PT Journal AU Gmeiner, L TI Bevölkerungspolitik im Nationalsozialismus: der Verein „Lebensborn“ SE Sozial.Geschichte Online: Zeitschrift für historische Analyse des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts PD 02 PY 2024 BP 11 EP 32 VL 2024 IS 37 DI 10.17185/duepublico/82543 LA de AB This text analyses the role of “Lebensborn e. V.”, a Third Reich institution founded by Heinrich Himmler in 1935 to serve National Socialist population policy. Its aim was to promote “racially valuable” offspring. The essay analyses the effects of “Lebensborn e. V.” on the individuals associated with it in three main categories: Vergemeinschaftung, Kinderraub and “Ausmerze”. By analysing sources from the Arolsen Archives and the archives of the district of Upper Bavaria, the practice of Lebensborn and the reactions of the people involved are illuminated. From a micro-historical perspective, the text reflects on the leeway of the staff and the population. Overall, it shows how Lebensborn tried to shape the National Socialist “Volksgemeinschaft” and how it influenced the lives of those concerned. ER