THE NAZI PRIMER

This book appears to be a text written in Nazi Germany around 1936 to propagandize Hitler Youth in the beliefs of the National Socialist Party. As a time capsule preserving the state of thinking that the Nazis wanted to present to German youth this is a fascinating text that reveals what was important to the Nazi party and what their spin was on those subjects.

I often approach texts like this with some skepticism. I wonder who would bother to translate a work of Nazi propaganda and for what purpose? The book seems authentic but how does a reader know that this is not something worked up for some strange reason in the last year? Also, there is nothing to indicate the author or provenance of publication.

Fortunately, with the internet and a New York Times subscription, I was able to locate a review from August 21, 1938 on “The Nazi Primer” which indicates that the text was translated by Professor Harwood L. Childs. Childs' purpose appears to have been to provide authoritative information about what was happening in Nazi Germany. The New York Times review indicates that the text originally came with commentary by William S. Dodd - who was the American ambassador to Germany in the late 1930s - and a preface by Childs. Unfortunately, this version does not contain either of these contributions.

The text begins with a survey of the “German races.” This section reminds me of books on genetics that I checked out of the Fresno County Library as a child in the early 1970s which had been published in the 1930s. What was interesting to me was the lengthy explanation of Mendelian genetics. The Nazis were fascinated with genetic traits and how they could go about encouraging what they considered to be good traits and discouraging what they considered bad traits. The Primer proudly explains Nazi eugenic laws as contributing to that end.

On the other hand, Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection gets no mention. It is often claimed by some that Nazi philosophy was based on Darwin, and by others that study of Darwinian evolution was made unlawful. The truth is somewhere in between. Thus, after the discussion of Mendel, the Primer explains that the prior belief that species had always existed had been disproven by science and that the study of evolution was associated with Darwin:

“Nevertheless, when people began to deal with them seriously they made an important discovery. It showed that these petrifactions form a series, which, from the oldest strata to the most recent, show an ever-closer approach to the living types of today. The conclusion has been drawn that the types today have developed gradually out of the older forms. This assumption is in fact generally accepted today after experiments have demonstrated that race and consequently species transformation occur on the earth. The study, which has to do with this question, is called the study of evolution. Closely associated with it is the name of the Englishman Charles Darwin (1809-1882).

Hitler, Adolf. THE NAZI PRIMER: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

Absent from the Primer is any discussion of struggle to survive or that there are untermenschen who deserve to lose the war for survival. In fact, the Primer attempts to portray its racism as benign on the grounds that the Nazis did not want to brand anyone inferior, rather their interest was purely a matter of allowing races to work out their own capabilities:

“Anyone belonging to a non-German or related race is considered a member of a foreign race according to law and according to general usage. For this reason, the racial outlook on life of National Socialism is frequently misunderstood. People insist on finding in this racial outlook on life haughtiness and intolerance. To do so is fundamentally false, however. We reject the idea of race-mixing first, because the hybrid produced by the mixing is a sacrifice to such a disregard of nature. For “during his life he is a split personality in his racial makeup. Without a home he stands between two peoples and does not know in his soul whether he belongs to the one or to the other.” In short, he is an unfortunate, restless creature. In the second place, we believe that races receive their different natures in order to develop them and not to mix them. In this connection, we have already stated that we see in racial differences no real differences in quality, but rather differences in kind. Therefore, we will preserve the race

Hitler, Adolf. THE NAZI PRIMER: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

So, the difference between races is not a matter of quality, but, instead, it is a matter of different races having different capacities, according to the Primer. This description of Nazi racism seems oddly “politically correct,” rather than being the harsh “Germans are superior to the untermenschen” that we expect. Were the Nazis still facing a diffident population at this time?

On the other hand, this passage is chilling:

“Moreover it is a natural right of the community to protect itself against the threat of the individual. Everywhere in nature, there are safety measures of this kind established in the interest of the superior whole. The existence of the individual is of no importance whatever in this connection. Have mind and understanding been given to man in order that he may disregard such natural laws? Or is it not rather the task of the human mind to perceive these natural laws and to make use of them in a manner worthy of a man? We believe the latter.

Hitler, Adolf. THE NAZI PRIMER: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

The historical indoctrination is interesting. Hitler Youth were taught that at one time most of Europe belonged to Germany, which lost its territory because of a weak central government, foreign connivance and Catholicism. For example:

“The German Reich began to acquire colonies very late. There are two reasons for this. In the first place, the Spanish Hapsburgs sat on the throne of Germany at the time of great colonial expansion. They not only set for themselves the task of conquering a world empire “in which the Sun never set” but they also wished to establish Catholicism as the sole religion in this world empire. The task of acquiring the world empire itself was assigned to the Spanish motherland, while the Germans were supposed to fight to win Europe back to Catholicism. Therefore, the German Reich was entangled in bloody, religious wars, while Spain, Portugal, England, and France won for themselves an enormous colonial empire. As a result of this division of labor the German Reich got the raw end of the deal.

Hitler, Adolf. THE NAZI PRIMER: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

“Then, when the Netherlands fell to the House of Hapsburg, the latter attempted, with cruel force, to win the land back to Catholicism again. The Spanish Hapsburgs preferred to “rule over a graveyard rather than to endure apostasy from the Holy Mother, the Roman Church.”

Hitler, Adolf. THE NAZI PRIMER: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

“The father of the French Rhine policy was the Roman Catholic Cardinal, Richelieu. His methods and aims still apply to the France of today.

Hitler, Adolf. THE NAZI PRIMER: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

Catholicism is presented as one of the three international threats facing Germany, with Catholicism being particularly denigrated for being anti-racist:

“Even today, the racial ideas of National Socialism have implacable opponents. Free Masons, Marxists, and the Christian Church join hands in brotherly accord on this point. The worldwide order of Free Masons conceals its Jewish plans for ruling the world behind the catchword “Mankind” or “Humanity.” Masonry can take much as credit for its effort to bring Jews and Turks into the fold, as does Christianity itself. Marxism has the same goal as Free Masonry. In this case, to disguise its real intentions the slogan “Equality, Liberty, and Fraternity” is preached. Under Jewish leadership, Marxism intends to bring together everyone “who bears the face of man.” The Christians, above all the Roman Church, reject the race idea with the citation ‘before God all men are equal.” All who have the Christian belief, whether Jews, bush niggers, or whites are dearer to them and more worthwhile than a German who does not confess Christianity. The one binding bond, above and beyond all restrictions, is the Belief which alone brings salvation. One proof that the Roman Church rejects the race idea against its own better judgment is shown by the following facts. At one time, there existed the danger that the aims of the Jesuit order would be jeopardized or perverted by its Jewish members. A rule forbidding admission of Jews into the Jesuit order was issued. Today, since the danger is long since past, the church disregards it. Now why do we find in Free Masonry, Marxism, and the Christian church this mistaken teaching of the equality of all men? All three are striving more or less for power over the whole earth. Therefore, they must necessarily be “international.” They can never acknowledge the human ties of race, community, or nation if they do not wish to give up their own aims.

Hitler, Adolf. THE NAZI PRIMER: Official Handbook for Schooling the Hitler Youth . UNKNOWN. Kindle Edition.

On the other hand, when Jews are discussed, they are treated as an internal problem. For example, Jews cannot be German and can never assimilate because they are Jews and are therefore subjects of the Reich but not German. The international dimension of Judaism, which was an obsession of Nazis in other contexts, is not mentioned in this book.