The movement that inspired the Holocaust - Alexandra Minna Stern and Natalie Lira

翻译人员: 新 陈 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

As a new widow, Sarah Rosas Garcia

丈夫新丧，萨拉·罗萨斯·加西亚 （Sarah Rosas Garcia）

was already struggling to support her nine children

抚养九个孩子已是十分不易，

when her oldest daughter was picked up by local authorities.

她的长女又被地方政府盯上了。

Andrea Garcia had been accused of skipping school

安德莉亚·加西亚 （Andrea Garcia）被指控逃学

and being sexually promiscuous,

和淫乱，

so the authorities responsible for juvenile delinquents

负责管理少年犯的政府部门因此

committed her to a state hospital.

将她送往州立医院。

After being administered an IQ test and assigned a low score,

在她按要求完成智力测验 并被判低分后，

the doctors made their verdict.

医生们宣布了结果。

They told Sara her 19-year-old daughter would be sterilized

他们告诉萨拉她 19 岁的女儿 会被实施绝育手术，

to prevent passing on what the state saw as a mental deficiency.

以免将在该州被视为 “存在心理缺陷”的基因遗传给下一代。

This horrific tale may sound like a story from an authoritarian regime.

这个故事听起来耸人听闻， 就像是在专制政权下才会发生的事。

But in fact, it took place in Southern California in 1938.

但它确实在 1938 年的南加州真实上演过。

And Andrea Garcia was one of thousands of poor women of color

数千名有色人种贫困女性 都是该州残酷优生运动的受害者，

targeted by the state’s relentless campaign of eugenics.

安德莉亚·加西亚只是其中一员。

Since ancient Greece, there have been efforts to control human populations

从古希腊开始， 人们就通过节制生育控制人口，

via reproduction, retaining some traits and removing others.

延续或截断某些基因的遗传。

But in the 19th century, the discovery of evolution and genetics

19 世纪，进化论的提出和遗传学的发展

inspired a new scientific movement dedicated to this endeavor.

诱发了一场致力于 将之付诸实践的科学运动。

In 1883, British scientist Sir Francis Galton

1883 年，英国科学家 弗兰西斯·高尔顿爵士（Sir Francis Galton）

named this idea eugenics,

将这一想法命名为优生学，

drawn from the Greek word for “to be well born.”

取自希腊语“优生”。

This wave of modern eugenicists included prominent scientists

这波现代优生学家 包括一些杰出的科学家和

and progressive reformers who believed they could improve society

改革派人士，他们坚信 只要确保好的基因得到遗传

by ensuring that only desirable traits were passed down.

就能借此改造社会。

However, their definition of what traits were and were not desirable

然而，他们对好特质的定义

was largely determined by the prejudices of their era.

很大程度上受时代偏见的局限。

Entire categories of people were considered “unfit” for reproduction,

被他们认为是“不适合生育”的人

including immigrants, people of color and people with disabilities.

包括移民，有色人种和残障人士。

Meanwhile, their ideal genetic standard reflected the movement’s members:

而他们心中理想的基因标准 则反映了这场运动参与者的身份：

white Europeans of Nordic or Anglo-Saxon descent.

有北欧或安格鲁-撒克逊 血统的欧洲白人。

As the influence of eugenics spread in the early 20th century,

20 世纪早期，优生学影响范围更广。

many countries restricted immigration and outlawed interracial unions.

当时很多国家都限制移民， 禁止跨种族通婚。

These measures to improve so-called “racial hygiene”

这些实现所谓的“种族优生”的举措

were taken to their horrific conclusion in Nazi Germany.

使得德国的纳粹分子 得出了令人瞠目结舌的结论。

The Nazi eugenics campaign systematically killed millions of Jews,

纳粹优生学运动系统性地 杀害了数百万犹太人，

as well as individuals from other groups,

以及其他群体的人们，

including Roma, gay men, and people with disabilities.

