RACIAL THEORIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 February 1939, Page 3

RACIAL THEORIES

ITALIAN ADOPTION. Tin? Italian racial manifesto, which proclaims the Italian race "Aryan, Nordic, and heroic," and turns against intermarriage with "iion-European” elements. such as .Jews ami Africans, is hailed in Germany as a victory for Chancellor Adolf Hitler's ratiial ideology. presaging further conquests in other lands, writes Otto D. Tolis-chus from Berlin to the "New York Times.”

The German Press featured the manifesto as a- main news sensation and emphasised the decisive importance of the fact (hat "in essentials” the Italian racial doctrine coincides with the views now dominating Germany.

That. Fascist Italy, which fought Freemasonry, a- "supernational” Press, and Marxism, was also a potential ally in an anl i-.lewish attitude, was a. speculation advanced by Hitler in his book "Mein. Kampf.” The manifesto gives him satisfaction.

But as for the “Aryan. Nordic, and heroic” part of the Italian racial doctrine, the most authoritarian National Socialist spokesmen have, so far. at. least, differentiated between political and biological racialism. Politically, as pronounced by Hitler in bis book, all the people of Europe are Aryans.

The most concise definition of “Aryan" was laid down by Dr. Achim Gercke. the Ministry of the Interior’s former racial research, expert, as follows:—

“The peoples that have lived in Europe for several hundred years in closed national settlement and without substantial admixture' of nonEuropean elements, in short, the peoples that, have their homes in Europe, are racially related to the German people. They are all descended. from the same original races.

“Since, as regards language and history, they all originated from the Dime common root, i he collective, term ’.Aryan' has been adopted for tlmjp from the language of science ■without interpreting the linguistic definition too narowly. Cognate blood is Aryan.” Dr. Gercke later suffered a polilicai Occident, and wms removed from his post. Inn his definil ion. frankly adopted for political purposes, still ‘-'land'-.. "Political Aryatti'-m" was OVfcTl • J ~ ; : j /■_, •••,.' .. beg it.mf.ion jt

Germany ami’ were declared Hie equals i of "Aryans." In practice, therefore, (‘political Aryanism" turns only,' against .Jews, gipsies, am! negroj races. . |

Biological racialism, however, 'is: still a subject of much debate in Ger-, many. According to Hiller himsell. | lace depends not on language but on I blood. But even Hitler is not so bold; in claiming biological purity lor the i Germans as the Italian manifesto', claims for "the biologically pure; Italian race." i

According to Hitler, lhe German 1 people consist, of "Nordic Eastern.’ Western, and Dinaric elements" still; so badly assimilated that it is impos-) sible to speak of a. newly-formed race, j Moreover, he claims, they have sui-j iered such "blood-poisoning t hat mil | only Ims their blood but also their: soul been disintegrated. I If that is true of Germans, il musi ■ be far truer of Italians. According: to Alfred Rosenberg. Nazi cnliural, leader. Rome was founded by Nordic conquerors who broke the ruiu ol , Oriental Ettnseans. But Jaicr. in ibe! course of progressive democrat isa-. lion. the- conquerors, and especially; the Tin ruling families of patricians.) began to mix and intermarry with the plebeians—who are held Io have been either a. different or a tnongrol race

--with the result that Rome soon developed into an iiiim-rm-ial clmos and 1011.

Judging from an instruction book for teachers issued by Dr. liiidoll Bonze and .Alfred I’ndelko—-both ol whom tire connected with Gorman educational a til liot'il ies- the Etruscans and later lhe conquest of Carihagc and the Orient gradually weaned the Romans from (heir cm pursuits and Asiatic pomp. And even Caesar, these authors say, ceased in Egypt Io be a Roman. But another Nordic wave hit "raceless and dissolute Home." according io Herr Bosenberg, when Hie Germanic tribes invaded the Roman Empire.

"All the Stall's of the ()< i liti-llt (10'1 their creative values have been produced by the Gormans.” says Herr Bosenberg. "Nurdisaiion” of llal.v through Hrn Germans would thus appear lo bo from the German si nml point. Hi'.' only claim llalians have io being Nordic. And inasmuch as Hie Nordic element I- Olriy mie -ever;:! !jj Ge)'wa"..- vr"i mim; :j ruther smaller among Ttaiiaim,