Bruno Beger
An anthropologist who twisted his science into a tool for Nazi ideology, directly participating in the regime's most horrific racial crimes.
1911–2009 (age 98)·German racial anthropologist·Birthday: April 27·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Bruno Beger's story is a chilling case study of how academic pursuit can be perverted by ideology. Trained as an anthropologist and ethnologist, he found a home in the SS's pseudo-scientific research branch, the Ahnenerbe. His 1938-39 expedition to Tibet, alongside Ernst Schäfer, was framed as a search for the origins of the 'Aryan' race, but it involved the meticulous measurement of Tibetan skulls and features to fit Nazi racial theories. Upon returning to Germany, Beger's work grew more sinister. He applied his expertise to help the SS's Race and Settlement Office identify Jews based on physical characteristics. His darkest chapter came in 1943 at the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he helped select 115 Jewish prisoners to be murdered, their skeletons intended for a macabre 'collection' at the Reich University of Strasbourg. After the war, Beger faced minimal consequences for years, a grim footnote in the history of science's collaboration with genocide.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Bruno was born in 1911, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bruno Was Born
The biggest hits of 1911
Bruno's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1911Born
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1916Started school
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1924Became a teenager
First Winter Olympics held in Chamonix, France
President: Calvin Coolidge"It Had to Be You" — Isham Jones
1927Could drive
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1929Could vote
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1932Turned 21
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1941Turned 30
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1951Turned 40
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1961Turned 50
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1971Turned 60
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1981Turned 70
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 80
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2009Died at 98
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
Key Achievements
- Participated as the racial anthropologist on the 1938-1939 Nazi expedition to Tibet, collecting anthropometric data to support Aryan origin myths.
- Worked for the SS Race and Settlement Main Office (RuSHA), using anthropological methods to classify people for racial persecution.
- Selected at least 115 Jewish prisoners at Auschwitz in 1943 to be killed for a planned skeleton collection at the Reich University of Strasbourg.
- Was convicted as an accessory to murder in 1971 for his role in the Auschwitz selections, receiving a light sentence.
Did You Know?
The Tibetan expedition he joined was one of the last major foreign explorations before World War II and was lavishly funded by the SS.
Beger's doctoral dissertation was on the topic of racial typology in the Caucasus region.
He survived the war and worked in the private sector for a mineral water company before being brought to trial in the 1970s.
Much of the photographic and film footage from the Tibet expedition survived the war and is held in archives.
“The skull's measurement is the key to understanding the history of a race.”
