In Nazi Germany (1933–45), the Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases mandated compulsory sterilization for individuals with certain mental and physical health conditions—including manic-depressive disorder (now known as bipolar disorder), deafness, and epilepsy—leading to the forced sterilization of approximately 400,000 people in Germany. The law also created a precedent for forcibly sterilizing racial and ethnic minorities.
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