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ideology in which the Nordic race-a branch of what in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth
century taxonomy was called the Aryan race-represented an ideal and pure white race . In Nazi
ideology the Nordic race was the purest example of the original racial stock of those who were
then called the Proto-Aryans,lll whom the Nazis believed to have prehistorically dwelt on the
North German Plain and to have ultimately originated from the lost continent of Atlantis.
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The
Nazis declared that the Nordics (nowadays referred to as the Germanic peoples), were the true
Aryans because they were less racially mixed with "non-native" Indo-European peoples than
other people of what were then called the Aryan peoples (now generally called the Indo–
European peoples), such as the Slavic peoples, the Romanic peoples, and the Indo-Iranian
peoples.lli Based on this claim that the Nordic peoples were superior to all other races, the Nazis
believed they were entitled to expand territorially. lli This concept is known as Nordicism. The
actual policy that was implemented by the Nazis resulted in the Aryan certificate, the one form
of the official document that was required by the law for all citizens of the Reich was the "Lesser
Aryan certificate" (Kleiner Ariernachweis) which could be obtained through an
Ahnenpass
which required the owner to trace their lineage through baptist or birth certificates or certified
proof thereof that all grandparents were of"Aryan descent".
The notion of the Master Race originated from 19th century racial theory, which posited
that there is a hierarchy of races, and that cultures degenerate when distinct races
mix. The bottom of this hierarchy included dark-skinned indigenous peoples, such as
Aboriginal Australians and Native Africans.
The Nazi's considered darker-skinned people
to be mentally and physically inferior to the
European races. The middle of the hierarchy
belonged to Southern Europeans (Spanish,
French, Portuguese,
&
Italians). These
Europeans, with their dark hair and olive
skin, were considered to be only partially–
tainted by mixing with the Untermenschen.
The top of the hierarchy was reserved for the
Aryan races (Germans, Swedes, Icelanders,
Norwegians, Danes, English,
&
Dutch). The
figure of the Ubermensch, with his blonde
hair and blue eyes, was a member of the
superior race which was intended to rule the
earth during the Nazis' so-called "Thousand Year Reich".
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