Background: Nazi anti-Semitism was one side of Nazi racist thinking. The other side promoted the virtues of the Aryan race. One of the main sources of such literature was the J. F. Lehmanns Verlag in Munich. It was a publisher of racist literature for 50 years before the Nazi takeover, and published some of the Nazi standard works on racial theory. Its monthly magazine Volk und Rasse began publication in 1925. It was a semi-popular publication with articles on various aspects of racial thinking. There was occasional anti-Semitism, but most of the material portrayed the Germanic races in the most favorable light. This page includes visual material from issues in 1936, 1942, and 1943.
Volk und Rasse was aimed at a somewhat more educated audience than Neues Volk, the montly issued by the Nazi Party’s Racial Policy Office.
Material from People and Race
The August 1936 issue has some interesting material on racial exhibitions, as well as articles on the influence of Nordic thinking on Nazi legislation, marriage polices, the resuls of the first three years of Nazi racial educational efforts, and an article on the International Federation of Eugenics Organizations.
An SS officer edited Volk und Rasse, and it mentioned the SS quite often. Here we have a picture of Heinrich Himmler. The quotation beneath the picture says: “The knowledge of race is our German gospel.” This is the first inside page of the January 1942 issue. Articles included “Pictures as a Source of Racial History” and “Acceptable Territorial Space.”
The October 1942 issue shows a model Aryan soldier. “Racial Forces in Hellenic History” and “Jewry as the Embodiment of Deceit.”
The cover of the February 1943 issue has a drawing of an old farmer. The Nazis tended to like pictures either of the young or the old. The old demonstrated tradition. Articles included: “Two Racial Studies in the Generalgouvernement,” “German Farmers in the Ukraine,” and “Romans and Germans.”
This is the cover to the June 1942 issue. Articles in the issue included “On the Practice of Population Policy,” “Labor Psychology from the Racial Standpoint,” and “Is the Shape of the Skull Influenced by the Environment?”
The Nazis devoted a lot of attention to determining the physical appearance of various groups. The caption says: “As long as the German people has racially valuable children, its future is assured.” This is from the June 1942 issue.
Now and again, the magazine considered other races. This is from the March 1942 issue, and shows Gypsies from East Prussia. Articles in the issue included: “German Farmers in the Southeast Danube Regions,” “France’s Battle Against a Declining Birth Rate,” and “Gypsies and Mixed-Race Gypsies in East Prussia.”
