Eugenics: The Scientific Scandal That Helped Hitler Murder 300,000 Disabled People
October 16, 2019
(Newsweek) – Eugenics is a concept often associated with the horrors of Nazi Germany. But, as disability rights activist Adam Pearson explores in a new documentary series, the ideology had its roots in 19th century Britain—and still affects people alive today. Known as the “father of eugenics,” British Victorian scientist and statistician Sir Francis Galton developed the since debunked theory that individuals deemed “superior” according to factors such as their race or class could be socially engineered. Those regarded as biologically inferior and “feeble-minded” should, meanwhile, be prevented from having children, he argued.