Hans F. K. Günther
Hans F. K. Günther | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 February 1891 |
| Died | 25 September 1968 (aged 77) Freiburg, West Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Other names | "Rassengünther" ("Race Günther"), "Rassenpapst" ("Race Pope") |
| Education | Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, University of Vienna |
| Occupation(s) | Physician, writer, eugenicist |
| Employer(s) | University of Jena, University of Berlin, University of Freiburg |
| Known for | Nazi Eugenics, Scientific racism |
| Political party | National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) |
Hans Friedrich Karl Günther (16 February 1891 – 25 September 1968) was a German writer, advocate of scientific racism and eugenicist in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He was also known as "Rassengünther" ("Race Günther") or "Rassenpapst" ("Race Pope"). He is considered to have been a major influence on Nazi racialist thought.
Günther taught at the universities of Jena, Berlin, and Freiburg, writing numerous books and essays on racial theory. Günther's Kleine Rassenkunde des deutschen Volkes ("Short Ethnology of the German People"), published in 1929, was a popular exposition of Nordicism. In May 1930, he was appointed to a new chair of racial theory at Jena. He joined the Nazi Party in 1932 as the only leading racial theorist to join the party before it assumed power in 1933.