Biopolitics & Eugenics in Nazi Germany: Evangelical Church Lecture, May 13, 2025
Evangelical Church’s role in Nazi Eugenics to be Discussed in Dresden
DRESDEN, Germany – A discussion examining the involvement of the Evangelical Church in Nazi eugenics programs, including forced sterilization and the killing of the sick, will be held at the German Hygiene Museum Dresden on May 13, 2025, at 7 p.m.
Historical Context
Beginning in 1933, the National Socialists implemented eugenic policies aimed at purifying the “people’s community” of those deemed “hereditarily inferior.” These programs led to the forced sterilization of individuals, abortions for eugenic reasons, and the systematic murder of patients, often referred to as “euthanasia.” Estimates suggest that over 200,000 people were killed under these policies.
Evangelical theologians, doctors, lawyers, and care workers from diaconal institutions were involved in these issues in the early 1930s. While a “specialist committee for Eugenik” initially required the consent of those affected by forced sterilization, these requirements were abandoned after the introduction of the “Law on the Control of Inheritance Talent” in July 1933. By the end of 1935,Evangelical hospitals had performed 3,000 infertility procedures and 5,754 sterilization operations. After 1939, thousands of patients were murdered in church institutions.
The Discussion
Church historian Prof. Dr.Jochen-christoph Kaiser and historian Dr. Uwe Kaminsky will lead the discussion, drawing on their new source edition of the “Specialist Committee for Eugenik” from 1931-1938 to analyze the opinion-forming process within the Evangelical Church. Julia Bienholz-Radtke of the German Hygiene Museum will provide an introduction on how eugenic topics were disseminated through the museum’s exhibitions and publications.
Dr. Roland Löffler, director of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, and Prof. Dr. Anja Katharina Peters of the evangelical University of Dresden will moderate the event.
Event Details
The event is a collaboration between the Saxon State Center for Political Education and the Evangelical University of Dresden, held as part of the ”Memorial Year 2025 – 80th anniversary of the end of the war.”
Tickets are priced at 3 EUR, with a reduced rate of 1.50 EUR.