The racist worldview of the National Socialists was all-encompassing. It was based on a synthesis of biological determinism and Social Darwinism, according to which all human characteristics and modes of behavior were anchored in heredity. Superior races were distinguished by their physical and mental strength. Reproduction with hereditarily inferior peoples “corrupted” their gene pool, and this weakened both the individual and the German national community [Volksgemeinschaft]. As a result, the community was supposedly put at a disadvantage in the ongoing battle of the races.