How were the ideas of Darwin and Herbert Spencer adopted by Hitler or Nazis? Explain.
Hitler’s racism was borrowed and influenced from thinkers like Charles Darwin (1809-1882) and Herbert Spencer (1820-1903). In 1859, Darwin published the book ‘Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’ in which he proposed a theory of evolution by the process of natural selection. But he never advocated human intervention in what he thought was a purely natural process of selection. His ideas were used by racist politicians to justify imperial rule over conquered people.
Herbert Spencer was deeply influenced by Charles Darwin and gave the idea of 'Survival of the Fittest’ in his book, 'Principles of Biology’. According to Spencer, only those species could survive on Earth that could adapt themselves to changing climatic conditions. Adopting Spencer’s idea, the Nazi government suggested that the strongest race, i.e. Nordic German Aryans would survive and the weak ones would perish. In this way the ideas of Darwin and Herbert Spencer were adopted by the Hitler or Nazis.