Letter by German racial theorist Prof. Fritz Lenz, concerning the publication of articles against the Zionist movement

Text of the letter:

Rohleben, February 8, 1916

Dear Mr. Hobart,

After having the opportunity to speak with Dr. Pletz yesterday, I can inform you that space has been allocated for an article addressing the hopes and concerns related to the Jewish-nationalist movement in the context of the world war. One page has been reserved for this article in the upcoming issue of the journal. If the manuscript reaches me within six weeks, it may still be published in Issue No. 5 of this year’s volume, as the following issue (No. 6) is already nearing completion.

A general introductory article on the Zionist movement has already been accepted by the journal, written by Klauver, who out of great affection for the subject - composed an impressive and objective analysis. Most important new literature on Zionism has been reviewed by either Klauver or Teilhaber. 

We sincerely appreciate your interest in the journal’s review activity, and I will do my best to accommodate your wishes regarding the subjects you mentioned. The books or topics specifically indicated on your card dated January 30 have already been reviewed or assigned to other reviewers. However, a more extensive package for distribution is expected to be sent out again soon.

With devoted regards,

Yours,

Fritz Lenz״.

The letter is written on the official letterhead of the editorial board of the journal ARCHIV FÜR RASSEN- UND GESELLSCHAFTS-BIOLOGIE EINSCHLIESSLICH RASSEN- UND GESELLSCHAFTS-HYGIENE (Archive for Racial and Social Biology – Including Racial and Social Hygiene), which began publication in 1904, with Lenz serving as its chief editor. This journal was considered one of the primary publications for promoting the ideas of eugenics, genetic selection, and biological race theory.

Fritz Lenz (1887–1976), one of the leading racial theorists in Germany, was a student of Alfred Ploetz. Later, under the Nazi regime, he became a key figure in shaping the so-called scientific racial policy of the Third Reich. Lenz specialized in the transmission of hereditary diseases in humans and in “racial hygiene.” He also served as teacher and mentor to Nazi war criminal Dr. Josef Mengele at the University of Munich. His views were far from theoretical—his ideas deeply influenced the practical policies of the Third Reich. Lenz served as an advisor to senior Nazi institutions and was the one who provided the scientific justification for the Nuremberg Laws. His conception of human beings as instruments for improving the "race, " rather than as individuals with inherent human value, became a cornerstone of Nazi extermination policy. His theories offered scientific legitimacy to Nazi ideology, particularly regarding the superiority of the so-called "Nordic race" and the perverse ambition to eliminate allegedly "inferior" groups of humanity - what was termed "life unworthy of life" (Lebensunwertes Leben). Lenz joined the Nazi Party in 1937, while heading the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics. At the end of the war, he withdrew from public life but was never brought to trial, despite his central role in the development of Nazi racial science. Unlike his colleague Ernst Rüdin, who was labeled after the war as directly responsible for forced sterilization and extermination policies, Lenz managed to portray himself as an "objective" scientist who opposed the Nazis' extreme applications. He died in 1976 at the age of 91, still respected in certain conservative academic circles, and escaped the war without bearing any formal or moral responsibility.

[1] leaf, written on both sides. Fold marks. Good condition.