Baruah-Young, William L (2014) From hobby to necessity: the practice of genealogy in the Third Reich. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5306/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten:Theses http://theses.gla.ac.uk/
[email protected] From hobby to necessity: the practice of genealogy in the Third Reich William Lee Baruah-Young BA (hons) MSc Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow June 2014© 2 Abstract After achieving political power in January 1933, the Nazis began to plan and implement racial policies that would redefine the lives of ordinary men and women. Persistently promoted as health measures, many of the racial policies enacted would go on to have considerable and, in many cases, devastating consequences for the family sphere. This thesis examines one aspect of Nazi policy, the practice of genealogy. Re-envisioned and turned into a civic duty of the ‘responsible citizen,’ this one-time hobby forced Germans to reassess friendships, marriages and courtships.