Fichte and National Socialism

1942 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 460-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. W. Kaufmann
Keyword(s):  
National Socialism ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
German Nation ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
Humanitarian Values ◽  
German People ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
External Form

Next to Hegel and Nietzsche, Fichte is the German philosopher most frequently blamed as one of the principal inspirers of the National Socialist ideologies of state despotism and the superiority of the German people. Indeed, it is not difficult to find in Fichte's work any number of passages which might be interpreted in such a way as to corroborate these views. In the writings of his middle period, around 1800, Fichte arrives at a despotism of reason which in its practical application might be even more consistently restraining than the rule of our modern dictators. In his programmatic speeches for the restoration of the German nation, he ascribes to his people a divine mission which has shocked many of his interpreters. Therefore we cannot be surprised that historians who, in accordance with the demands of their profession, lay more stress on the effects of thoughts and actions than on the intentions which motivate them, attribute to Fichte a good share of responsibility for the ideology of the National Socialist party and its hold on the German people. Yet these historians are right only with regard to the external form, while the intended aims of the two systems of thought are diametrically opposed to one another.On the whole, Fichte is a moral idealist whose principal concerns are the political and inner freedom of the individual, the right and duty of the individual to contribute his best to the welfare and the cultural progress of his nation, the independence of all nationalities, social security, and an acceptable standard of living for every human being. These demands are based on a genuine respect for the dignity of man and the desire to contribute to the rule of humanitarian values in all human relations. The National Socialist, on the contrary, is fundamentally an egotistic materialist, a ruthless Herrenmensch, with a deep-rooted contempt for freedom, equality, and all humanitarian values.

scholarly journals Semantic re-evaluation in the national socialist language and its diction in the right-wing populism

XLinguae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 320-330
Author(s):  
Simona Frastikova ◽  
Miroslava Najslova
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Political Party ◽  
National Socialism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
National Socialists ◽  
Correct Application ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

Language and its correct application is a prerequisite for successful communication, not least for political communication. The main determinant of the success of politicians in elections is, above all, persuasion. It plays an important role in both direct and indirect communication of a political party with voters, and one of the frequent accompanying phenomena in a given communication is the use of language units in accordance with the corresponding ideology of the political party, which we understand in a broader context. A typical example here is the ideology of National Socialism, where it is clear to see how certain words, through semantic re-evaluation, have lost their original meaning and acquired a new one that corresponded to the views of the ruling ideology. However, some of these words are still present in the political discourse of right-wing populists, not least in Austria. It is the right-wing populist party Freedom Party of Austria (German: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) that applies a semantic re-evaluation of language units in its election posters, which either explicitly or implicitly reflects national socialist diction in election campaigns. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the application of semantic reevaluation during the rule of the National Socialists on selected words blood, revolution and socialism and to point out the individual linguistic references of National Socialism with contemporary right-wing populists and in their election posters.

scholarly journals Heidegger’s metapolitics

2016 ◽  
pp. 229-244
Author(s):  
Rastko Jovanov
Keyword(s):  
National Socialism ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Modern Democracy ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
German People

This paper examines Heidegger?s political engagement on the basis of the concept of meta-politics, which Heidegger for the first and only time introduced in his so-called ?Black Notebooks?, written during his 1933/34 Rectorship at the Freiburg University. Through the concept of ?metapolitics?, Heidegger attempts to deconstruct the modern politics by demanding that the theoretical reflections after Hitler's takeover of power in national socialist Germany give priority to the (spiritual) action. Philosophical concepts thereby operate as a ?weapon? in the struggle against modern democracy and are put into service of the German people, understood as ?true community?, which is the only one capable to ask the question of the Being from the horizon of the ?metaphysics as metapolitics?. Heidegger labelled his political engagement as a ?spiritual National Socialism? and tried to implement it through the reshaping of the German educational institutions. Thus, one part of the paper will also examine his understanding of the education as a means of his political engagement. In conclusion, this paper strives to show the ambivalence, agonism and the messianism of Heidegger's philosophical conception of the politics, but also the unavoidable Antisemitism of his theoretical and political engagement.

