DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL SURVEY

EUROPE

Ethnology and Ethnography of the German People

1. Ethnography is a branch of ethnology and treats of the location and movements of peoples. Ethnology is the study of the origins and relationships of people.

2. We have studied the geography of Europe and of Germany, and we shall find that the ethnology of the German people is closely related to the geography of Europe, as well as its history.

3. The reason for this study is the misconception that has been spread widely throughout the world by the vicious Nazi "race doctrines". If one throws enough mud, some is bound to stick. This is the principle on which the Nazis worked, and their efforts to label the Germans as a superior race have led them to spread false ideas to which partial credence is given even by non-Germans who are seeking reinforcement of their prejudices.

4. The truth is that there is no "Master Race". Even the word "race" itself is hard to define. Experts on the origin of races, known as anthro-pologists, use certain physical variations to distinguish the races of mankind, but even these reputable scientists disagree on what the distinctions should be. You know yourselves that skin color, which is the commonest method of distinction among laymen, is an inaccurate guide, since there are many Negroes who are "whiter" than White men. This is due, of course, to the mixture of races which has been so complete throughout most of the world that so-called "pure" races exist hardly anywhere, and certainly in no civilized country.

5. Ripley divides the people of Europe into three races--Teutonic, Alpine, and Mediterranean, using the cephalic index as his criterion. The cephalic index is the ratio between the length and width of the human head. But, using the same type of index, Deniker divides Europeans into 6 major and 4 minor divisions.

6. The Germans, like most of the people of Europe, belong to the Indo-European race, but that term means only that the race is thought to have had its origin in India and to have moved westward in Europe thousands of years ago. And even this race has been plentifully mixed in those thousands of years with Oriental races which swept over Europe in conquests; e.g. the Huns under Attila. There has also been plentiful admixture of African and Near Eastern peoples resulting from invasions on both sides, the capture of slaves, and the activities of conquering occupation troops.

7. But the Germans took the sciences of anthropology and ethnology and twisted them to their political ends. In order to replace the orthodox idea of nationality as a binding force among the people, the Nazis substituted a "race concept". Accordingly, the idea of the Volk as the basic element of the state and, consequently, the submergence of the individual, led to the Nazi

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principle that the welfare of the community came before the welfare of the in-
dividual. Every school child in Germany was, therefore, exposed to such
subjects in school as "Cultivation of the Race" (Rassenflege) and "Science of
the Race" (Rassenkunde). Racial consciousness was instilled in German youth,
and they were led to feel that they were innately superior to people of other
races--such as Slavs, Jews, Negroes, Frenchmen, etc.

8. Using the cephalic index as a means of classification, the German people can be roughly divided into; the North European longheads, who live along the seacoast and in the northwestern part of Germany; the Slavic type, who live in the northeast, bordering Poland and Russia; and the Central European roundheads, who live in the Alpine region.

9. But, actually, the Germans are more heterogeneous than most nations of Europe--for the same geographical reasons that we mentioned before in connection with the frequent invasions of Germany. Because Germany is in Central Europe and has no "natural frontiers" on east or west, the tides of conquest have rolled back and forth over her territory for a thousand years, causing great changes in her population.

10. Actually, groupings under the heading of "races" means little in Germany, but there are other ties that bind people as closely as blood. These ties include common languages, common religions, common histories, customs, traditions. In Germany's 1000 year history some of these ties have become very strong, although frequently they have been split by political, religious, and economic upheavals. What really binds Germans together today is not race, but a common language, common history for a period of 80 years, and, in certain areas, common religion and customs.

11. Let us look at the population of Germany and note its ethnographic distribution. German's population today is approximately what it was in 1934---64,000,000, but this population includes millions of Volksdeutsche expelled from Silesia, East Prussia, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania, and the territory of Germany is smaller today than it was in 1934. With the influx of refugees, the population is less cohesive than ever. For example, one out of every four residents of Bavaria today was not a resident in 1939. This fact has political, social, religious, and economic implications.

12. But even today Germany is second only to Russia in population. Its population density in 1934 was 354 per sq. mi. and is undoubtedly greater today, but even in 1934 this population was concentrated in the lowland bays and in the Rhineland. Thus Saxony had 853 per sq. mi. Westphalia, 637; Upper Silesia, 369; Rhenish Prussia, 766---while East Prussia had only 156 and Lower Bavaria, only 183.

13. From the above figures we could conclude that Germany is highly urbanized. Actually there were in 1934--49 cities with populations over 100,000, a total of 27% of the population, and Germany was 65% urban even then. With loss land to settle on, the people have concentrated even more in the cities since 1945. The need for rebuilding the cities and industries of

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Germany is apparent, if means are going to be found to employ all these people and enable them to import the food they need from less urbanized areas of the world.

