The History of East-Central European Eugenics, 1900-1945

A number of things make this volume extremely useful for scholars of eugenics ... One immediate strength lies in the richness of the sources used ... Another is the nuanced and complex approach contributors take to exploring the autarchic eugenic traditions of their individual states ... while, at the same time, detailing attempts to establish common eugenic values ... This extremely well-written and thoroughly-researched volume will provide scholars of eugenics and related subjects with a wealth of information and primary sources. It makes a major contribution to the study of eugenic thought. * Social History of Medicine *
This excellent collection of essays is more than an introduction to East-Central European eugenics. It is a detailed investigation illuminating a rather dark period of European history ... [and] an essential read for scholars interested in both the general and specific aspects of European eugenics. * Journal of Historical Geography *
This volume succeeds admirably ... [in] provid[ing] an invaluable new perspective on the transmission and adaptation of eugenic ideas in countries, which, until recently have not been part of the so-called mainstream. * European History Quarterly *
The History of East-Central European Eugenics is a landmark on the subject. Providing an excellent balance of commentaries, translated primary sources, biographies, and bibliographies for further reading, it is, moreover, a model for collected books of this type in any field. Scholars and students in a range of academic disciplines, including those in medical professions, will find this book not only a useful guide to the history of eugenics in East-Central Europe but also a window into the history of science and society in modern Europe. * Medical History *
With rich materials and insights, [this book] would certain[ly] help further the agenda of future comparative studies in the pursuit of a global history of eugenics. * Slavonic and East European Review *
Turda's book is truly fascinating. Having read it, I realise how little did I know about my neighbours' history and culture and indeed about the true history of my people too. I warmly recommend it. * Orvostörténeti Közlemények [Bloomsbury translation] *
[A] remarkable new edited collection ... With such a wide breadth of countries, languages and regions to examine, Turda has set himself up for a monumental task. The book’s impressive length — 656 pages in hardback — is a testimony to how seriously he and his collaborators have made an effort to meet this challenge ... The breadth of translated materials, coupled with the valuable context offered by the biographical portraits and introductory sections, makes this book an invaluable resource for any scholars studying eugenics. * CritCom *
The tasks undertaken in these two books are remarkably ambitious and are executed with much sophistication and erudition ... The growing literature on eugenics will be significantly enriched by these two publications. * Isis: A Journal of the History of Science Society [joint-reviewed alongside Latin Eugenics in Comparative Perspective] *
Public interest in the history of eugenics has so far focused on North America and Northern Europe. It has concentrated on extreme consequences like compulsory eugenic sterilization and racist population policies in Germany and the United States. This volume on eugenics in East-Central Europe presents an eye-opening variety of eugenic ideas and visions. It demonstrates the great range of eugenics as a factor in social, cultural and political developments in the first half of the 20th century - a historical lesson to remember in present debates about human reproduction policies. * Nils Roll-Hansen, Professor Emeritus, University of Oslo, Norway *
Comprehensive, incisive, and authoritative, this ground-breaking book on East-Central European eugenics is essential reading. It establishes a whole new geography through which we can understand and analyse the most important socio-scientific endeavour of the twentieth century. Received wisdoms about eugenics and high modernity, authoritarian states, and urban populations are deeply questioned by this book, which turns Anglo-American presumptions on their head. Turda and his authors offer interpretations as well as translations that will serve historians of eugenics and public health well for generations. * Alison Bashford, Professor of Imperial and Naval History, University of Cambridge, UK *
This volume complicates the standard narrative of eugenics nicely. The oft told tale is that it was a matter of dominant groups imposing their definitions upon those they deemed inferior, however this book describes the multiple categories stretching across a vast range of boundaries, geographic and other. Essential reading for historians of eugenics. * William deJong-Lambert, City University of New York, USA *
Marius Turda and his colleagues have provided an invaluable resource for scholars seeking to understand the development of international eugenics in the first half to he twentieth century. This new focus on East Central European eugenics provides an important complement to the wealth of literature already existing on western European, Anglo-American and Latin American eugenics. Particularly valuable are the biographical sketches of important eugenicists in each country and translations of selections from their writings, previously inaccessible to scholars unfamiliar with languages such as Czech, Magyar, Polish, and Croatian. This work is thus a significant contribution to the primary source literature in an almost uncharted area in the history of eugenics. * Garland E. Allen, Washington University in St. Louis, USA *