Coined in post-World War I Germany, the term Rhineland bastard was used to describe Afro-German children born to German mothers and Black African soldiers who served in the French occupation forces. From the outset, these children were dehumanized, framed as the product of national disgrace, and subjected to racist paranoia. This term, steeped in racism, became a tool for the Nazis to justify the persecution and systematic sterilization of Afro-Germans under their regime.
The roots of anti-Black hysteria in Germany trace back to 1919, when the victorious Allied forces occupied the Rhineland. Among them were French soldiers from Senegal (Senegalese Tirailleurs) and other African colonies, whose presence outraged German nationalists. Over time, some of these soldiers formed relationships with local women, resulting in an estimated 600–800 multiracial children born in the Rhineland during the Weimar era, derogatorily labeled “Rhineland Bastards” by the German press.
For many German politicians, still reeling from the humiliation of World War I, the sight of Afro-German babies was intolerable. Their resentment extended beyond the soldiers to the German women who formed relationships with them, branding these women as race traitors and condemning their children as social outcasts.
These children occupied an uncertain place in German society. While they were discriminated against for their race and parentage, they were not entirely outsiders—most held German citizenship through their mothers. Nonetheless, they faced racism from their neighbours, classmates, and sometimes even their own families. Some remained with their birth mothers or extended families, while others were placed in children’s homes or adopted. Their existence became a symbol of nationalist anxieties about racial purity, foreshadowing the even harsher racial policies that would emerge in the years to come.
By the time Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, this racist obsession had found a place in Nazi ideology. Hitler framed the presence of mixed-race children as part of a Jewish conspiracy, claiming that Jews had intentionally brought Africans into Germany to “bastardize” the white race. This conspiracy theory became the foundation for the Nazi state’s racial policies.
While the infamous Nuremberg Laws of 1935 targeted Jews and other so-called “non-Aryans,” no specific legislation was enacted against Black Germans. However, the Nazis still took direct action. In 1937, the government launched a secret sterilization program targeting mixed-race children, overseen by Eugen Fischer, a racial scientist from the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. Fischer was the same doctor who had conducted human experiments on the Herero and Nama people in Namibia between 1904 and 1908.
Under Fischer’s oversight, Nazi officials compiled lists of Afro-German children and subjected them to forced sterilization under the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring. This law was originally designed to target people with disabilities, but it was soon used to eliminate the reproductive rights of those the Nazis deemed racially “undesirable.” An estimated 800 Afro-German children were forcily sterilized, often without their parents’ knowledge.
Unlike the more widely known Holocaust, the sterilization of Afro-Germans has been largely overlooked, in part because it was done in secrecy.
The sterilization of Afro-German children was more than an assault on their bodies—it was an attempt to erase their existence altogether. Without the ability to reproduce, Afro-Germans were systematically written out of Germany’s future. They were denied the right to marry, denied the right to have children, and ultimately denied the right to belong. This fits into a broader pattern of how the Nazis sought to purify Germany through racial engineering.
Afro-Germans During and After World War II
The fate of Afro-Germans during World War II varied. Some were sent to concentration camps, where they faced forced labor and medical experiments. Others managed to survive by hiding their identities or passing as white. Unlike Jews, Roma, and other groups targeted by the Holocaust, Afro-Germans were not subjected to systematic extermination. However, their persecution under Nazi rule was severe, and many suffered lifelong consequences from sterilization and social exclusion.
After World War II, the persecution of Afro-Germans was largely overlooked. While Jewish Holocaust survivors received reparations and formal recognition, Afro-German victims of Nazi sterilization and persecution were denied both. For decades, their story remained a footnote in the history of the Nazis’ obsession with racial purity. It wasn’t until the late 20th century that historians began to piece together this buried chapter of history, shedding light on the persecution faced by Afro-Germans. Their efforts have helped ensure that the experiences of Afro-Germans under the Nazis are remembered rather than erased.
Sources
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/afro-germans-during-the-holocaust
https://amp.dw.com/en/the-fate-of-blacks-in-nazi-germany/a-5065360
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Racial-mixing-The-children-of-German-women-and-the-African-soldiers-who-participated-in_fig21_273572410
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1256&context=urc
