archive.org/details/egon-freiherr-von-eickstedt-rassenkunde-und-rassengeschichte-der-menschheit Online (Internet Archive) 2024-11-05 , he suspects that it has the same origin as the "oriental race".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 323f, 352–356 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. The term "Western race" is Günther’s own choice of words, which he particularly prefers to the expression "Mediterranean race", because the latter suggests that these people are mainly spread in the Mediterranean region. According to Günther, this is partly true, because in Spain, southern France and southern Italy this "race" is more strongly represented than anywhere else.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 201 However, he believes that they also occur in significant proportions in the British Isles. He estimates their distribution "in the blood of the German national body" at "about 2%", although he suspects that they are represented here "more in admixture" than "by pure-bred Western people".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 296 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He names the Eastern Alps, Western Switzerland, the Rhenish Palatinate, the Moselle region and the Rhineland as their main distribution area within the German-speaking area.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 274 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 76, 83 Giuseppe Sergi.Giuseppe Sergi Origine e diffusione della stirpe mediterranea Società editrice Dante Alighieri Roma 1895 https://books.google.com/books?id=BvFVjtLvRzYC Physical characteristics: Günther describes the "Western figure" as "short", "delicate and slender", and "leptosome", with both sexes being "somewhat more feminine" than in the "Nordic race." He describes the head as "long-headed and narrow-faced", the forehead as somewhat steeper, lower, and more strongly arched. The nose is short, but has a high root and a high, usually straight or convex bridge; the chin is rounded; the mouth is broad, full, and red-lipped; the skin is evenly brown; the hair is deep dark brown or black, fine, greasy, and either straight or curly, but rarely wavy; the facial and body hair is very pronounced; the iris is brown to very dark brown; and the conjunctiva is yellowish.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 76–83 Günther also describes the "Western race" as "the race that actually enjoys movement, even is blessed with movement"; their gait is rocking or slightly swinging, and all movements are characterized by "fluidity and expressiveness."Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 186f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 204, 207 Cesare Lombroso Alfredo NiceforoAlfredo Niceforo La delinquenza in Sardegna. Note di sociologica criminale Remo Sandron Palermo 1897 https://books.google.com/books?id=OelEAAAAYAAJ William Z. Ripley As with all other major "races," Günther only discusses mental characteristics of the "Western race" in a later chapter. He then states: "The essence of the Western disposition is: passion and intellectual agility". Unlike the inward-listening "Nordic person," the "impressionability of the Western person" is directed outward, for example, toward strong colors and frequent changes. They are curious, cheerful, their "most skillful [own] defender," morally lighthearted, sociable, warm-hearted, a family person, fond of children, superficial, and lacking "outstanding intellectual creativity".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 201–204 Günther further attributes to Western man "a more pronounced sexuality", regarding sex as "the most exciting part of life's drama, indeed the very meaning of his life's drama", which also includes a high propensity for adultery. He also tends toward cruelty, animal cruelty, a low work ethic, excessive eloquence, an exaggerated sense of honor, a highly excitable imagination, and criminality.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 204 In another part of the book, Günther casually remarks that the "Western race" has the least "intellectual ability" of all European "races".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 13 1929 226 Minor "races" and non-European "influences" "Phalian race" thumb|Cro-Magnon (modern forensic reconstruction). According to current knowledge, this is not a human subspecies, but Homo sapiens as he was widespread in western Eurasia during the last ice age. Günther includes a number images of people whom he considers to be typical representatives of the "Phalian race". Those people include, among others: The "Phalian race" (fälische Rasse, dalische Rasse) only appears in the book from the 12th edition onwards. What Günther addresses under this self-chosen term is, in his opinion, congruent with Sis' and Rütimeyer's Siontypus, Max Wolfgang Hauschild's Groner Typus, Lenz' Atlantic race resp. "heavy blond race", as well as with Fritz Paudler's, Hentschel's and Kern's Dalarna race (dalische Rasse).Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 24f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther considers the "Phalian race" to be the "surviving remnant of the Paleolithic Cro-Magnon race", and Westphalia to be its "best conservation area".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 25, 319f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He estimates their share of the German population at "about 5%". this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 144, 157 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. John Beddoe Fritz Kern Fritz PaudlerFritz Paudler Die hellfarbigen Rassen und ihre Sprachstämme, Kulturen und Urheimaten. Ein neues Bild vom heutigen und urzeitlichen Europa C. Winter Heidelberg 1924 https://books.google.com/books?id=XBJmAAAAMAAJ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003270618 Online (HathiTrust) 2024-11-01 Günther cites a very tall, broad, heavy, and powerful stature, with a massive head on a stocky neck and broad shoulders, as "physical characteristics of the Phalian (Dalish) race." The hips are also broad, even in men. The head is long rather than short, with a square occiput and a low, broad, massive face.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 144f, 147 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. The forehead is low and vertical with a striking "umbrella-like thickening of the frontal bone above the eye sockets." The eyebrows are almost straight; the eyes, like the root of the nose, recede far behind the glabella and appear small. The iris is gray, rarely blue. The zygomatic arches are strongly pronounced. The nose is less high than in the "Nordic race" and appears "stocky and powerful". The lips appear broad and compressed, the chin broad, massive, and coarse. The skin is "rosy-light" and appears thicker, coarser, and redder than in the "Nordic race". The hair is blond, like that of the Nordic race, but thicker and harder, and usually wavy or curly.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 146–148, 155–157 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. this section Fritz Kern Fritz Lenz Karl WildhagenKarl Wildhagen Der englische Volkscharakter. Seine natürlichen und historischen Grundlagen Leipzig Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft 1925 He specifies their mental characteristics as "attachment to tradition and to one's homeland," reliability, conscientiousness, integrity, a tendency to brooding, to "depth", and to "inwardness". Typical traits include a lack of empathy, taciturnity, concealment of their feelings; they are "persistent to the point of stubbornness and obstinacy". However, their gaze rests "thoughtfully, kindly, and without curiosity on the person speaking". They feel easily disadvantaged, but do not tend to feel superior to others and are more patient than "Nordic" people when wronged. The virtues of the "Phalian" people include "patience, strength, good-natured violence". The flip side of their patience, however, is a "rocky defiance that can remain hidden for a long time under apparent long-suffering before it bursts forth with force". They are willing to help others, but do not like to be helped themselves.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 241–243 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. According to Günther, they are not suited to leadership, but when led, they develop "powerful thrust". They are characterized by a "bear-like mixture of benevolent roughness and dry mischief". They are "more steadfast than agile, more defensively strong than prone to attack, more solid than versatile, more sober than bold, more freedom-loving than domineering, more stationary than creative." In the field of art, they are more inclined towards architecture and the visual arts than towards music and eloquence. Due to their high level of reliability and loyalty, Günther sees the "Phalian" person's destiny in service as a "good chairman, law enforcement officer, ombudsman, police officer, and gatekeeper." Their down-to-earth nature also fundamentally predestines them for the farming profession. The "Phalian" woman, writes Günther, is characterized by a "calm warmth of character". Compared to the "Nordic" people, the "Phalians" are rougher and more cordial, and at the same time warmer and more good-natured. They are characterized by a heartfelt religiosity, a "warm-hearted devotion to the world of the supernatural". Overall, the "Phalian" people are "grave" in the sense that they take life gravely; they never turn careless, overconfident, or foolhardy, like "Nordic" people. "There is something primal about them. When looking at the physical and spiritual picture of the Phalian race, one almost feels that this race is descended from a race of people from the Paleolithic age, from some "giants of prehistoric times". Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1929, p. 243 "Sudetic race" thumb|Günther shows this drawing by Käthe Kollwitz as an example of a "Sudetic" person. Also from the 12th edition onwards, Günther also examines a "Sudetic race", which his teacher Otto RecheOtto Reche Zur Anthropologie der jüngeren Steinzeit in Schlesien und Böhmen Archiv für Anthropologie. Neue Folge 7 2/3 1908 had already postulated in 1908.https://docserv.uni-duesseldorf.de/servlets/DerivateServlet/Derivate-2784/784.pdf Clemens Augustinus Stock "…das Schöne und Gute in Menschengeschlechtern zu verleiblichen". Hans F. K. Günthers Buch "Plato als Hüter des Lebens". Werkkritik und historische Einordnung Uni Düsseldorf 2004 63 2024-11-02 Reche initially called them "Type I" and later "Sudetic race".Otto Reche Ein frühneolithisches Skelet aus Schlesien Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Physische Anthropologie 1 E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung Stuttgart 1926 81–86, here p. 85 https://books.google.com/books?id=BuchID=Gj0LAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA85 In addition to Reche, Günther refers here to Czekanowski's concept of a "pre-Slavic type", Fritz Schiff's "East Bohemian type", and Walter Scheidt's "East German short skull form".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 165 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther does not definitively decide whether this "human race" (Menschenschlag) should be understood as an independent race or as a group of "various cross-breeds with inner-Asian races", but in any case he attributes to it an "Asian origin".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 168, 340 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He names Poland, Silesia, Bohemia, Lusatia, Estonia and Russia as the distribution area.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 165, 168 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He estimates their share of the German population at "about 2%". Citing Reche, Günther states the physical characteristics of the "Sudetic race" as short stature in men and a comparatively small, rather short head. The face is medium-wide, the forehead steep but low, the cheekbones strongly defined, the nose broad and flat, and the jaw prominent. The iris, skin, and hair are dark. Günther refrains from describing the "mental characteristics".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 168 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. "Non-European foreign blood" As he already mentioned in the section on the "Sudetic race", Günther also sees "Inner Asian blood" in the German people to a small extent.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 169 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. As further examples of how "foreign blood […] has seeped into Europe", he cites the "racial mixing of Judaism", occasional "influences of Negro blood", and "relations with Gypsies".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 170–173 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Eugenics this sectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 261f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Eugen Fischer Jon Alfred Hansen MjøenJon Alfred Hansen Mjøen Harmonische und unharmonische Kreuzungen Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 52 4 1921 Hermann HoffmannHermann Hoffmann Über Temperamentsvererbung. Grenzfragen des Nerven- und Seelenlebens Bergmann München 1923 https://books.google.com/books?id=DB9ZAAAAMAAJ Günther JustGünther Just Vererbung und Erziehung Julius Springer Berlin 1930 Wilhelm PetersWilhelm Peters Die Vererbung geistiger Eigenschaften und die psychische Konstitution Gustav Fischer Jena 1925 https://books.google.com/books?id=6R9WAAAAMAAJ Wilhelm Peters Über Vererbung psychischer Fähigkeiten. Statistische und experimentelle Untersuchungen B. G. Teubner Leipzig, Berlin 1915 https://books.google.com/books?id=knREAQAAMAAJ Georg SommerGeorg Sommer Geistige Veranlagung und Vererbung B. G. Teubner Leipzig, Berlin 1916 https://books.google.com/books?id=NeswJquMLDcC Georges Vacher de LapougeGeorges Vacher de Lapouge L'hérédité dans la science politique Revue d'Anthropologie 17 March 1888 169–191, here p. 185 Brunold Springer, a Jewish lawyer who contributed several books on scientific racism from an anti-racist perspective, had presented arguments in 1929 that racial mixing was eugenically favorable.Brunold Springer Die Blutmischung als Grundgesetz des Lebens Verlag der Neuen Generation Berlin 1929Erich Stern Die Blutmischung als Grundgesetz des Lebens von Brunold Springer Die Literatur. Monatsschrift für Literaturfreunde 31 1929 743 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZEYaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA743 Review of Springer's book. Without any discernible justification, Günther declares the opposite to be true. He not only attributes "physical ugliness and moral depravity" to "racial mixtures"Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 259, 261f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend., but also sees Europe as on the road to ruin due to its strong "racial mixing": Racial studies find themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to say of the Europeans of our day that they are on the way to becoming, through universal mixing, a human mass that differs from humans of pure race just as much as the mutt differs from the purebred dog. Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1939, p. 261 the section about birth difficultiesHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 263 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Ernst BummErnst Bumm Grundriß zum Studium der Geburtshilfe 10 1914 https://books.google.com/books?id=JldDAQAAMAAJ First published in 1902 Walther DarréWalther Darré Das Bauerntum als Lebensquell der nordischen Rasse Lehmann München 1929 257f https://archive.org/details/Darre-Richard-Das-Bauerntum Online 2024-11-03 Hans FehlingerHans Fehlinger Geschlechtsleben und Fortpflanzung der Eskimos Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiete der Sexualforschung 4 6 1926 Max Wolfgang HauschildMax Wolfgang Hauschild Das Mendeln des Schädels Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 48 1 1916 35–40, here p. 39f Günther suspects that "racial mixing" in many cases also leads to "childbirth difficulties" because the child has a skull shape for which the woman’s birth canal is not designed. the section about susceptibility to certain health problemsHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 263f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Eugen Fischer Felix KruegerFelix Krueger Die Folgen der Mischung ungleicher Menschenrassen Die Nornen 120 1920 Herman LundborgHermann Lundborg Die Rassenmischung beim Menschen Bibliographie Genetica 8 1931 1–221 Ernst RodenwaldtErnst Rodenwaldt Die Mestizen auf Kisar G. Kolff Batavia 1927 Günther is also convinced that racial mixing can lead to an increased susceptibility to tuberculosis, hip dysplasia, ametropia, hypotrophy of internal organs, hernias, appendicitis and endocrinological disorders. this section about the consequences of "de-Nordification" Oswald Spengler His strongest argument for the protection and "renewal" of the "blood of the creative race, the Nordic race," is the key function he attributes to this "race" in maintaining any kind of order and culture. Wherever "de-Nordification" occurs, or the aristocratic order tied to the "Nordic race" becomes fragile, the result is "popular rule", "racial mixing", "racial disintegration", "mass population", urbanization, "unrestricted freedom and permissiveness, but above all […] the rise of the new rich", and ultimately "the disintegration into populations that continue to exist relatively uncreatively, become increasingly impoverished in importance, and are mostly politically or economically dominated by foreign peoples".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 362–367, 462 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He calls the present "an age of universal mixing" (ein Zeitalter der Allvermischung), in which the "de-Nordification" has been further accelerated by emigration, World War losses and low birth rates, especially among the most productive classes of the population.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 423–426, 457–459 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther also warns of increasing "degeneration" (Entartung); by this he means "a greater increase in inferior genetic traits".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 462 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. These problems are accompanied by a "rootlessness and vagueness (Artlosigkeit) of the present" and the "confusion of the intellectual tendencies of modern life", for which Günther, among other factors, particularly blames Judaism because it spreads the "spirit of modernity".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 448f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He sees the way out in a return of man to "the fateful birth into a broad context of emerging and passing generations, of his own nationality (Volkstum) and the racial elements that determine this nationality", with consequences for the choice of spouse and family planning.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 450f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He considers the reproduction of non-Nordic people to be "less desirable".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 466 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Günther radically places the interests of the "blood community" (Blutsgemeinschaft) above those of the "individual", who does not deserve compassion and humanity, and in later editions of the book praises National Socialist racial hygiene:Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 453–455, 466 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. In the German Reich, the introduction of legal sterilization of hereditarily inferior people and measures to care for hereditarily superior families today (1933) marked the beginning of state hereditary health care (Erbgesundheitspflege). Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes, 1939, p. 453 Günther sees the responsibility for the practical implementation of the "Nordification" (Aufnordnung) primarily with the state; Where appropriate “legislative measures” cannot be expected from this, according to Günther, the initiative of the "Nordic and Nordic-oriented circles" is required, which should resort to "self-help" following the example of the Immigration Restriction League founded in Boston in 1894.