What is "herrenvolk"

Herrenvolk \Her"ren*volk\ (h[e^]r"ren*f[=o]lk`), n. [German.] a race that considers itself superior to all others and fitted to rule the others; -- referred to especially in NAZI racial theories.

Syn: master race.

n. (context Nazism English) master race.

"Herrenvolk" is the fourth season premiere of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on . It was directed by R.W. Goodwin, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "Herrenvolk" featured guest appearances by Roy Thinnes and Brian Thompson, and introduced Laurie Holden as recurring character Marita Covarrubias. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Herrenvolk" earned a Nielsen household rating of 13.2, being watched by 21.11 million people in its initial broadcast.

FBI special agent Fox Mulder ( David Duchovny) is shown more evidence of his sister's abduction by the mysterious Jeremiah Smith (Thinnes) and makes a desperate attempt to rescue her, whilst being pursued by the Alien Bounty Hunter. Mulder's informant X is found out by those he has betrayed—with fatal consequences. "Herrenvolk" is the second part of a two-part episode, continuing the plot from the third season finale, " Talitha Cumi".

"Herrenvolk" saw the death of Steven Williams' character X, and featured the first appearance of Mulder's sister Samantha, a character described by Carter as the "lifeblood" of the series, since the second season premiere, "Little Green Men". The episode featured scenes filmed using swarms of bees, which caused problems due to the difficulty of taming and directing the animals. Other special effects in the episode were achieved through motion control photography.

Herrenvolk, meaning " master race", was a concept in Nazi ideology. It may also refer to:

• Herrenvolk democracy, a term describing a system of ethnocracy that offers democratic participation to the dominant group only
• Herrenvolk (The X-Files), an episode of the TV series