14. If the Germans are really such a mixture of races, how can one distinguish them? Part of the answer lies in the common history, the common geography, and the common language of many German groups. Along the borders the population tends to mix, not only in blood, but in customs, traditions, and even language with the neighbors. Note the Slavic names of German generals and Junkers from East Prussia; note the influence of the French in the Rhineland; note the similarity of Bavarians and Austrians.

15. While German is a common language, the many dialects spoken in different parts of Germany attest to the particularism and sectionalism of the German people up to 1871 at least, and continuing in many respects, down to the present. The "best" German is supposed to be spoken in Hanover, but the variations in dialect in different parts of Germany are very wide. In general, however, language is more of a tie than not, and the German language is in widespread use even outside of Germany--in Switzerland, in Holland, and in Central Europe.

16. A common religion was a bond between Germans up to the time of the Reformation, but since then, it has tended to split Germany into a Protestant north and a Catholic south. However, these two religions have linked the Germans of these separate areas closer together with fellow Germans in these areas.

17. Politically Germany has been united only since the 19th century, but there is a common cultural tradition welded by German poets, artists, authors, and scientists, resulting in a pride in German Kultur, which has been fostered in Germany ever since the time of Bismarck.

18. The geography of Germany has had much to do with the shaping of German character. The sandy, unproductive land of East Prussia and of the German littoral has forced the people who live there to be extra energetic and industrious in order to survive; the mountains of Bavaria have produced a stubborn but volatile mountaineer type, which has been the source of many German revolts; the fertile soil of the Rhineland has given rise to an advanced culture that has made the people of this area contemptuous of the "barbaric Prussians" to the north.

19. SUMMARY: The German "race" is really a myth. Differences in history, geography, and opportunity have made for great variations in the pattern of the German people, but there is no such thing as a common German "blood", and even if there were, no reputable anthropologist would claim that one race was superior to another. They are different in certain ways as a product of their history, climatic influences, and social status, but no one race is demonstrably superior to another.

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| HOUR | SUBJECT | INSTRUCTOR |
|---|---|---|
| XXI. | EXAMINATION: Hours I to XX Inclusive. | Capt C.W.Schmitz<br>M Sgt F.Gorcke |
| XXII. | AUSTRIA: Geography, History, Economy. | M Sgt R.Rothschild<br>Capt C.W.Schmitz |
| XXIII. | AUSTRIA: Post-War Problems. | M Sgt R.Rothschild<br>Capt C.W.Schmitz |
| XXIV. | FRANCE: Fourth Republic and Current Conditions. | M Sgt R.Rothschild<br>Capt C.W.Schmitz |
| XXV. | ITALY-TRIESTE: History and Politics. | M Sgt R.Rothschild<br>Capt F.R.Sala |
| XXVI. | BALKANS: Geography and History. | M Sgt T.J.Stose<br>Capt C.E.Faulkner |
| XXVII. | DARDANELLES: Geography, History, Present Status. | M Sgt T.J.Stose<br>Capt C.E.Faulkner |
| XXVIII. | POLAND AND HUNGARY: Post-War Political Developments. | 2d Lt O.E.Pribram<br>M Sgt T.J.Stose |
| XXIX. | YUGOSLAVIA, BULGARIA, ALBANIA AND HUMANIA: Post-War Political Developments. | 2d Lt O.E.Pribram<br>M Sgt T.J.Stose |
| XXX. | CZECHOSLOVAKIA AND FINLAND: Post-War Political Developments. | 2d Lt O.E.Pribram<br>M Sgt T.J.Stose |
| XXXI. | EXAMINATION: Hours XXI to XXX Inclusive. | M Sgt F.Gorcke<br>2d Lt O.E.Pribram |
| XXXII. | U.S.S.R.: Russian History--1903 to 1917. | S Sgt G.E.Bullens<br>Capt C.E.Faulkner |
| XXXIII. | U.S.S.R.: Russian Revolution of 1917. | 2d Lt O.E.Pribram<br>S Sgt G.E.Bullens |
| XXXIV. | U.S.S.R.: Russian History--1917 to 1928. | 2d Lt O.E.Pribram<br>S Sgt G.E.Bullens |
| XXXV. | U.S.S.R.: 1936 Constitution. | 2d Lt O.E.Pribram<br>S Sgt G.E.Bullens |
| XXXVI. | U.S.S.R.: Communism--Party Dominance over State. | 2d Lt O.E.Pribram<br>M Sgt T.J.Stose |
| XXXVII. | U.S.S.R.: Intelligence Operations. | M Sgt T.J.Stose<br>S Sgt G.E.Bullens |
| XXXVIII. | EXAMINATION: Hours I to XXXVII Inclusive. | M Sgt F.Gorcke<br>2d Lt O.E.Pribram |
| XXXIX. | U.S.S.R.: Foreign Policy--Basic Principles. | M Sgt T.J.Stose<br>Capt C.E.Faulkner |
| XL. | U.S.S.R.: Foreign Policy--Post-War Application. | M Sgt T.J.Stose<br>Capt C.E.Faulkner |

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