Interesting subject, thanks for your input.
I have my 2 cents about it though. Nietzsche was indeed often mentioned in German circles at the time, particularly through the word Ubermensch; but this took on a different dimension when a certain Englishman got hold of it and changed the rules a bit.
As shown in one of your quotes, Nietzsche's Ubermensch most important characteristic is the quality of his soul. This is indeed where Nietzsche alludes to human inequality, a touchy subject for modern Western liberal society, but the Germans at the time took it in a very material, racial sense. And they got this idea mostly from Lothrop Stoddard, who wrote a book called 'The revolt against civilization; the menace of the Under-man'.
Under-man=Untermensch. Stoddard rolled with Nietzsche's definitions, but changed them along the way to strictly racial view, where white civilization should be preserved over the rise (in numbers) of the non-whites. Stoddard was no fan of Jews either.
Good review, hope to see you do more of this kind of stuf in the Book-review section.
Thanks for the reference to Lothrop Stoddard. New to me, although I have done a bit of reading on the eugenics movement in the U.S. Some very 'respectable', mainstream voices were active in it. As a matter of fact, no lesser voice than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes gave it legitimacy in 1927 when he declared from the Supreme Court bench, "Three generations of imbeciles is enough" (Bell v Buck). With that judgement he gave his blessing to forced sterilization.
Stoddard, unfortunately, sounds very contemporary. I hear such sentiments expressed daily in public forums (in the U. S. ).
I appreciate that you read my blog and took the time to offer such a thoughtful answer. Hivebookclub is my kind of environment :) I love reading, history, research, ideas, etc. The next time an idea or book grabs my attention as this one did, I will post again.
Regards,
AG