The German Question

1948 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-126
Author(s):  
Waldemar Gurian
Keyword(s):  
National Socialism ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
German History ◽  
World Peace ◽  
General Development ◽  
Foreign Markets ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
German Question ◽  
German People ◽  
The Right

The extraordinarily difficult, almost exasperating character of the German Question is created by its many various aspects. There is the economic one: what are the relations between German and European, as well as world economies? Would not an economically strong Germany upset foreign markets and make other countries dependent upon her? There is the political issue: what ought to be the position of Germany in Europe? Is Germany able and willing to participate in a balance of power system, or would she invariably try to use her power exclusively for her own advantage? What role will Germany play in the conflict between East and West? There are problems of German internal organizations and frontiers: is a unified Germany not a constant threat to world peace? But does not a dismemberment of Germany create an eternal irredenta? There are moral and intellectual issues: what role has National Socialism played in German history? Will it not come back again, perhaps under another name, as soon as some external restraints are removed? Or is National Socialism, with its aggression and terror, only an accident for which non-Germans are at least as responsible as the Germans themselves? Have we the right to make Germans particularly accountable for a general development which only manifested itself first in Germany, and victimized the German people itself?

scholarly journals Prawo osobowe na ziemiach polskich wcielonych do Rzeszy Niemieckiej podczas drugiej wojny światowej

2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-514
Author(s):  
Tomasz Kruszewski
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Civil Law ◽  
Third Reich ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Third Reich ◽  
New Interpretation ◽  
German People ◽  
The Right ◽  
Subjective Rights

The subject of this article are basic questions within the range of civil law. They concern the general position of a human and legal people in the sphere of this law on Polish territory, which was incorporated into the Third Reich. The position of individuals, the citizens of II RP, under the occupation of the Third Reich in years 1939–1945, is analysed by the author not from the perspective of literal meaning of regulations of general part of Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) from 1896, but from the perspective of their specific interpretation, congruent with strategic and ideological purposes of the Nazi regime. In the article, the following issues are touched upon in turn: 1) personal law in terms of classical civil law contra national-socialist regime; 2) racism towards civil rights of a subjective individual; 3) elimination of the Jews from the legal relationships of civil law; 4) difficulties in the sphere of access to certain professions for Polish people and some restrictions upon personal rights; 5) the dependence of possibilities of exercising the private personal right on the consent to denationalization; 6) ban concerning getting married and the right to motherhood and fatherhood; 7) legislation of sterilisation and euthanasia. The formal changes in the legislation which were in force in the Third Reich — except for personal and family law (as well as legal rules connected with it regarding health protection of offspring), and “peasant law” (Bauernrecht) — were not significant, as is proved by the author. The old legal order was reversed in the Third Reich due to its new interpretation: classical concepts and legal institutions were filled with a different content. After the formal extension of BGB to territories incorporated into the Reich, which followed the decree of 25 September 1941 introducing German civil law, these territories became a field of social-political and racial-nationalist experiments, which in fact had a little in common with the German Civil Code’s regulations. A principle of equal access to private subjective rights was respected only in case of German people, i.a. the part which passively gave up to indoctrination. In relation to Jews, racism spoiled in this case the idea and concept of private subjective rights.

scholarly journals Weimar Culture and the Rise of National Socialism: The Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur

1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan E. Steinweis
Keyword(s):  
National Socialism ◽  
German Economy ◽  
German Society ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Socialist Movement ◽  
German People ◽  
Weimar Culture ◽  
Political Turmoil ◽  
To Receive

Between 1928 and 1932, the National Socialist movement transformed itself from an insurgent fringe party into Germany's most potent political force. The most important factor in this dramatic turnabout in political fortunes was the rapid deterioration of the German economy beginning in 1929. It does not, however, logically follow that the German people simply fell into the lap of the party and its charismatic leader. To the contrary, the party aggressively employed sophisticated propagandistic and organizational strategies for attracting and mobilizing diverse segments of German society. With the onset of the economic crisis, and the consequent social and political turmoil, the party stood ready to receive, organize, and mobilize Germans from all social strata.

scholarly journals German Nationalism and Its Influence on the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland 1917–1939

