Races of the Earth II: Non-European Races Large wall chart with 16 photos of non-European races to teach racial hygiene
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 56.625 inches (143.828 cm) | Width: 41.000 inches (104.14 cm) | Depth: 0.625 inches (1.588 cm)
Creator(s)
- J. F. Lehmanns Verlag (Publisher)
- Bruno K. Schultz (Distributor)
- Bruno K. Schultz (Editor)
Biographical History
Dr. Bruno Kurt Schultz (1901-1997) was born in Sitzenberg, Austria-Hungary (now Sitzenberg-Reidling, Austria). He earned a doctorate in physical anthropology and his work extended into the fields of heredity, ethnology, and anthropometry. He was the author of several books and many articles about anthropometry and racial hygiene. He lectured on these topics in Vienna, Austria, and in Munich and Berlin, Germany. In 1929, Dr. Schultz became a German citizen, and began working as editor at the J. F. Lehmann publishing house in Munich, which was known for producing medical literature, charts, and material about eugenics. In 1932, Dr. Schultz joined the Nazi Party. He was in the Schutzstaffel (SS), and worked in the Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt-SS (SS Race and Settlement Main Office; RuSHA). While working there, Dr. Schultz developed the criteria that defined the physical characteristics that determined who in German society was considered “racially pure” and “Nordic.” His model was also used to determine who was eligible to join the SS based on their ancestry, the color of their hair, eyes, and skin, and other aspects deemed “racially pure.” Following the German invasion and occupation of other nations just before and during World War II (1939-1945), the same general model was used to analyze populations for resettlement and Germanization within those territories. In February 1942, Dr. Schultz was appointed Chief of the Race Office (RuSHa), a position he held until the end of the war in May 1945. Dr. Schultz went through what the allied powers called denazification: the effort to remove all traces of Nazi ideology, institutions, influence, and laws from Germany, as well as Nazi party members from offices or positions of responsibility. He was not prosecuted as a war criminal. In the Nuremburg Doctors’ Trial (1946), other doctors were presented as manipulated by the SS and various Nazis, and were not considered affiliated with the concentration camps or killing centers. Instead, the SS and medical personnel, such as Dr. Mengele, who were directly involved with the camps and centers, were identified as those most responsible for the atrocities.
Archival History
The racial science wall chart was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2014.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, The Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Acquisition Fund
Funding Note: The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by the Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Acquisition Fund.
Scope and Content
Large wall panel lithograph featuring 16 headshots of eight racial/ethnic types from outside Europe. Nazi racial policy makers idealized the Nordic race and considered other racial groups to be inferior. It was produced by The Race and Settlement Main Office (RuSHA) and edited by Dr. Bruno K. Schultz, a race specialist and SS and Nazi Party member, as a teaching tool for racial hygiene instruction. Nazi ideology sought to create a racially pure German nation. All those who did not belong to the Nordic race were to be excluded from the community. Thus citizens had to be educated to recognize the physical characteristics that revealed the racially undesirable.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Large, rectangular, mechanical lithographic wall chart printed in black ink on offwhite paper with thick, plastic laminate backing. The title is printed in large fraktur font across the top center. Printed on the front are 16 black and white photographic reproductions, nearly one foot square, featuring headshots of 8 males of different ethnicities in front and right profile headshots, arranged in 4 horizontal rows of 4. Centered beneath the images are German captions in fraktur font stating their ethnicity and geographic region; the photgrapher's name is under the right image corner. The top and bottom edges are adhered to circular brown wooden dowels with flat backs to which a strip of cardboard is nailed and stapled. Attached to the center of the top dowel is a triangular, metal hanger with a white string tied to it. A publisher's label is adhered on the back lower right corner.
back, on label, preprinted, black ink : Wandtafeln für den rassen- und vererbungskundlichen Unterricht / Reihe 1 / Tafel 2: Außereuropäische Rassen / J.F. Lehmanns Verlag / München
Subjects
- Fascism and education--Germany--History--20th century.
- Eugenics--Germany--History--20th century.
- Nazi propaganda--Germany.
- Race discrimination--Germany--History--20th century.
- National socialism and science--Germany.
- Racism--Germany--History--20th century.
Genre
- Posters
- Object