Tool used to classify skin color in racial studies conducted in Nazi Germany
Extent and Medium
a: Height: 7.125 inches (18.098 cm) | Width: 2.750 inches (6.985 cm) | Depth: 0.250 inches (0.635 cm)
b: Height: 7.250 inches (18.415 cm) | Width: 2.875 inches (7.303 cm) | Depth: 0.375 inches (0.953 cm)
Creator(s)
- Felix R. von Luschan (Designer)
- Puhl & Wagner Anstalt (Manufacturer)
Archival History
The skin color tool and sleeve were donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2017 by Dr. Friedrich Rösing.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Dr. Friedrich Rösing
Scope and Content
Tool for systematically identifying skin color, used as part of eugenics studies conducted in Nazi-controlled Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was designed in 1905 by Austro-Hungarian Anthropologist, Dr. Felix von Luschan, for use in the field to classify the relative “whiteness” of “mixed-race” people according to the color of their skin. Many supporters linked eugenics to race, and believed that “race mixing,” modern medicine, keeping the “unfit” alive to reproduce, and costly welfare programs hindered natural selection and would lead to the biological “degeneration” of society. These ideas and practices began to inform government policy, and were absorbed into the ideology and platform of the newly formed Nazi Party during the 1920s. Following Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in January 1933, a politically extreme, antisemitic variation of eugenics shaped Nazi policies and permeated German society and institutions. These policies touted the “Nordic race” as its eugenic ideal, and made efforts to exclude anyone deemed hereditarily “less valuable” or “racially foreign,” including Jews, “Slavs, Roma (gypsies), and blacks.” Racial hygiene studies assigned individuals to state-defined races, ranked from “superior” to “inferior,” based on family genealogies, anthropometric measurements, and intelligence tests. Many German physicians and scientists, who had supported racial hygiene ideas before 1933, embraced the Nazi emphasis on biology and heredity, in order to take advantage of new career opportunities and additional funding for research. Others that opposed the Nazi ideologies regarding racial hygiene often found themselves removed from posts, forced out of the field, driven to emigrate, or imprisoned in concentration camps.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
a : Rectangular, dull, gray-colored metal tray with 36 rectangular, opaque, glass mosaic tiles tinted to resemble skin tones set into grout on the surface, arranged in two columns of 18 tiles each, one along each edge. Between the two columns are two narrow columns of raised, brass-colored metal numbers, 1-36, each centered in a raised square frame filled with black enamel. The tiles are arranged in a rough gradient that runs across both columns, from the lightest shades on the top left to the darkest shades on the bottom right. The left column runs from the lightest shade, white (1), at the top through darkening shades of off-white, peach, and beige to yellowish-tan (18) at the bottom. The right column runs from a reddish-tan (19) at the top through darkening shades of tans and browns to the darkest shade, black (36), at the bottom. Across the bottom edge of the tray is a handwritten, black ink label and discolorations on the plain back where a label may have been adhered. The surface of each tile is soiled and all have been unevenly worn, with heavy pitting on many. Several of the tiles are chipped, especially the darker shades on the bottom right. b : Rectangular, gray-colored metal sleeve designed to slide over skin color tool (a) in order to cover and protect it. The metal is thin, slightly flexible, and dull. The back panel is a separate piece that has been soldered to the long sides. The short top and bottom ends are open, and centered at the top are large, curved notches in the front and back edges. A rectangular, brass-colored metal label embossed with the design and manufacturing information is adhered to the center of the front. A combination of letters and numbers has been painted in red along the upper left side. A piece of clear tape extends front to back across the center of the open bottom end. The back panel is pulling away from the sides, and several attempted repairs have been made along the edges with clear tape.
a: bottom edge, center, handwritten, black ink : UNI ULM [Universität(?) Ulm] b: left side, top, handwritten, red paint : M.f.V.218.
People
- Luschan, Felix von, 1854-1924.
Subjects
- Physicians--Germany.
- Human experimentation in medicine--Germany--History--20th century.
- Anthropometry--Germany.
- Genetics.
- Eugenics--Germany--History--20th century.
- Neukölln (Berlin, Germany)
- Germany.
- National socialism and medicine.
- Science and state--Germany.
- Racism--Germany--History--20th century.
- Eugenics--History.
- National socialism and science--Germany.
Genre
- Object
- Information Forms
- Equipment.