Titled “Hitler’s Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress,” the book is the fourth by Weikart who has focused his research on Hitler’s Germany regarding its approach to social Darwinism as well eugenics, the study and practice of selective breeding applied to humans to improve the species.
In his new book, Weikart helps unlock the mystery of Hitler's evil by vividly demonstrating examples of the German leader’s immorality. Weikart delves into how Hitler was inspired by evolutionary ethics to pursue the utopian project of biologically improving the human race. The author’s research demonstrates that Hitler's evolutionary ethic influenced almost every major feature of Nazi policy: eugenics (i.e., measures to improve human heredity, including compulsory sterilization), euthanasia, racism, population expansion, offensive warfare, and racial extermination. Weikart notes in his book that Hitler also believed that morality was a characteristic that people were biologically born with, so he thought that eliminating what he repeatedly described as the "evil" Jews would bring moral progress to the world.
Weikart’s book has drawn the praise of other authors at the international level who have written about Hitler. His research expertise also led to an appearance in the 2008 Ben Stein movie “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.” Weikart was named CSU Stanislaus Outstanding Research, Scholarship and Creativity Professor in 2005.