(Exhibition text in English, referring to a QR code in the exhibition)
Eugenics is a new, international and modern scientific field. The idea of creating better humans by eliminating hereditary traits that weaken a ‘race’ leads to the foundation of the National Institute of Racial Biology in Uppsala in 1921. By preventing people with certain medical conditions or unsuitable lifestyles from having children, the aim is to create a stronger, more superior population.
The free-spirited, independent attitudes associated with the 1920s do not extend to views on sex. Extramarital pregnancy is unacceptable, and abortion is illegal. Women’s (and men’s) bodies are considered a matter of public debate. The same pioneers that advocate the right to contraception and abortion also promote forced sterilisation.