The document is a governmental order by Heinrich Himmler, outlining the rules that must be followed in order for a Schutzstaffel or SS member to be granted permission to marry. It was published as SS order no.65 on December 31st 1931, to be implemented from the following day onwards. The Marriage Order was written by Heinrich Himmler, leader of the SS with help from the agriculturalist R. Walther Darré. The document was intended to be seen by all unmarried members or aspiring members of the SS, as the law applied to everyone associated with the SS, but was extended to other sectors such as the Police force from 1938 onwards. The Marriage order was intended to control SS members’ marriages, thus controlling births so as to produce a racially elite group.
Himmler was appointed the leader of the SS in 1929 a few years before the Marriage Order was published, and was a fundamental …show more content…
Himmler was not the first to regulate a section of the populations’ marital and reproductive decisions; the German Society for Race Hygiene had also implemented a marriage pledge, however, Himmler’s policy was the first to apply eugenics measures to a large group, particularly with the intention of promoting population growth. Marriage was seen as the base point for his population policies, Himmler ordering each SS officer to have at least four children, to combat Germany’s low birth rate, an issue he had previously described in a 1928 letter to his wife as ‘appalling’. Himmler is using the SS as a breeding ground for a new elite German race, and this marriage order begins these ideas. The Marriage Order shows the beginning of Himmler’s eugenics movement, governing the racial criteria for biologically beneficial marriages, in 1933-1934 the racial examination for SS members became more intense and
Himmler was appointed the leader of the SS in 1929 a few years before the Marriage Order was published, and was a fundamental …show more content…
Himmler was not the first to regulate a section of the populations’ marital and reproductive decisions; the German Society for Race Hygiene had also implemented a marriage pledge, however, Himmler’s policy was the first to apply eugenics measures to a large group, particularly with the intention of promoting population growth. Marriage was seen as the base point for his population policies, Himmler ordering each SS officer to have at least four children, to combat Germany’s low birth rate, an issue he had previously described in a 1928 letter to his wife as ‘appalling’. Himmler is using the SS as a breeding ground for a new elite German race, and this marriage order begins these ideas. The Marriage Order shows the beginning of Himmler’s eugenics movement, governing the racial criteria for biologically beneficial marriages, in 1933-1934 the racial examination for SS members became more intense and