ABSTRACT
The history of race relations in twentieth-century Europe shows remarkable change as well as deep layers of continuity and persistence. The first postcolonial generation of black Europeans finds itself in most settings to be the only one, or one of the very few. After the number of Europeans studying race, color, and human variety had increased rapidly during the nineteenth century, anthropologists and sociologists developed international networks of scientists. Eugenics scholarship focused on what could 'improve' mankind, by means such as selective sterilization and prohibitions of marriage in the case of certain genetic risks. The belief in white supremacy and superiority was taken for granted by most white Europeans. In contrast to the situation in the Americas, European anti-black racism appeared to remain more indirect. During World War II, concern about the exclusion and persecution provoked new research about and against racism.
