Race, Ethnicity and Antisemitism in George Alexis Montandon between Kulturkreislehre, Hologenesis and Mendelism

Abstract

The Swiss anthropologist George Alexis Montandon, professor of ethnology at the École d’ Anthropologie in 1932 and, from 1938, a public representative of the French Antisemitism, is the focus of this paper. Montandon established a peculiar connection between the method and topics of the Kulturkreislehre and the theory of the evolutionary change (Ologenesi) elaborated by the Italian zoologist Daniele Rosa. This connection is crucial for the understanding of the scientific background of Montandon’s career as a professional racist.