Wilhelm Schallmayer, born February 10, 1857, in Mindelheim and died October 4, 1919, in Krailling, was Germany's first advocate of eugenics who, along with Alfred Ploetz, founded the German eugenics movement. Schallmayer made a lasting impact on the eugenics movement. Early life and academics After graduation from secondary school in 1876, Schallmayer joined the army as a one-year volunteer. However, due to a "loss of fitness for military duty," caused by overexertion from a military exercise, Schallmayer was discharged from the military, and the potential of a military career ended for him. Sheila Weiss wrote that his brief and unhappy experience in the army likely led to his life-long anti-militarism. Schallmayer was the first born of eleven children and was able to attend the university because his father owned a prosperous carriage and wagon business. Prior to studying medicine, Schallmayer studied philosophy and the social sciences. In 1881, Schallmayer enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine in Munich, and in 1883, he passed the state medical examination, becoming a licensed physician. Schallmayer wrote his dissertation while completing his internship at the University of Munich's psychiatric clinic. His dissertation outlined the pros and cons of force-feeding psychiatric patients and was titled The Rejection of Food and Other Disorders Regarding Food Intake by the Insane. It concluded that "mental defectives" must be kept alive. Schallmayer further specialized in urology and gynecology. Heredity and eugenics In 1891, Schallmayer published his first book titled Über die drohende körperliche Entartung der Kulturmenschheit und die Verstaatlichung des ärztlichen Standes, translated Concerning the Imminent Physical Degeneration of Civilized Humanity and the Nationalization of the Medical Profession. The book concluded that modern medicine impeded natural selection by aiding the survival and reproduction of those who are "defectively constituted" or "generally weak;" the increase in mental disorders was due to the inability to adapt to the fast-pace of modern industrial civilization; and degeneration has a high economic cost for caring for the insane. Schallmayer also stated that war has a degenerate effect on the population because the fittest go to war and often die while the unfit, who cannot fight, stay at home and procreate. Schallmayer argued that just as society rightfully invest in the education of children, it should also invest in the heredity of future generations. In 1900, Schallmayer participated in a literary competition and used the theories of August Weismann to support his ideas of human degeneration