Statens institut för rasbiologi

The State Institute for Racial Biology ( Statens institut för rasbiologi, Rasbiologiska institutet, SIFR ) was founded in 1922 at the University of Uppsala race biological institute. The application of the law creating this world's first scientific racial-biological institute had been introduced by representatives of different persuasions party in the Swedish Parliament.

Formation

1909 Swedish Society for Racial Hygiene (Svenska för Sällskapet rashygien ) was founded for the purpose of eugenic research. The idea of eugenics was popular only after the end of World War II in Sweden. To the Company network made ​​up of individuals who sought the establishment of a State Institute for Racial Biology and a law for " eugenic sterilization ", including Herman Nilsson - Ehle, Nils Wohlin, Nils von Hofsten, Herman Lundborg, Alfred Petrén and Elis Essen- Möller. In 1918, the company organized a traveling exhibition for racial hygiene " folktyputställning " ( "people - type exhibition" ) through various people places. In the same year suggested Frithiof Lennemalm, head of the Karolinska Institute, the Nobel Foundation should fund an institute for racial biology. The Nobel Committee for Medicine approved the unanimous, while the staff of the Karolinska Institute with 9 votes to 8 just voted against it. Instead, it was now proposed that the Swedish state should establish and fund an Institute.

The 1921 introduced into the first chamber of the Swedish Parliament legislative proposal for the creation of a state institution was signed by the Social Democrats and race theorist Alfred Petrén and next to others of the later trade and finance Nils Wohlin. In the second chamber, a proposed law on the same subject was raised with regard to the introduced of Petrén matter. The second application was signed by, among others, Hjalmar Branting and Arvid Lindman. Petrén could claim in his application to the statements of racial theorists and biologists such as Carl Magnus Prince, Torsten Thunberg, Herman Lundborg, Nils von Hofsten and Nils Heribert - Nilsson, who set the required establishment of such an institute scientifically. The first director after the establishment of the institute was Herman Lundborg.

Activity

The official goal of the Institute was to study the population of Sweden according to racial criteria. The Institute examined living and environmental conditions of different families. It tries to explain the effect of biological inheritance and environmental influences on the people was. In addition, mental illness, alcoholism and crime have been investigated.

The Institute published 1922 panels to describe a " pure Swedish race." These plates were later used for the assessment basis for coercive sterilizations were carried laws of 1934 and 1941 to a part of the Swedish Eugenikprogrammes. Victims of forced sterilizations were people with intellectual disabilities, " Multiracial, single mothers with restless lifestyle, unemployed, gypsies and other otherness. "

The Swedish eugenicist exchanged brisk with German colleagues. So many Swedes worked at the International Society for Racial Hygiene at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics, while many German speakers were guests at the Institute of Uppsala.

End of the institute

In 1958 the Institute was replaced by the institutions promote medicinisk genetics (Institute of Medical Genetics ), which forms a department of the University of Uppsala today.