包括罗姆人，男同性恋以及残障人士。

Outside their extreme brutality, however,

且不论其残暴程度，

Nazi eugenic policies reflected similar standards across the globe.

纳粹优生政策其实是 当时全球优生标准的缩影。

Throughout the mid-20th century,

整个 20 世纪中期，

many countries enacted eugenics policies,

很多国家实行优生政策，

and governments in Sweden, Canada, and Japan

瑞士、加拿大、日本三国政府

forcibly sterilized thousands of individuals.

强行对数千人进行了绝育。

Sterilization was exceptionally common in the US.

绝育在美国尤为普遍。

From 1907 to 1979,

1907 至 1979 年间，

US policies enforced the sterilization of over 60,000 people,

政策要求下，超过 6 万人被强制绝育，

with 32 states passing laws that mandated sterilization

当时 32 个州通过了

for men and women deemed “mentally defective.”

对“有心理缺陷”的男女 进行强制绝育的法案。

This label was typically applied based on superficial mental health diagnoses

只进行简单的心理健康诊断和智商测验，

and the results of IQ tests,

就依据结果给人贴上这样的标签，

which were linguistically and culturally biased against most immigrant populations.

而这些测试往往展现出对大多数移民 语言或文化上的偏见。

These racist standards were particularly problematic in California.

在加州，这些种族歧视性的标准 问题尤为突出。

From 1920 to 1945, Latina women were 59% more likely to be sterilized

1920 至 1945 年，拉丁裔的女性 比其他女性接受绝育手术的概率

than other women.

要高出 69%。

And the rate of sterilizations in California was incredibly high—

加州的绝育率非常之高——

this single state performed over one third of the country’s sterilization operations.

仅仅在加州进行的绝育手术 就超过了全国绝育手术总数的三分之一。

Such was the case of Andrea Garcia,

这就是安德莉亚·加西亚的故事，

whose story reflects thousands of individuals with similar fates.

她的故事是成千上万个个体的缩影。

With the help of famed civil rights lawyer David Marcus,

在知名民权律师大卫·马库斯 （David Marcus）的帮助下，

Andrea’s mother argued that California’s sterilization law

安德莉亚诉称加州的绝育法案

violated the US Constitution,

违反了美国宪法，

depriving Andrea of her rights to equal protection under the law.

剥夺了宪法保障的安德莉亚 受法律平等保护的权利。

However, while one of the three judges overseeing the case voted to spare Andrea,

但是，负责该案的三位法官中

the other two did not.

只有一位赞成释放安德莉亚。

Records suggests it’s possible Andrea escaped the impending surgery,

从当时的记录来看，安德莉亚 很可能逃过了即将面临的手术，

but many more victims of these policies did not.

但其他受这些政策迫害的人 就没有这么幸运了。

Although eugenics acquired negative connotations

尽管经历了二战的恐怖后，

after the horrors of World War II,

优生学被赋予消极内涵。

many of its practices, including sterilization, continued for decades.

其推行的许多做法，如绝育手术， 仍然持续了数十年。

By the late 1960s, research into human genetics was more nuanced,

20 世纪 60 年代末， 针对人类基因的研究发生了细微变化。

and bioethics had begun to blunt eugenics’ influence.

生物伦理学开始削弱优生学的影响力。

Yet Sweden and the US continued to pursue involuntary sterilization

而瑞典和美国仍然坚持强制绝育政策

well into the 70s.

直至 70 年代。

Finally, class action lawsuits and protest marches in the US galvanized lawmakers,

最终，美国国内的集体诉讼 和示威游行震惊了立法者，

and California’s sterilization laws were finally repealed in 1979.

加州最终于 1979 年废止绝育法案。

Unfortunately today,

不幸的是，

the legal and illegal sterilization of many oppressed communities

对被压迫群体实施合法 或非法绝育手术的现象，

still continues around the globe.

在当今世界依然存在。