The following is the chapter "Rassenkarten von Deutschland" (p. 79-81) from Ilse Schwidetzky, Rassengeschichte von Deutschland [Racial history of Germany], in: Rassengeschichte der Menschheit, ed. by Ilse Schwidetzky, 7th inst.: Europa V: Schweiz, Deutschland, Belgien und Luxemburg, Niederlande, Munich/Vienna 1979, p. 45-101, which I translated.
Just take note that the author includes in the following overview only the territory of the FRG, the GDR and Berlin, thus of the current German core state, not the whole ethnic German area and not the eastern expulsion areas.
The geographical variability of characteristics is the basis of racial classifications and also of maps of racial areas. DENIKER (1900) has designed as first a race map of Europe; he did it on the basis of a system of 6 main races and a couple of secondary races, which were described through certain combinations of characteristics. Leading characteristics were here body height, length-breath index and pigmentation, of which the geographical variability by far the most was known. The most known newer racial classifications and race maps, that are that of v. EICKSTEDT (1934) and BIASUTTI (1967), trace back in their fundaments to the classification of DENIKER. But into the verbal descripton of races often also more characteristics go in, which are seen as typical for certain population groups on the basis of contemplation. With such typological leading images of races also in many cases the single individuals were compared at population investigations in Germany and tried to put in the race system.
How does Germany now look on race maps? And do the maps accord with the impression, which the investigators had of certain populations?
The main races which are differentiated by DENIKER, v. EICKSTEDT and BIASUTTI in Europe, are not all well characterized and accepted as systematical categories in the same way. Well characterized are the high-grown, relatively dolichocephalic, fair-pigmented Nordids; the differentiation of two variants, that are more leptosom-narrow-faced Nordids in a narrower sense and bone-robust, broader-faced forms, which are connected with the type of Cromagnon, is accepted in accordance by many anthropologists. The same applies for the relatively small-grown gracile, dolichocephalic, but dark-pigmented Mediterranids, that however play in Germany only a very little role. Also the Dinarids, high-grown-brachycephalic with flat back of the head (planoccipital), mostly brown-eyed and brown-haired and with convex nose, are practicaly not controversal, as this type, similar convincing as the Nordids in Skandinavia, is noticeable in many populations of the Balkan peninsula. On the contrary it was more often doubted, if an Alpine race existed, which is described as relatively small-grown, brachycephalic with rounded back of the head (curvoccipital), low-faced, brown-eyed, brown-haired. Behind all dispute is of course that there are individual combinations of characteristics of that sort. Also the Osteuropids, described as middle- to short-grown, brachycephalic, low-faced and fair-pigmented, became problematical (compare SCHWIDETZKY 1974, p. 76ff.), but they play in today's Germany, just as the Mediterranids, a secondary role.
The Germany section of the European race map of v. EICKSTEDT marks north Germany as spreading area of the Nordids, which expands itself between Elbe and Rhine southwards and includes also the upper Rhine valley. South Germany south of the Danube belongs according to the map to the main spreading area of the Dinarids. The rest of Germany, that is a great part of W?rttemberg, Franconia, Saxony and Thuringia, is given on the map as Alpine.On the European map of BIASUTTI (1967, II, p. 52), northern Germany belongs to the border spreading area of the Nordids in a "zone of fusion of several elements in proportions canging from place t place". The Alpine area is here even more extended. It includes almost whole south Germany. Of Dinarids there is made a note in south Germany only as little disseminations. A border area stretches from south east Europe and Bohemia with a tip into Saxony. For the rest, south Germany and also the southern part of the GDR is recorded as more or less strong Alpine imprinted.
Also at COON (1948) Germany is divided into two parts: into a northern zone, which correspondends all in all to the spreading area of the Nordids at v. EICKSTEDT, but which is declared at COON (after a Danish place of finding) as partly brachycephalized Borreby type, and into the remaining Germany with predominantly Alpine character and some Dinarids (for the Borreby type compare GERHARDT 1969).
Were the hitherto named race maps based above all on the maps of characteristics, where "geographical combinations of characteristics" (comp. SCHWIDETZKY 1974 p. 45) were selected, CZEKANOWSKI (1957) then tried to put the giving of races on a map onto a more objective basis and made use of the approximation method of WANKE. One considers here on the basis of hypothetical race constants and calculates the approximation of a given population to the constants in percent. CZEKANOWSKI worked here on the basis of a system of four race constants: Nordids, Mediterraneans, Armenoids approximately = Dinarids), Laponoids (appr. Alpines). The approximation was calculated on the basis of three indices (length-breah index of the head, morphological face index, nasal index) and hair and eye colours. Of the here reviewed race maps the one of the Polish anthropologist shows he largest extension of the predominantly Nordid characterized area in Germany. It also includes the biggest part of W?rttemberg and parts of north Bavaria, while the biggest part of Baden and the remaining Bavaria are given on the map as areas where the Laponoid elements stands at the first place.For north Germany the picture on the map coincides with the result of local investigations, where the characteristic-statistical statements are placed into the classification system. This applies among other for the Obervieland near Bremen (v. KROGH 1938), the Schlei area (KEITER 1931), the population of the Vogelsberg (RICHTER 1936) and the Rh?n (DAUSACKER 1937, PFISTER 1937, REPPERT 1937). However here repeatedly is drawn attention to a varying in the direction of the broad-headed, broad-faced Cromagnoid type. An exception is SALLER (1930, 1931), who regards the north German populations he investigated as predominantly Osteuropid (East Baltic), but who did this on the basis of a type definition which also fits to the Cromagnoid broad-headed broad-faced combine of characteristics (comp. KEITER 1931).
In south Germany there are several local investigations, where the Dinarid type is put at the first place by the investigators. This applies especially for the rural population of Miesbach (RIED 1930), where however at a third of the Dinarids the pigmentation did not fit to the leadng type, but was fair; for a village on the Schw?bische Alb (BREIG 1935), for the southern Black Forest (SCHAEUBLE 1941); and also for the southern Allg?u (SCHULTZ 1935) and middle Franconia (GRUMMT 1938) a high share of Dinarids was ascertained. An Alpine share is observed by many investigators; but no one puts it at the first place. A strong share for the strucure of the population is assumed for the Black Forest (SCHAEUBLE 1941), for Franconia (GRUMMT 1938, M?SSEN 1937) and for the population of Thuringia (KURTH 1938). But also repeatedly for such areas, which should be according to race maps Alpine, this was rejected decidedly. SCHEIDT (1931) found within the Alemannic peasants at the Lake of Constance "no trace of hint for broad, low faces of a so-called Alpine race", and GIESELER and NECKER (1941, p. 66) say: "The widely circulated idea of a predominance of the Alpine-Ostisch element in W?rttemberg does not correspond to the real stuation."
Race maps and race-typological estimation with local investigations thus correspond well for the northwestern part of north Germany and the southern part of south Germany. On the contrary the Alpine race seems here, just as in the general discussion about the racial structure of Europe, most problematical. Against all race maps there seems to exist no larger region in Germany, where the average picture of characteristics of the population corresponds convincingly to the descriptions of the Alpine type. Properly speaking large parts of Germany have to stay race-typologically unclassified, because there cannot be the predominance of a certain type assumed as in the northern north Germany and in the southern south Germany.
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