TheNZThrower
Active Member
According to right-wing pundit Matt Walsh, Hirschfield endorsed eugenics:
His last statement being one that implies that Hirschfield was rather chum with the Nazis.
That aside, according to the USHMM, Hirschfield's views on eugenics were a bit more nuanced than Matt Walsh would suggest:
In addition, the USHMM also noted that if anything, the Nazis objected to Hirschfield and his research, with him being Jewish and gay of course.
The Nazis hated Hirschfeld for his pacifism, his Jewish ancestry, and his ideas about sex, gender, and sexuality.
The Nazis destroyed his institute and much of his work per the USHMM:
In the end, Matt Walsh is using out of context facts and framing them in a way to imply that Hirschfield's views on eugenics necessarily invalidate transgender healthcare and his work on transgender patients.
His last statement being one that implies that Hirschfield was rather chum with the Nazis.
That aside, according to the USHMM, Hirschfield's views on eugenics were a bit more nuanced than Matt Walsh would suggest:
The racial hierarchy aspect being the main form of eugenics that the Nazis endorsed. That aside, Hirschfield's views on eugenics were a result of him being a product of his time, as the USHMM noted that many scientific researchers contemporary to Hirschfield in various unspecified fields held similar views.Like many scientists of his time, Hirschfeld was influenced by theories of eugenics. While he disagreed with some aspects of eugenics, he supported others. For example, Hirschfeld rejected ideas about racial hierarchy. However, he did accept the idea that people diagnosed with chronic alcoholism or certain mental disabilities should not reproduce.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/magnus-hirschfeld-2
In addition, the USHMM also noted that if anything, the Nazis objected to Hirschfield and his research, with him being Jewish and gay of course.
When Hirschfeld returned to Europe in 1932, he received threats and warnings to stay away from Germany. The growing influence of the Nazi Party made Germany a potentially dangerous place for him. Nazi propagandists used him as a prime example of what they called degenerate Jewish sexuality...
The Nazis hated Hirschfeld for his pacifism, his Jewish ancestry, and his ideas about sex, gender, and sexuality.
The Nazis destroyed his institute and much of his work per the USHMM:
However, it appears that per an interview with the Xtra Magazine, Hirschfield apparently did hold some racist views according to German Sexologist Laurie Marhoefer.On May 6, 1933, a Nazi student group marched to the Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin. With members of the SA, they ransacked the institute and looted its library and archives. Days later, the stolen books, artifacts, and clinical files were destroyed in one of several public book burnings organized across Germany. A bust of Hirschfeld was paraded through the streets on a stick before being thrown onto the bonfire. Within months, Nazi authorities forced the Institute for Sexual Science to close.
This does not contradict the USHMM, but rather elaborates with a bit more nuance on the specifics of Hirschfield's views on race.His racism is very complicated, because he does say repeatedly that he’s against racism, and he does have some really inspiring moments where he denounces racism. So I think people got thrown by that. But he’s against scientific racism. He’s against some kinds of racism and not others.
https://xtramagazine.com/culture/books/racism-gay-rights-hirschfeld-225917
In the end, Matt Walsh is using out of context facts and framing them in a way to imply that Hirschfield's views on eugenics necessarily invalidate transgender healthcare and his work on transgender patients.
