Hitler and the Nazi Darwinian Worldview by Jerry Bergman Page A
Authors: Jerry Bergman
Tags: History, Germany, Europe, Political Science, Holocaust, Political Ideologies, Communism; Post-Communism & Socialism
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1809–1882—Influence. 3. Eugenics—Germany—History—20th century. 4. Racism—Germany—History—20th century. 5. Holocaust,
Jewish (1939–1945). 6. Hitler, Adolf, 1889–1945—Philosophy. 7. Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945—Political and social views. 8. National socialism—Philosophy.
9. Nazis—Germany—Biography. I. Title.
DD256.6.B47 2012 943.086 C2012-906172-7
To my wife Dianne, the love of my life,
and our children, Aeron, Christine, Scott and Mishalea,
and our grandchildren, Kearstin, Bryn, Bryson, Sienna,
Owen, Abigail, Mackenzie, Mia and Josie.
“There was an ideological dimension to Hitler’s foreign policy, an ideological level which saturated these geopolitical ideas.… The new greater German Reich—Greater German Empire that…was to dominate the European continent—was to be a racially pure empire.… Germany was…[the Nazis believed] the last best racial hope of mankind.” 1
—Thomas Childers, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania
_______________
1 Thomas Childers, World War II: A Military and Social History (Chantilly: The Teaching Company, 1998), 27–28.
Foreword
Amazingly, though we live in an age of overwhelming amounts of information, people still swallow some ridiculous notions about one of history’s most famous sets of villains: Hitler and his Nazi henchmen. One of the most bizarre is that somehow Darwinism was not at the front and centre of Nazi ideology. My late mother, who grew up under the National Socialist German Worker’s Party government, confirmed the all-pervasive influence of evolution on that society’s aberrations as a “given.” She would have been surprised to hear that anyone could deny something so patently obvious.
Yet the myth persists in some circles, as does the perhaps even more “off the wall” idea that Hitler was somehow a Christian! At least the latter idea has some grains of reality as its possible seed material—Hitler did on numerous occasions try to pull the wool over the church’s eyes while he was actively working to destroy it.
This thoroughly documented work by Dr. Bergman is therefore both timely and welcome. It adds to the recent spate of scholarly books that together should hammer the remaining nails into the coffin of such urban myths.
Bergman’s unique approach is to make his point not just from Hitler’s own writings and actions, but from examining one by one the lives, actions and statements of those of his disciples closest to him. The result is both fascinating and chilling. Much still has the power to surprise and shock, even for those who, like myself, think they are thoroughly familiar with what went on in the Third Reich.
All in all, a very important, interesting and most readable book.
—Dr. Carl Wieland
Physician, author and managing director of CMI
Acknowledgements
The many people who read the manuscript, in whole or part, include historian Dr. David Herbert; Dr. Steven E. Woodworth, Associate Professor of History at Texas Christian University; Dr. Thomas McMullen, Associate Professor of History at Georgia Southern University; Dr. Wayne Frair, Professor Emeritus at The King’s College, New York; Dr. Richard Weikart, Professor of History at California State University, Stanislaus; Dr. Carl Wieland, David Buckna, Bryce Gaudian and Jan Peczkis. I also want to thank Dr. Bert Thompson, Mary Ann Stewart, Clifford Lillo, Peter Beach, Milt Marcy and the many reviewers. I especially want to thank Bernard Kirk and Dr. Wieland for help in translating German into English. For help in translating the German quotes, I am thankful to Professor Richard Weikart whose work, published and unpublished, I relied on heavily, especially for the section documenting the teaching of Darwinism in Nazi German textbooks. Dr. Weikart also edited the entire manuscript. Needless to say,
Jewish (1939–1945). 6. Hitler, Adolf, 1889–1945—Philosophy. 7. Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945—Political and social views. 8. National socialism—Philosophy.
9. Nazis—Germany—Biography. I. Title.
DD256.6.B47 2012 943.086 C2012-906172-7
To my wife Dianne, the love of my life,
and our children, Aeron, Christine, Scott and Mishalea,
and our grandchildren, Kearstin, Bryn, Bryson, Sienna,
Owen, Abigail, Mackenzie, Mia and Josie.
“There was an ideological dimension to Hitler’s foreign policy, an ideological level which saturated these geopolitical ideas.… The new greater German Reich—Greater German Empire that…was to dominate the European continent—was to be a racially pure empire.… Germany was…[the Nazis believed] the last best racial hope of mankind.” 1
—Thomas Childers, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania
_______________
1 Thomas Childers, World War II: A Military and Social History (Chantilly: The Teaching Company, 1998), 27–28.
Foreword
Amazingly, though we live in an age of overwhelming amounts of information, people still swallow some ridiculous notions about one of history’s most famous sets of villains: Hitler and his Nazi henchmen. One of the most bizarre is that somehow Darwinism was not at the front and centre of Nazi ideology. My late mother, who grew up under the National Socialist German Worker’s Party government, confirmed the all-pervasive influence of evolution on that society’s aberrations as a “given.” She would have been surprised to hear that anyone could deny something so patently obvious.
Yet the myth persists in some circles, as does the perhaps even more “off the wall” idea that Hitler was somehow a Christian! At least the latter idea has some grains of reality as its possible seed material—Hitler did on numerous occasions try to pull the wool over the church’s eyes while he was actively working to destroy it.
This thoroughly documented work by Dr. Bergman is therefore both timely and welcome. It adds to the recent spate of scholarly books that together should hammer the remaining nails into the coffin of such urban myths.
Bergman’s unique approach is to make his point not just from Hitler’s own writings and actions, but from examining one by one the lives, actions and statements of those of his disciples closest to him. The result is both fascinating and chilling. Much still has the power to surprise and shock, even for those who, like myself, think they are thoroughly familiar with what went on in the Third Reich.
All in all, a very important, interesting and most readable book.
—Dr. Carl Wieland
Physician, author and managing director of CMI
Acknowledgements
The many people who read the manuscript, in whole or part, include historian Dr. David Herbert; Dr. Steven E. Woodworth, Associate Professor of History at Texas Christian University; Dr. Thomas McMullen, Associate Professor of History at Georgia Southern University; Dr. Wayne Frair, Professor Emeritus at The King’s College, New York; Dr. Richard Weikart, Professor of History at California State University, Stanislaus; Dr. Carl Wieland, David Buckna, Bryce Gaudian and Jan Peczkis. I also want to thank Dr. Bert Thompson, Mary Ann Stewart, Clifford Lillo, Peter Beach, Milt Marcy and the many reviewers. I especially want to thank Bernard Kirk and Dr. Wieland for help in translating German into English. For help in translating the German quotes, I am thankful to Professor Richard Weikart whose work, published and unpublished, I relied on heavily, especially for the section documenting the teaching of Darwinism in Nazi German textbooks. Dr. Weikart also edited the entire manuscript. Needless to say,