Historical story

What does Harry Laughlin has to do with Hitler?

Harry Laughlin was an American eugenicist and the superintendent of the Eugenics Record Office (ERO) at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, from 1910 to 1940. He was a leading figure in the American eugenics movement and a major influence on Nazi racial policy.

Laughlin was a strong advocate of positive eugenics, which sought to improve the human gene pool by encouraging "fit" individuals to reproduce and discouraging "unfit" individuals from reproducing. He believed that certain groups of people, such as the mentally disabled, the poor, and immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, were genetically inferior and should be prevented from reproducing.

Laughlin's work was cited extensively by Nazi eugenicists and racial hygienists, and he was consulted by the Nazi government on several occasions. He also provided assistance to the Nazi regime in developing its sterilization and euthanasia programs.

Laughlin's contributions to Nazi racial policy were significant and helped to shape the Nazis' views on race and eugenics. His work also provided a justification for the Nazis' systematic discrimination against and extermination of Jews, Romani people, and other groups.

After the war, Laughlin was accused of war crimes by the Allies, but he was never brought to trial. He died in 1941 at the age of 63.