Volume #3 - The Eugenics Anthology:
Volume #3 of The Eugenics Anthology will cross back over to the European side of the Atlantic and discern the conditions that made a European population so amenable to eugenics and utopian social solutions.
That one question remains to be answered in a satisfactory manner; how could the most educated and sophisticated culture of the early 20th Century act so gullibly and credulously when enticed by utopian visions of a perfected humanity, a humanity that would rid itself of illness by getting rid of the ill? That lingering question persists: How could the land of "poets and thinkers" become the proving ground for the most barbaric civilization known to modernity?
FURTHER READINGPRIMARY SOURCES –
ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS:
Speculation ends, and the definition of truth begins with hard evidence. This is where the contents of the various archives that hold the history of those involved in the international eugenics movement become the foundation of any legitimate Holocaust research. Volume #3 of The Eugenics Anthology will build on the foundation of research gathered for Volumes #1 and #2, and will expand on this foundation:
- American Philosophical Society, PA – Genetics and Eugenics Collection. – This archive holds the American Eugenics Society records and correspondence.
- California Institute of Technology, CA – Archives - Register of the E. S. Gosney Papers and Records of The Human Betterment Foundation, 1880-1945. – E.S. Gosney’s foundation was second only to Cold Spring Harbor and the Kaiser-Wilhelm Institute in importance as a hub of eugenic research.
- Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement, DNA Learning Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. – Sourced through: dnalc.org – eugenicsarchive.org.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Library, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. – The archival section holds Charles B. Davenport’s book and journal collection. The contents of this collection are telling by itself.
- Columbia University, NY – Rare Book & Manuscripts, Butler Library -Telford Taylor Papers. – Taylor was a pivotal figure for the American prosecution during the Nuremberg Trials. His papers are indispensable.
- United States National Archives, Washington D.C. – The Military & Military Engagements / WWII (1941-1945) / Records About the Holocaust and War Crimes.
- University of Iowa – Libraries, Special Collections & Publications - Charles F. Wennerstrum Papers. – Justice Wennerstrum was one of the judges to preside over the Nuremberg Trials. His perspective is of interest as he felt strongly that the format and rules of the Trials betrayed American jurisprudence.
- United States Library of Congress, Washington D.C. – Manuscript Division – Robert H. Jackson Papers. – Justice Jackson served as Chief Prosecutor for the American legal team at Nuremberg.
- The Margaret Sanger Papers Project, nyu.edu.
PERSONAL CONVERSATIONS
AS PRIMARY SOURCES:
As has been the case with the previous volumes, Volume #3 of The Eugenics Anthology will rely heavily on insights discussed with mentors and peers. One of the highlights of the journey that has been this book series was to be contacted by the premiere authority on Friederich Nietzsche, Professor Ken Gemes of Birkbeck University of London. His insights and comments on the previous work will play a central role in Volume #3:
- Ken Gemes of Birkbeck University of London is a recognized expert on Nietzsche. Nietzsche cannot be avoided if one wants to write a thorough history of eugenics leading up to The Holocaust. Professor Gemes was generous enough to sit down with me on several occasions and converse about Nietzsche.
- Garland Allen of Washington University of St. Louis is one of the first academics to take on the American eugenics movement. His papers remain the most formidable sources of information on the subject. He is now retired but was kind enough to provide me with much valued guidance.
- Jonathan Marks from the University of North Carolina was kind enough to answer my questions on the “ape-human” issue of evolutionary biology.
- Stefan Kühl is a Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Bielefeld. He has on many occasions been kind enough to answer questions and provided direction.
Volume #3 of The Eugenics Anthology
Volume #3 of The Eugenics Anthology will be first made available in draft A.R.C. (Advanced Readers Copy) form to fellow researchers, mentors, and friends. This first milestone will occur in late 2023 or early 2024, with the goal of releasing a formal copy to the general public shortly thereafter. As has been the modus-operandi of A.E. Samaan, each subsequent volume of The Eugenics Anthology will first be released in paperback form. A formal first-edition hardbound copy will not be released until the full series is completed, the puzzle pieces in place, and when an edit of the full works is possible. This is a reverse of book publishing tradition, but then again, A.E. Samaan is not keen on traditions and conventions.