Hans Betzhold Explained

Hans Betzhold Hess was a Chilean doctor who advocated eugenics^[1] in his 1939 book Eugenesia (Eugenics). He was part of the Second Peruvian Conference on Eugenics held in Peru in 1943.^[2] He proposed a National Eugenics Department be established in Chile.^[3]

He advocated castration as a curative for sexual offenders and sought to eliminate vice and disease by creating a Chilean superman (superhombre) via eugenic selection.^[4] He advocated the use of sterilization to achieve "negative eugenics".^[5]

His book Eugenesia was published by Zig-Zag.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Griegos, latinos y germanos en algunos escritos racistas y eugénicos chilenos de la primera mitad del siglo XX. Pedro López. Casique. Portal de Revistas.
2. Book: Segunda Jornada Peruana de Eugenesia: Lima, 25 a 29 de Mayo de 1943 . 1943 . Impr. Lux .
3. Hans Betzhold and the Chilean "superman:" a tale of disillusion, 1938-1943. Marcelo. Sánchez-Delgado. Nicolás. Cárcamo-Gebhardt. August 22, 2018. Historia, Ciencias, Saude--Manguinhos. 25. suppl 1. 51–68. 10.1590/S0104-59702018000300004. 30133582. 240342118 . free.
4. Book: The Religion of Life: Eugenics, Race, and Catholicism in Chile . 9780822988090 . 25 January 2022 . University of Pittsburgh Press .
5. Book: Valparaíso, la memoria dispersa: Crónicas históricas . 9789560100269 . 2013 . RIL Editores .
6. Web site: Group . PMB . Eugenesia . pmb.parlamento.gub.uy . es . 2022-09-23.