Dear kattcalico,
It is definitely true that several hundred half-Negro Germans were
sterilized in the Third Reich. However, there was no general
acceptance of these people before the beginning of Nazi rule in 1933.
The overwhelming share of half-Negroes in 1920s' and 1930s' Germany
consisted of the so-called "Rheinlandbastarde" (Rhineland Bastards).
After World War I, France and Belgium had sent occupation forces to
the Rhineland in order to enforce delivery of reparation goods, such
as coal. Among those troops were units of black soldiers from the
African colonies. Numerous German women had children from both black
and white occupation soldiers.
The Germans hated the French who had occupied the Rhineland. But while
a white illegitimate child of a Frenchman and a German woman bore no
visible indication of the father's nationality, a half-Negro child was
very obviously the result of sexual contact with one of the detested
occupants. Of course, racism was also as existant in Germany as in
other European countries. But in case of the "Rhineland Bastards", the
evident origin from a soldier in the services of the traditional
German "hereditary enemy" France made things even worse for those
children. Already in the time of the Weimar Republic, before the Nazis
were in power, it was officially discussed if those children should be
sterilized in order to prevent them from reproducing.
According to the research of German historian Professor Dr. Reiner
Pommerin, there were about 800 half-Negro Germans before 1945, and at
least 400 of them were affected by forced sterilization.
Reiner Pommerin wrote a book which is regarded the most important
source on this topic: "Die Sterilisierung der Rheinland-Bastarde. Das
Schicksal einer farbigen deutschen Minderheit 1918-1937"
(Sterilization of the Rhineland Bastards. The Fate of a German Colored
Minority 1918-1937). It was published in 1979 by Droste publishing
house in Düsseldorf, Germany. Unfortunately, this book is out of
print, and there has also never been an English version; neither is
this book availabe as an online text. I tried to locate a used German
copy available for purchase, but I had no luck.
However, the Library of Congress has a copy of Pommerin's "Die
Sterilisierung der Rheinland-Bastarde", and you can request this book
from them via Interlibrary Loan. This is the full identification of
the book:
Title: Sterilisierung der Rheinlandbastarde : d. Schicksal e. farb.
dt. Minderheit...
LC Control Number: 80469925
Brief Description: Pommerin, Reiner
Sterilisierung der Rheinlandbastarde : d. Schicksal e. farb. dt.
Minderheit 1918-1937 / Reiner Pommerin.
Düsseldorf : Droste, 1979.
CALL NUMBER: HQ755.5.G3 P65
And here are the instructions for Interlibrary Loan of books from the
Library of Congress:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/loan/
You can find a number of additional books and texts on this topic in
this bibliography provided by the United States Holcaust Memorial
Museum:
http://www.ushmm.org/research/library/bibliography/blacks/right.htm
Sources:
The Non-Jewish Victims: Mandatory Sterilization for Black Youth
http://www.holocaustforgotten.com/African.htm
Museen in Köln: Besondere Kennzeichen: Neger - Sterilisierung der
?Rheinlandbastarde? (in German)
http://www.museenkoeln.de/ausstellungen/nsd_0211_schwarze/aus_04_02.asp
Exil Club: Schwarze im Dritten Reich (in German)
http://www.exil-club.de/dyn/56369.asp?Aid=5&Avalidate=958736598&cache=3677
Tzschöckel: Schwarze Deutsche in der Weimarer Republik (in German)
http://www.tzschoeckel.de/black5.htm
Tzschöckel: Schwarze Deutsche im Nationalsozialismus (in German)
http://www.tzschoeckel.de/black6.htm
United States Holcaust Memorial Museum: Bibliographies - Blacks
http://www.ushmm.org/research/library/bibliography/blacks/right.htm
Search terms used:
nationalsozialisten schwarze
://www.google.de/search?q=nationalsozialisten+schwarze&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=de&btnG=Google-Suche
"Rainer Pommerin"
://www.google.de/search?q=%22Rainer+Pommerin%22&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=0&sa=N
"Reiner Pommerin"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22Reiner+Pommerin%22&btnG=Suche
rheinlandbastarde
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Scriptor |
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