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 464f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. For details of eugenic measures, he refers to the second volume of the handbook Grundriß der menschlichen Erblichkeitslehre und Rassenhygiene by Baur, Fischer and Lenz. He explicitly mentions, in addition to a careful choice of spouse, the avoidance of alcohol and sexually transmitted diseases, but also the promotion of the "peasant class" (Bauernstand) and the political fight against certain developments in the economy and finance, which in his opinion contribute to undermining "hereditary health".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 467 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Immigration must be limited by law to "hereditarily healthy Nordic and predominantly Nordic people of northwestern European origin".Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 469f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. He also proposes removing "Nordic and predominantly Nordic children" from poor families.Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 470 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. The book as a handbook of racial theory Günther's goal, as stated in the title and in the introductory chapter, is to present the racial composition of the German people. He also wrote the book as a handbook of racial theory. It includes, among other things, sections and chapters on: tasks of racial studiesHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 1–4, 14f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. the term "race"Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 4–14 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. history of racial studiesHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 16–25 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. methods of racial studies (including craniometry)Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 26–37 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. selected phenomena and anomalies: Epicanthus fold, Mongolian spot, Down syndromeHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 159–161, 169 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Ernst Kretschmer's typology of the human constitutionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 178–182 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. blood typesHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 182–185 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. environmental factorsHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 244–249 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. basic terms such as genotype and phenotypeHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 249–252 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Mendelian rules and breeding selectionHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 252f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. "crossbreeding" (Rassenkreuzung) and "racial mixing" (Rassenmischung)Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 253–259 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. emergence of new "races" (including "second-order races")Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 254f Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. history of German racial geographyHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 265–272 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. human phylogeny and general racial historyHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 308ff Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. racial history of the Celtic and Germanic tribesHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 369–392 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. racial history of the German peopleHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 393–422 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. race and languageHans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes J. F. Lehmanns München 1939 477–495 Edition: 103.–113. Tausend. Until the 11th edition (1927), the book contained an appendix entitled "Racial studies of the Jewish people" (Rassenkunde des jüdischen Volkes) which was omitted from the 12th edition (1928) onward because Günther planned to make it a standalone book. His "Rassenkunde des jüdischen Volkes" was published in 1929. Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes ("People's Günther") thumb|The short version: "Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes" thumb|Publisher's advertisement for both books With 135 printed pages (1934 edition), the short version, Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes ("Volksgünther") was significantly less extensive than "Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes" (1939 edition: 510 pages). The chapters in which Günther presents and discusses the history and methods of scientific racism and the relationship between race and language have been completely omitted. Footnotes appear only in very few numbers. In "People's Günther," the author discusses the concept of race and the basic concepts of racial theory in relatively great detail, insofar as he intends to explain them in a generally understandable way. The sections on the characteristics of the various "races" and their geographical distribution have been shortened to a quarter of their original length, the historical sections to a third, and the outlook chapter to a fifth. In 1930, Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes was traded for 12 Reichsmark (with linen binding 14 RM, with half-leather binding 18 RM), Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes for 3 RM (with linen binding 4.50 RM). Hans F. K. Günther Rassenkunde des jüdischen Volkes J. F. Lehmann München 2 1930 Publisher's advertisement in the appendix of the book. Reception Reviews The archaeologist Ernst Wahle published a short review in 1924 in which he judged that the Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes filled "a significant gap in the literature" and offered "the entire material in a clear form".Ernst Wahle Günther, Hans, Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Geographische Zeitschrift 30 1 1924 63 27811326 A more detailed review, also in 1924, was written by the economist Julius Wolf, who criticized: "Thus, the testimonies that Günther provides regarding the races from a psychological perspective do not seem to me to stand up to stricter scrutiny", and Günther's characterization of the "Eastern race" in particular seemed overly derogatory to him. Overall, however, he considered Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes to be "a monumental work and, albeit perhaps somewhat one-sided, one of the most valuable contributions to racial studies."Julius Wolf Günther, Dr. Hans F. K., Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv 20 1924 673–676 40415886 A British reviewer complained in the same year that the book was unfortunately hardly noticed abroad, due to its thickness and the fact that it was available only in German, and moreover in Fraktur type; he praised Günther's "interesting" description of the psychological characteristics of the various races, but warned against reading the work too uncritically, as it lacked sufficient evidence.C. G. S. Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Man 24 June 1924 93 2787985 In his 1925 review, Eugen Fischer – in passing – criticized Günther's partly unscientific, inaccurate, speculative, and tendentious approach and – most notably – his arbitrarily chosen terms for the "Eastern" and "Western" races. Overall, however, he also welcomed the work, calling it "extraordinarily stimulating and fruitful" and judging: "The book as a whole is a tremendous achievement. Every anthropologist will have to engage with it!"Eugen Fischer Günther, Hans, Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie 25 1 1925 160–163 In 1928, the review by A. Leopold (Northwestern University) appeared, in which he admired "the rich material he [Günther] has compiled with tireless diligence and extensive reading" and, despite some criticism of the purity of his method, credited Günther with the fact that "this book is not propagandistic in its essential parts, but rather attempts to be scientifically objective" and that the author, despite his commitment to the "Nordic idea", kept himself "free from one-sidedness" and recognized "the equal rights of different races".A. Leopold Hans F. K. Günther: Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Monatshefte für Deutschen Unterricht 20 6 October 1928 193–194 The Romanian-British Jewish scholar and folklorist Moses Gaster judged in his 1929 review that no one interested in this subject could ignore this book.Moses Gaster Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes/Rassenkunde des jüdischen Volkes Folklore 40 2 1929-06-30 202–205 1255846 Among the authors who sharply criticized Günther's Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes was Friedrich Keiter, in the early 1930s.Ute Felbor Rassenbiologie und Vererbungswissenschaft in der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Würzburg 1937–1945 Königshausen & Neumann Würzburg 1995 3-88479-932-0 115 https://books.google.com/books?id=wPoWSPWQwvAC&pg=PA115 The Darmstadt racial theorist Gustav Paul (* 1890) wrote in the preface to his book Grundzüge der Rassen- und Raumgeschichte des deutschen Volkes, published in 1935: "H. F. K. Günther opened my eyes to the significance of race for me and probably for most of my generation."Gustav Paul Grundzüge der Rassen- und Raumgeschichte des deutschen Volkes Lehmann München 1935 Quoted from: Ruben Philipp Wickenhäuser Rassenforschung, Rassenkunde, Rassenideologie Books on Demand Norderstedt 2015 978-3-7347-5004-5 112 https://books.google.com/books?id=efcyBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 Doctoral thesis University Mainz. Influence on Hitler The American historian Timothy W. Ryback reported in 2008 that Adolf Hitler had already owned a copy of Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes and studied it intensively during his imprisonment in the Landsberg Fortress (1923/1924).Timothy W. Ryback Hitler's private library: the books that shaped his life Knopf New York 2008 978-1-4000-4204-3 During this imprisonment, Hitler wrote the first volume of his autobiographical programmatic pamphlet Mein Kampf. Günther is not mentioned by name by Hitler throughout the book, and overall Hitler's statements on the racial question are far more influenced by :w:Houston Stewart Chamberlain (The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, 1899) than by Günther's Nordicism, especially in his Manichaean idea of the mortal enmity between the "Aryan" and the "Jewish race".Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 373 While Günther's "Nordification" plans primarily aim at the suppression of the "Eastern race", Hitler, who calls himself a "fanatical anti-Semite," is directly concerned with the extermination of the Jews.Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 69, 225 Hitler does not follow Günther in his distinction between the terms "people" (Volk) and "race", nor in his non-recognition of the terms "Aryan" and "Jewish race", nor in his explanations of genetics.Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 158, 187, 301f He also mentions characteristics of the "Aryan race" – namely the sense of self-sacrifice – which have no equivalent in Günther’s characterization of the "Nordic racial soul". Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 315–317 Hitler only reveals his knowledge of Günther’s racial nomenclature ("Nordic race", etc.) in the second volume of Mein Kampf, written in 1928.Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 437 Nevertheless, parallels to Günther can already be seen in the first volume. Both books – Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes and Mein Kampf – share the idea that one "race" (in Günther's case the "Nordic", in Hitler's the "Aryan") is superior to all others and the only one capable of creating and maintaining culture, … What we see today in terms of human culture, in terms of the results of art, science and technology, is almost exclusively the creative product of the Aryans. Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf, p. 306 Everything we admire on this earth today—science and art, technology and inventions—is only the creative product of a few peoples, and perhaps originally a single race. The survival of this entire culture now depends on them. If they perish, the beauty of this earth will sink with them. Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf, p. 305 but that this race is nevertheless acutely threatened in its existence by "racial mixing" (in Hitler’s words also: "blood poisoning").Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 164, 301f, 305f, 313, 347, 359 Both authors also agree on many of the factors that, beyond "racial mixing", contribute to this threat or "illness" of the German "national body" (Volkskörper), such as the "weakening of the peasant class", financial policy, urbanization, and modern art and culture.Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 246f, 245f, 273–280 They also agree on the primacy of the "race question" (Rassenfrage):Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 299, 373, 468 The racial question provides the key not only to world history, but also to human culture altogether. Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf, p. 373 What we must fight for is to ensure the existence and proliferation of our race and our people (Volk), the nourishment of its children and the purity of its blood, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may mature to fulfill the mission assigned to them by the Creator of the universe. Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf, S. 225f For both authors, the consequence is a commitment to eugenics.Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 270 While Günther's goal is the "Nordification" of the German people and he is content with the segregation of the Jews (see Rassenkunde des Judentums), Hitler, following his own considerations, develops a Lebensraum ideology and a radical Antisemitism.Adolf Hitler Mein Kampf Franz Eher München 1925 359, 732 Editions In the following lists, new editions that are identical with the previous edition are indented. Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Günther Hans F. K. 1922 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes. Mit 8 Karten und 409 Abbildungen ("With 8 maps and 409 illustrations") München J. F. Lehmann https://books.google.com/books/about/Rassenkunde_des_deutschen_Volkes.html?id=jtJfjfZ5klUC Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Google Books (full view) 2025-01-10https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044024571606 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes HathiTrust 2024-10-23 2., unveränderte Auflage ("unrevised edition") 1923https://books.google.com/books/about/Rassenkunde_des_deutschen_Volkes.html?id=0Y9DDbXdeUMC Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Google Books (full view) 2025-01-10 3., umgearbeitete Auflage mit 14 Karten und 537 Abbildungen ("revised edition with 14 maps and 537 illustrations") 1923. Includes an additional chapter Die Aufgabe ("The Task").https://archive.org/details/hans-f.