Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes
1922 Nazi book
Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes (English: Racial Science of the German People), is a book written by German race researcher and Nazi Party member Hans Günther and published in 1922. The book strongly influenced the racial policy of the Nazi Party; Adolf Hitler was so impressed by the work that he made it the basis of his eugenics policy. The book had gone through six editions by 1926, and by 1945, more than half a million copies had been sold in Germany.
In the book, Günther recognizes the Germans as being composed of five racial subtypes: Nordic, Mediterranean, Alpine, East Baltic, and Dinaric, viewing Nordics as being at the top of the racial hierarchy. He defines each racial subtype according to general physical appearance and their psychological qualities including their "racial soul" - referring to their emotional traits and religious beliefs, and provides detailed information on their hair color, eye color and skin color, and facial structure. He provides photographs of Germans identified as Nordic in places like Baden, Stuttgart, Salzburg, and Schwaben, and photographs of Germans he identifies as belonging to the Alpine and Mediterranean types, especially in Vorarlberg, Bavaria, and the Black Forest region of Baden.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes” is 1922 Nazi book. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Rassenkunde, deutschen and Volkes, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1922 Nazi book” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 30, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7295222. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1922, 1926 and 1945.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes primary sources, Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes archive and Rassenkunde research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.