Misconceptions of “Race” as a Biological Category: Then and Now

Abstract

The Third Reich’s conception of a race was predicated on the belief that a “race”* was distinguished by a distinct group of genetically transmitted physical characteristics and that the inheritance of a small number of certain physical characteristics, such as white skin, blond hair, and blue eye?, was genetically linked to the inheritance of other traits deemed superior. The Nordic people bearing these characteristics were considered Aryans, or the “Master Race.”