# Eugen Fischer's Rehoboth Study (1906)

URL: https://allhistories.com/namibia/timeline/1906-eugen-fischer-s-rehoboth-study
Location: Rehoboth, Namibia
Themes: main-event

In 1906 the German anthropologist Eugen Fischer carried out fieldwork in South West Africa on the Rehoboth Basters, descendants of European men and Khoekhoe women. He was supported by the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences. His book, Die Rehobother Bastards und das Bastardierungsproblem beim Menschen, was published in 1913. A 1908 date is sometimes given, but the Wikipedia article gives 1906 and 1913. Fischer argued that people of mixed descent might be useful to Germany but should not continue to reproduce, and he called for a ban on mixed marriages. The Wikipedia article says he collected bones and skulls, partly from African prisoners of war during the genocide, and that the study included human experimentation on Herero and Nama people. Fischer later became a prominent figure in Nazi racial science. Wikipedia describes the Rehoboth study as a precursor to his later work on Jews and says his ideas influenced the Nuremberg Laws of 1935. Some skulls were returned to Namibia from German institutions in 2001. The study is cited by historians who trace links between colonial racism and later ideologies. At this point in the timeline (1906), Friedrich von Lindequist (Nov 1905 – 20 May 1907) held the post of Governor in the German colony of South West Africa; Samuel Maharero (1890 – 1917) was Paramount Chief of the Herero.

## Why it matters
The study linked colonial violence to racial science and to later Nazi ideas.

Ruler at the Time: [Friedrich von Lindequist](https://allhistories.com/namibia/rulers/friedrich-von-lindequist-1905)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Eugen Fischer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Fischer)
- [Wikipedia — Shark Island Concentration Camp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_Island_Concentration_Camp)
- [Wikipedia — Rehoboth Basters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rehoboth_Basters)