Eugenische Konzepte in der westdeutschen Humangenetik,1945-1980 1

Abstract

Eugenic Concepts West German Human Genetics, 1945-1980

After the end of the Second World War, the subject of eugenics within the field of human genetics was far from a taboo. While some older experts distanced themselves from authoritarian measures of enforcement, they were nevertheless still committed to the principle of eugenic-based selection. Only since the late 1960s did doubts about the effectiveness of eugenic-based selection predominate among younger specialists. Although human geneticists increasingly appealed for a sense of individual responsibility with regard to eugenics and rejected the authoritarian enforcement of eugenic goals, their interest in the population-genetic effects of new uses of human genetics was nevertheless nearly universal. It is precisely this interest that led to the creation of an important framework for the institutionalization of human-genetic consulting services in the FRG. Furthermore, the human geneticists who were involved in the institutionalization of consulting services in the 1970s also put into practice traditional cost-benefit considerations. As a consequence, a central component behind the justification for eugenics was revived in the context of preventive medicine.