-k.-gunther.-rassenkunde-des-deutschen-volkes.-3.-aufl.-munchen-1923 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Internet Archive 2024-10-23 4. Auflage 1923. 5. Auflage 1924.https://books.google.de/books?id=aS_TAAAAMAAJ Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Google Books (full view) 2025-01-11 https://archive.org/details/hans-f.-k.-gunther.-rassenkunde-des-deutschen-volkes.-5.-aufl.-1924 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Internet Archive 2024-10-23 6., umgearbeitete Auflage ("revised edition") 1924. 7. Auflage 1925. 9., verbesserte Auflage ("improved edition") 1926. Compared to the edition of 1924, the chapter structure is slightly changed; there are also two new chapters about the "East Baltic race". 10. Auflage 1926. 11. Auflage 1927.https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89097734669 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes HathiTrust 2024-10-23 12., wesentlich umgearbeitete Auflage mit 28 Karten und 526 Abbildungen ("significantly revised edition with 28 maps and 526 illustrations") 1928. Compared to the edition of 1926, the chapter structure is slightly modified; the two chapters about race history are revised; a new half chapter about the "Sudetic race"; the text about "race and language" which until then was a chapter is now moved to the appendix.https://books.google.de/books?id=my_TAAAAMAAJ Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Google Books (full view) 2025-01-11 13. Auflage 1929.https://books.google.com/books/about/Rassenkunde_des_deutschen_Volkes.html?id=GDCBAAAAMAAJ Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Google Books (full view) https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015004051184 Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes HathiTrust 2024-10-23 14., umgearbeitete Auflage mit 29 Karten und 546 Abbildungen ("revised edition with 29 maps and 546 illustrations") 1930.https://archive.org/details/hans-guenther-rassenkunde-des-deutschen-volkes-14.-auflage-1930-540-s.-scan-fraktur/page/n1/mode/2up Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Internet Archive 2024-10-23 15. Auflage 1930. 16. Auflage 1933. Mit einem Vorwort des Verlegers anlässlich des erreichten 50. Tausend ("With a foreword by the publisher on the occasion of the 50,000th copy") 51.–58. Tausend (51,000th–58,000th copy) 1933. 59.–66. Tausend 1933. Mit 580 Abbildungen und 29 Karten. ("With 580 illustrations and 29 maps") 67.–77. Tausend 1934. 78.–84. Tausend 1934 or 1935. 85.–91. Tausend 1935. 92.–99. Tausend 1937. 100. Tausend 1938. 103.–113. Tausend 1939. Mit 580 Abbildungen und 28 Karten ("With 580 illustrations and 28 maps").https://archive.org/details/hans-guenther-rassenkunde-des-deutschen-volkes-16.-auflage-1939-540-s.-scan-fraktur/page/n1/mode/2up Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Internet Archive 2024-10-23 114.–124. Tausend 1942. Mit 580 Abbildungen und 28 Karten ("With 580 illustrations and 28 maps"). most recent: Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Verlag für ganzheitliche Forschung Viöl 2002 9783936223217 Facsimile of an earlier edition Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes. Mit 100 Abbildungen und 13 Karten J. F. Lehmann München 1929 2., durchgesehene Auflage 1930 (6.–11. Tausend) 3. Auflage 1933 (12.–18. Tausend; gegenüber der 2. Auflage geringfügig verändert)https://archive.org/details/hans-guenther-kleine-rassenkunde-des-deutschen-volkes-1933-88-s.-text/mode/2up Bearbeitetes Digitalisat (Exemplar A) Internet Archive 2024-11-02https://archive.org/details/Guenther-Hans-Kleine-Rassenkunde-des-deutschen-Volkes-Text/mode/2up Bearbeitetes Digitalisat (Exemplar B) Internet Archive 2024-11-02https://archive.org/details/guenther-kleine-rassenkunde-des-deutschen-volkes Bearbeitetes Digitalisat (Exemplar C) Internet Archive 2024-11-02 19.–28. Tausend 1933. 29.–43. Tausend 1933. 44.–66. Tausend 1933. 67.–99. Tausend 1933. 100.–120. Tausend 1934https://archive.org/details/KleineRassenkundeDesDeutschenVolkes1934172S.ScanFraktur Digitalisat (Exemplar A) Internet Archive 2024-11-02https://archive.org/details/Guenther-Hans-Kleine-Rassenkunde-des-deutschen-Volkes Digitalisat (Exemplar B) Internet Archive 2024-11-02https://archive.org/details/hans-guenther-kleine-rassenkunde-des-deutschen-volkes-1934-172-s.-scan-fraktur/mode/2up Digitalisat (Exemplar C) Internet Archive 2024-11-02https://www.scribd.com/document/32800163/Guenther-Hans-Kleine-Rassenkunde-Des-Deutschen-Volkes-1934-172-S-Scan-Fraktur Digitalisat www.scribd.com 2024-11-02 121.–130. Tausend 1935. 146.–165. Tausend 1936. 166.–185. Tausend 1937. 186.–205. Tausend 1938. 206.–225. Tausend 1939. 226.–235. Tausend 1940. 236.–245. Tausend 1941. 246.–261. Tausend 1942. 262.–272. Tausend 1943. 273.–295. Tausend 1943. References