It is not quite correct to state that Hitler ended the practices of Völkerschau (people exhibition or human zoo). There were a few exhibits during the 1930s such as the traveling Deutsche Afrika-Schau, but these exhibits were a shadow of what they were both in total numbers and attendance compared to the earlier Wilhelmine era. It is more accurate to say that such exhibitions declined during the Third Reich, but their decline was not a direct result of Nazi policies. The decline of the Völkerschauen had a number of well-springs, only one of which was increasing state interference into this aspect of German leisure.

One of the main problems for the interwar Völkerschauen was that their main patron, the various zoos of Germany, had intellectually moved on from such exhibits. Zoos in the mid-nineteenth century were in many respects not that much different from a typical Völkerschau in that they were much more focused on displays of exotic creatures than they were in scientific matters or the recreation of habitats. Zoological science and displays were however growing increasingly professional and scientifically-orientated by the turn of the century and this accelerated in the interwar period. Various zoo directors whose predecessors might have fit in a Völkerschau exhibit began to look askance at the more carnivalesque and unscientific aspects of human zoos. While some Völkerschau tried to present themselves as providing an anthropological service, a good many of them had more in common with the likes of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show or PT Barnum than the increasingly straight-laced zoos. German zoos were among the forefront of transforming zoos from displays of captive animals into recreations of habitat and new ways for viewers to interact with these displays. Ironically, many Völkerschau often presaged this movement towards artificial veracity by trying to recreate natives' habitats in their displays. But the more vulgar and carnival-barking aspects of the Völkerschau were too gauche for many zoo directors to accept.

There were also fiscal incentives for the decline of the Völkerschauen. Bringing over groups of non-Europeans was time-consuming and finding venues was expensive. The growth in visual media provided a much cheaper alternative to setting aside physical space for a Völkerschau exhibit. There were a number of German magazines, including ones affiliated with the NSDAP like the BdM's Mädel - eure Welt!, that could feature ethnographic displays of the non-European other. The cinema was one of the more salient of the Völkerschau's new rivals as documentaries could show such non-Europeans in situ for a fraction of the cost of putting on a Völkerschau. Other escapist films also catered to desires to see non-Europeans and exotic locales. Although American imports like the Tarzan series or King Kong sometimes had to fight Nazi censors, they did make their way into German screens in the 1930s.

All this said, the Hitler government though was not too thrilled with the ideas of Völkerschauen roaming around Germany. For all their leering racism, condescending attitudes towards non-European, the exaltation of exoticism, and other deeply problematic aspects, some Völkerschau did posit something of a common humanity between peoples. A number of Völkerschau stars in the Wilhelmine era did settle in the country and acclimated well to German culture and life during their off hours. Some American Indians from Buffalo Bill's show commented positively on the quality of German beer and food, a facet of the show's German tour that a number of German papers commented favorably upon. A Völkerschau exhibit also raised the question of what exactly happens to the exhibits both during off hours and when the exhibit closes. Some of the Wilhelmine era stars actually stayed within Germany after their exhibitions folded. This was the main concern of the state authorities of the Third Reich in that these non-Europeans would both exploit their celebrity during their tour and then remain in Germany after the exhibit. The increasing regulation of Deutsche Afrika-Schau was part of a larger crackdown by the Third Reich on non-European performers such as musicians or circus actors.

There was one aspect of Nazi crimes against humanity that was in ideological sync with the worst aspects of the Völkerschauen. There were plans made during the Holocaust to preserve some physical remains of Jews as well as aspects of Judaica for a postwar museum of Jewish culture. Likewise, there were also moves to preserve the skulls of Soviet commissars for future scientific study of "Judeo-Bolshevist" racial types. The latter endeavor was brought up during the Doctor's Trial postwar and fed into various postwar stories of the serial killer-like displays of Jewish corpses (eg human skin lampshades, etc. ). These preservation efforts did encounter some resistance within the Nazi state apparatus. The planned Jewish museum encountered a good deal of internal friction within the state and the deteriorating war situation made sure the debate was never settled. But the very idea of presenting an anthropological other to be gawked at and consumed was in keeping with some of the more racist elements of the Völkerschau exhibits.

The linked BBC piece is not quite correct to say that Hitler ended the Völkerschau. The movement itself had seen its day by the 1930s as there were much more cost-effective alternatives to sate the Western public's desire for the experience of other peoples. The Third Reich certainly facilitated the exhibits' demise through increased regulation, but this was related to anxieties about racial intermingling rather than the precepts of anthropological otherness that underpinned the Völkerschauen.

Sources

Aitken, Robbie John Macvicar. Black Germany: The Making and Unmaking of a Diaspora Community, 1884-1960. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Bruce, Gary. Through the Lion Gate: A History of the Berlin Zoo. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Zimmerman, Andrew. Anthropology and Antihumanism in Imperial Germany. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.