Freie Univ., Diss.--Berlin, 1997. / Quellen- und Literaturverz. S. 247 - 261.

Zugl.: Wien, Univ., Magisterarbeit, 2005

Universiẗat, Diss., 2002--Bonn.

Diss. Phil.-Hist. Univ. Basel, 2007. - Ref.: Regina Wecker, Volker Roelcke. / "Die Arbeit wurde im August 2007 von der Philosophischen-Historischen Fakultät der Universität Basel als Dissertation angenommen.". - S. 5. Quellen- und Literatur: S: 407-439.

Zugl.: Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2006

Diss.--Fakultät für Geschichtswissenschaft und Philosophie--Universität Bielefeld, Wintersemester 1999/2000. / Bibliogr. p. 493-536. Index.

Univ., Diss.--Würzburg, 2006. / Literaturverz. S. 360 - 384.

Presented Master's thesis deals with euthanasia in the novel "Ikarien" by German author Uwe Timm. The thesis highlights development of its main character Alfred Ploetz, an originator of so-called racial hygiene (German variation of eugenics). Ploetz supported the idea of performing euthanasia on severely disabled people. This was applied at massive scale in Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945. One of the goals of this thesis is to analyze the connection between utopian notions about the creation of a new man, eugenics and euthanasia performed by Nazis, which is reflected in the life of Alfred Ploetz. Furthermore, the thesis aims to give analysis of literary means used for capturing subject matter and compare factual and fictional parts of this historical novel. KEYWORDS Uwe Timm, euthanasia, racial hygiene, eugenics, utopia, science, Alfred Ploetz

In the early 20th century, there were few therapeutic options for mental illness and asylum numbers were rising. This pessimistic outlook favoured the rise of the eugenics movement. Heredity was assumed to be the principal cause of mental illness. Politicians, scientists and clinicians in North America and Europe called for compulsory sterilisation of the mentally ill. Psychiatric genetic research aimed to prove a Mendelian mode of inheritance as a scientific justification for these measures. Ernst Rüdin’s seminal 1916 epidemiological study on inheritance of dementia praecox featured large, systematically ascertained samples and statistical analyses. Rüdin’s 1922–1925 study on the inheritance of “manic-depressive insanity” was completed in manuscript form, but never published. It failed to prove a pattern of Mendelian inheritance, counter to the tenets of eugenics of which Rüdin was a prominent proponent. It appears he withheld the study from publication, unable to reconcile this contradiction, thus subordinating his carefully derived scientific findings to his ideological preoccupations. Instead, Rüdin continued to promote prevention of assumed hereditary mental illnesses by prohibition of marriage or sterilisation and was influential in the introduction by the National Socialist regime of the 1933 “Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring” (Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses).

In the early 20th century, there were few therapeutic options for mental illness and asylum numbers were rising. This pessimistic outlook favoured the rise of the eugenics movement. Heredity was assumed to be the principal cause of mental illness. Politicians, scientists and clinicians in North America and Europe called for compulsory sterilisation of the mentally ill. Psychiatric genetic research aimed to prove a Mendelian mode of inheritance as a scientific justification for these measures. Ernst Rüdin’s seminal 1916 epidemiological study on inheritance of dementia praecox featured large, systematically ascertained samples and statistical analyses. Rüdin’s 1922–1925 study on the inheritance of “manic-depressive insanity” was completed in manuscript form, but never published. It failed to prove a pattern of Mendelian inheritance, counter to the tenets of eugenics of which Rüdin was a prominent proponent. It appears he withheld the study from publication, unable to reconcile this contradiction, thus subordinating his carefully derived scientific findings to his ideological preoccupations. Instead, Rüdin continued to promote prevention of assumed hereditary mental illnesses by prohibition of marriage or sterilisation and was influential in the introduction by the National Socialist regime of the 1933 “Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring” (Gesetz zur Verhütung erbkranken Nachwuchses).