[Unwanted memory, the Polish eugenic movement in between-the-wars period: side-notes to Krzysztof Kawalec's article]

A polemical response to Krzysztof Kawalec's article 'Dispute over Eugenics in 1918-1939', published in 'Medycyna Nowizytna' ['Modern Medicine'], 2000, vol. 7, fascicle 2. In his article Krzysztof Kawalec overlooks the issue of race, which had been at the centre of the eugenic ideology, and then erroneously situates eugenicists on the political spectrum. The eugenicists were not radicals or totalitarians but constituted a group of leftist-liberal intellectuals. Their views were rejected by the Polish government circles in power at that time, not without the deterring influence of Nazi racism and the opposition of the Catholic Church. The main reason why eugenic notions suffered a defeat in pre-war Poland was the isolation and political weakness of eugenic circles. Therefore, issues relating to Polish eugenics during the two decades between the two World Wars should be consigned to a much greater degree to the realm of learning and social movements rather than to the political sphere.