Standing on infertile ground : an analysis of the spectrum of sterilization experiences under national socialism

During the Second World War, National Socialists used popular theories of eugenics and race science to control and manipulate the population of the Third Reich, in order to establish their ideal “Aryan” ethnic German nation. One method used to accomplish this goal was the establishment of forced sterilization programs, in which “undesirable” populations were persecuted through negative eugenics-based legislation, threat of deportation, and cruel medical experimentation. The groups most impacted by these policies and programs were people with hereditary diseases or disabilities; the Roma, Sinti, and Afro-German populations; Jews, and sometimes their “Aryan” partners. These groups all faced painful procedures, medical complications, social stigmas, loss of fertility, and in some cases death - but they all experienced the sterilization process differently based on several factors that distinguished their specific population from others. This thesis discusses the important elements of their persecution that share similarities and differences with the other victim groups and focuses on the things that make each group's experience unique, including the scope of the victim group, the main method, settings, and actors involved, the transitional justice methods that have been put in place after the fact, and the reasoning and motivation behind their sterilization. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Amsterdam, 2019. 1 online resource