1997/01/01 by Boria Sax · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Medical History and Research #European history and politics #Race, Genetics, and Society
paper · doi:10.1163/156853097x00196
openalex publication_date 1997/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract This paper explores the Nazi view of nature as violent but orderly, contrasted with what the Nazis took to be the chaos and confusion of human society. In imposing strict authoritarian controls, the Nazis strove to emulate what they viewed as the natural discipline of instinct. They saw this as embodied in wild animals, especially large predators such as wolves, while the opposite were domesticated mongrels whose instincts, like those of overly civilized peoples, had been ruined through careless breeding. Those who anticipated this view included Nietzsche and Kipling. The author finds the Nazi perspective best articulated by Nobel-laureate Konrad Lorenz, a member of the Nazi party and its Office for Race Policy, who believed that traits indicating genetic decline crossed species lines. He advocated correcting the alleged damage done to animals and people by civilization through eugenic controls.