The History of East-Central European Eugenics, 1900-1945 : Sources and Commentaries

The History of East-Central European Eugenics, 1900-1945 redefines the European history of eugenics by exploring the ideological transmission of eugenics internationally and its application locally in East-Central Europe. It includes 100 primary sources translated from the East-Central European languages into English for the first time and key contributions from leading scholars in the field from around Europe. This volume examines the main eugenic organisations, as well as individuals and policies that shaped eugenics in Austria, Poland, the former Czechoslovakia, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary and Romania. It also explores the ways in which ethnic minorities interacted with national and international eugenics discourses to advance their own aims and ambitions, whilst providing a comparative analysis of the emergence and development of eugenics in East-Central Europe more generally.

Complete with a glossary of terms, a list of all eugenic societies and journals from these countries, as well as a comprehensive bibliography, The History of East-Central European Eugenics, 1900-1945 is a pivotal reference work for students, researchers and academics interested in East-Central Europe and the history of science and national identity in the 20th century.

“Public interest in the history of eugenics has so far focused on North America and Northern Europe. It has concentrated on extreme consequences like compulsory eugenic sterilization and racist population policies in Germany and the United States. This volume on eugenics in East-Central Europe presents an eye-opening variety of eugenic ideas and visions. It demonstrates the great range of eugenics as a factor in social, cultural and political developments in the first half of the 20th century - a historical lesson to remember in present debates about human reproduction policies.” —Nils Roll-Hansen, Professor Emeritus, University of Oslo, Norway

“Comprehensive, incisive, and authoritative, this ground-breaking book on East-Central European eugenics is essential reading. It establishes a whole new geography through which we can understand and analyse the most important socio-scientific endeavour of the twentieth century. Received wisdoms about eugenics and high modernity, authoritarian states, and urban populations are deeply questioned by this book, which turns Anglo-American presumptions on their head. Turda and his authors offer interpretations as well as translations that will serve historians of eugenics and public health well for generations.” —Alison Bashford, Professor of Imperial and Naval History, University of Cambridge, UK

“This volume complicates the standard narrative of eugenics nicely. The oft told tale is that it was a matter of dominant groups imposing their definitions upon those they deemed inferior, however this book describes the multiple categories stretching across a vast range of boundaries, geographic and other. Essential reading for historians of eugenics.” —William deJong-Lambert, City University of New York, USA

“Marius Turda and his colleagues have provided an invaluable resource for scholars seeking to understand the development of international eugenics in the first half to he twentieth century. This new focus on East Central European eugenics provides an important complement to the wealth of literature already existing on western European, Anglo-American and Latin American eugenics. Particularly valuable are the biographical sketches of important eugenicists in each country and translations of selections from their writings, previously inaccessible to scholars unfamiliar with languages such as Czech, Magyar, Polish, and Croatian. This work is thus a significant contribution to the primary source literature in an almost uncharted area in the history of eugenics.” —Garland E. Allen, Washington University in St. Louis, USA