TheyLovedBloodand Soil but Not the Mind 211competeagainstweedsfor nutrientsin the soil.Shouldthe weedsusurpeverylast nutri-
ent, theyleavenothingfor the crops,whichdie. Therefore,farmershavehad to develop
methodsfor killingthe weeds.Fromthe late nineteenthcenturyto early1900s,farmers
appliedarsenicandothertoxicmetalsto the soil to kill the weeds.Proctorapplaudsthe
Nazisfor enactingmeasuresto prohibitthe applicationof thesetoxicmetalsas herbi-
cides.^62 Yet Universityof HoustoneconomistThomasR. DeGregorinoticesthat the Nazis
werereallynot trailblazersin this regard.“By the 1930s,” he notes,“arsenic’s harmfulness
wasobvious.TheNazianti-arsenicmovementwasby no meansspecial.” Indeed,the
syntheticliquidherbicidesappliedfromthe 1950sto the presentwereintroducedprecise-
ly to replacethe toxicmetalsthathadpreviouslybeenappliedas herbicides—metalsfar
moretoxicthanthe liquidherbicidespresentlyutilized.Therefore,saysDeGregori,“to
liken,as Proctorhas tacitlydone,the Nazioppositionto the agriculturaluse of arsenicto
the present-dayoppositionto the agriculturaluse of modernpesticides—whichhave
obviatedthe use of theirhighlytoxicforerunners—is ridiculous.”^63
Indeed,just as the SovietUniondid in its governmentalsupportof TrofimLysenko’s
illogicaleugenics,the ThirdReichdisbursedtax fundingto outrightpseudoscience,in-
cludingfaithhealing.TheNazigovernmentprovidedexpendituresto HansLöhr, the
medicaldirectorof the UniversityHospitalof the Universityof Kiel,to remuneratehim
for spoutingthis sort of romanticistnonsense:“The conceptof an ‘unbiasedand objective’
science,aimingat ‘absolutetruth’ basedon purereason,whicharosein the [less-regulat-
ed] liberalisticperiod” of the eighteenthandnineteenthcenturies,has “entirelylost its
reasonand justificationfor existing.... Sincethe ultimateprocessof life can neverbe fully
explainedthroughcausal-mechanicalanalyses,the questionariseswhetherthe physi-
cian...maynot alsohaveat his disposalsomeothermeansof knowledge.At oncesuch
conceptsas... intuitionspringto mind.” Datagatheredthroughsensory“experienceis
deceptive.” Andanother“questionis whetherintuitionis reallya newkindof knowl-
edge.. .” Löhr statesthis positionin an officialNazigovernmentdocument,Aboutthe
Positionand Roleof Medicinein the NationalSocialistState. In thissamedocument,Löhr
concedesthatsupernaturalfaithhealingis a legitimatemedicalpractice,andthatfor
medicaldoctorsto executelife-and-deathdecisionsaccordingto “intuition” is no less
soundthat goingby empiricallydemonstrablefacts.^64
Alongwiththeircolleagues,ChristianPross—medicaldirectorof the BerlinCenterfor
the Treatmentof TortureVictims—andhistorianGötz Aly pointout “the preferenceof
earlyNazihealthpolicy” overunscientific,romanticistalternative“holisticmedicine...
overdecadent,Jewish”—translation:empiricallysubstantiated—“medicine.”^65 Among
thesealternativehealingtechniqueswerethoseinspiredby RudolfSteiner’s anthroposo-
phy.“Anthroposophicalmedicine,” writesMarquetteUniversityhistorianPeterStauden-
maier,“... wassponsoredby the NaziParty’s MainOfficefor PublicHealth,andthe
anthroposophistphysicians’ organization,the Leaguefor BiodynamicHealing,wasa
centralmemberof the officiallysanctionedReichCommitteefor a NewGermanArt of
Healing.BiodynamictreatmentsandWeledaproductswereavidlypromotedin various
Nazicontexts.”^66
NoteveryNaziofficerandnot everyNazienvironmentalistendorsedSteiner’s farm-
ing methods.Someof themapproachedit guardedly,as theyknewof Steiner’s connec-
tionto occultisttheosophy.TheseNazisdistrustedanythingforeign,andthereforethey
lookedaskanceat the Asianinfluenceovertheosophy.Nonetheless,Germanfollowersof
Steiner’s biodynamicagriculturemovementconvinceda largeenoughnumberof promi-
nentNazisto ensurethatentiregovernmentagenciesof the ThirdReichappliedsuch
methodsin theirfarmingprojects.Throughoutthe 1920s,anthroposophistErhardBartsch
advisedotherGermanson biodynamicfarming,andin 1934the ThirdReich’s interior
minister,WilhelmFrick,soughtBartsch’s counsel.Bartschsaidhe reviledthe “American-