Hermann Alois Boehm (27 October 1884 – 7 June 1962) was a German

eugenicist Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

, doctor, professor of "

racial hygiene The term racial hygiene was used to describe an approach to eugenics in the early 20th century, which found its most extensive implementation in Nazi Germany (Nazi eugenics). It was marked by efforts to avoid miscegenation, analogous to an animal ...

" and during the Nazi era. Boehm became a member of the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

on 24 March 1925, with member number 126.

Biography

Boehm began early to expand his research into racial hygiene. He was regarded within the NSDAP as a person with a considerable level of knowledge in this field, so that he was entrusted with the relevant posts. From 1931, he served as racial hygiene adviser of the

National Socialist German Doctors' League The National Socialist German Doctors' League (''Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Ärztebund'', abbreviated as NSDÄB or NSD-Ärztebund) was a division of the Nazi Party with the mission of integrating the German medical profession within the f ...

and from June 1933 to July 1934 as scientific director for heredity and race hygiene at the Reich Committee on Public Health. On 19 November 1934, he was appointed extraordinary Honorary Professor of Racial Care at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

. The main focus of his scientific publishing activities until 1934 was mainly on racial hygiene issues; he later advanced into the first rank of race hygienists. In March 1937, Boehm was appointed as a training manager by the Reich physician Gerhard Wagner of the "Führerschule" (Leader School) in Alt Rehse. The focus of Boehm's work was the teaching of knowledge in heritage and race care. At the same time, Boehm was given the opportunity to set up his own genetic engineering research institute. This institute was primarily intended to introduce the course participants of the "Führerschule" to the basics of genetics. In addition to his actual work at the "Führerschule", Boehm was one of the few independent experts to compile hereditary biological assessments. Boehm was an ordinary professor of racial improvement at

Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univer ...

from 1 January 1943, until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The training at the "Führerschule" laid the spiritual foundation, provided the necessary racial hygiene equipment, which ultimately allowed the doctor to end even the "life unworthy of life" by lethal injection, food deprivation or gas.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* 1884 births 1962 deaths Academic staff of the University of Rostock Alldeutscher Verband members German eugenicists Academic staff of Leipzig University Nazi Party members Nazis who participated in the Beer Hall Putsch People from Fürth People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Physicians in the Nazi Party Sturmabteilung officers Academic staff of the University of Giessen {{Germany-med-bio-stub