First Name:
Margaret
Last Name:
Edling
Major Department:
History
Thesis Director:
Rennie Brantz
Date of Thesis:
May 2012
Eugenics was a branch of science that sought to improve the quality of human beings in the world. In the beginning of the twentieth century this scientific movement was growing in the United States and soon moved to Western Europe. Once the Nazi Party took over control of the German government, it used the eugenics movement as a scientific cover for their extermination programs and policies. Although many people wish to distance themselves from the Nazis, there is a definite link between the eugenics movement in the United States and Nazi Germany.