Adolph Hitler's advocacy of population control -- measures
designed to increase the German population and to reduce the numbers of
non-Germans -- is well known. He argued forcefully for more prolific
breeding among racially "desirable" groups, and demanded that contraceptives
and pro-contraceptive propaganda be widely disseminated among those he
considered "inferior." The importance of eugenic policies was emphasized in
Mein Kampf:
If the power to fight for one's own health is no longer
present, the right to live in this world of struggle ends. The world belongs
only to the forceful "whole" man and not to the weak "half"
man.
"The French complained after the war that there were twenty million
Germans too many. We accept the criticism. We favor the planned control of
population movements. But our friends will have to excuse us if we subtract
the twenty millions elsewhere... By doing this gradually and without
bloodshed, we demonstrate our humanity."
Mein Kampf at page 257.
The Eastern European territories were of special strategic importance to the
Nazi regime. In fact, Hitler noted the importance of the eastern territories in a
communique dated September, 1942:Our gains in the west may add a measure of charm to our
possessions and constitute a contribution to our general security, but our
Eastern conquests are infinitely more precious, for they are the foundation of
our very existence.
Secret Nazi Plans for Eastern Europe by Ihor
Kamenetsky (1961), page 80.
There is abundant evidence that the Nazi regime favored the use of
pro-contraceptive propaganda as a tactic for population control. Hermann
Rauschning, who defected from the Nazi party in the 1930s, warned of the
genocidal plans of German leaders in a book called The Voice of
Destruction. In this book, he recalled a 1934 conversation in which
Hitler said about the peoples of eastern Europe:"We are obliged to depopulate," he went on emphatically....
"We shall have to develop a technique of depopulation... And by remove I
don't necessarily mean destroy; I shall simply take systematic measures to dam
their great natural fertility... There are many ways, systematical and
comparatively painless, or any rate bloodless, of causing undesirable races to
die out.
The Voice of Destruction by Hermann
Rauschning (1940) at 34-38.
On April 27, 1942, officials sent out an order to the effect that:Every propaganda means, specially the press, radio and movies,
as well as pamphlets, booklets, and lectures, must be used to instill in the
Russian population the idea that it is harmful to have several children. We
must emphasize the expenses that children cause, the good things that people
could have had with the money spent on them. We could also hint at the
dangerous effect of child-bearing on a woman's health.
Harvest of Hate by Leon Poliakov, pages 272-
274.
In July of the same year, a secret policy memorandum was prepared, on
orders from Hitler, by his secretary, Martin Bormann. Among other things, it
urged that abortions should be tolerated as part of the Nazi population control
campaign, although the procedure was strenuously opposed when it came to women
of pure German blood. The memorandum stated:When girls and women in the Occupied Territories of the East
have abortions, we can only be in favor of it; in any case we should not
oppose it. The Fuhrer believes that we should authorize the development of a
thriving trade in contraceptives. We are not interested in seeing the
non-German population multiply.
Harvest of Hate by Leon Poliakov (1954), pages
272-274.
And a later memorandum, circulated in 1944, added this:In order to round out this propaganda in a practical way
contraceptives should be quietly distributed (with the Reich bearing the cost).
There is no harm in leaving a valve open to the natural desires of the persons
of alien blood as long as this will not interfere with cutting off the flow of
reproduction among these people of alien race.