Master race

A concept in Nazi ideology, which holds that the Germanic and 'Nordic' people are innately superior to all other peoples. It derives from nineteenth century racial theory, in which the idea that a hierarchy of races existed was common. Typically African Bushmen and Australian Aborigines were placed at the bottom of the hierarchy, while white Europeans were placed at the top. The racial theorist Count Gobineau argued that cultures degenerate when distinct 'races' mix. It was also widely believed that southern European peoples were racially mixed with non-Europeans, while Northern Europeans remained 'pure'. Hence in Nazism the racial ideal was the blond blue-eyed Nordic individual. The term Aryan was commonly used to name this ideal. The superiority of these people made then born leaders, or a 'master race.'

Modern genetics has invalidated the biological arguments on which this hierarchical model of race is built.