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43
Author(s):  
Filip Lipiński
Keyword(s):  
World War ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Evangelical Church ◽  
German State ◽  
The First World War ◽  
German Nation ◽  
German People ◽  
German Reich ◽  
First World

The roots of German nationalism among members of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland are bound with the activity of German authorities who tried to separate the German community in the occupied Kingdom of Poland during the First World War. German nationalism of the era was based on religious, social, and political factors, such as the idea of a unified German nation both within and outside of the German Reich. According to this idea, the German state was to be the defender of the German people worldwide. Such ideas woke the separatist tendencies inside the Augsburg Church. The political situation in the Second Polish Republic and spread of the national socialist ideology in the 1930s increased the separatist tendencies in the Church and led to a conflict with its pro-governmental Consistory and the General Superintendent, later Bishop Juliusz Bursche.

Shanti

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koneru Ramakrishna Rao
Keyword(s):  
Immanuel Kant ◽  
The State ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Peace Of Mind ◽  
Perpetual Peace ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Extended Discussion

This chapter contains extended discussion on matters relating to war and peace and the relevance of Gandhi’s ideas to perpetual peace; it reveals how Gandhi’s ideas complement and go beyond those espoused by thinkers like the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. For example, both Kant and Gandhi agree that egoistic tendencies need to be checked and controlled for peace to prevail. Kant hoped that reason would accomplish this because the prohibitive costs of war and destructive potentialities posed by it make war repugnant to reason. Gandhi goes beyond reason to cultivate peace of mind in the place of ‘armed peace’ to get as close as possible to perpetual peace. The state, according to Gandhi, subsists on the power of force and, therefore, it cannot ensure peace. More significantly, Gandhi emphasized non-violence as the right means to achieve peace within the individual as well as between individuals, groups, and states.

Austrian Skiing and National Socialism: Participation Patterns and Fields of Action

STADION ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-337
Author(s):  
Andreas Praher
Keyword(s):  
National Socialism ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Nazi Regime ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
System A ◽  
Specific Focus ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University

The topic of this article is the history of National Socialist Skiing in Austria, as of 1938 called “Ostmark”. Following lines are based on a dissertation which was written and defended at the University of Salzburg in April 2020 and published in November 2021. The history of National Socialist skiing in Austria does not begin with the Anschluss in March 1938. Even before that, large parts of organized skiing were oriented towards the Nazi state. An increasing ideologization of sport led to a policy of exclusion in the ÖSV in the early 1920s, which was reflected in the radicalism of National Socialism. Austrian ski sport officials and activists played an important role in the Nazi regime. Their diverse participation only becomes apparent when their biographies are not only viewed in the context of sporting achievements. The article examines the power structures and scope for action of Austrian skiing before and during the Nazi dictatorship and investigates the extent to which this could become the carrier of the National Socialist injustice system. A specific focus of the article will be on actors, especially on athletes who served in the SA and SS. The analysis focuses on individual patterns of action, participation and interpretation. The individual stories of athletes are intended to illustrate the functioning of the Nazi regime in skiing from a bottom-up-perspective.

The Politics of Repressed Guilt

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Leeb
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Important Addition ◽  
Defensive Mechanisms ◽  
The Right

Through a critical appropriation of Hannah Arendt, and a more sympathetic engagement with Theodor W. Adorno and psychoanalysis, this book develops a new theoretical approach to understanding Austrians’ repression of their collaboration with National Socialist Germany. Drawing on original, extensive archival research, from court documents on Nazi perpetrators to public controversies on theater plays and museums, the book exposes the defensive mechanisms Austrians have used to repress individual and collective political guilt, which led to their failure to work through their past. It exposes the damaging psychological and political consequences such failure has had and continues to have for Austrian democracy today—such as the continuing electoral growth of the right-wing populist Freedom Party in Austria, which highlights the timeliness of the book. However, the theoretical concepts and practical suggestions the book introduces to counteract the repression of individual and collective political guilt are relevant beyond the Austrian context. It shows us that only when individuals and nations live up to guilt are they in a position to take responsibility for past crimes, show solidarity with the victims of crimes, and prevent the emergence of new crimes. Combining theoretical insights with historical analysis, The Politics of Repressed Guilt is an important addition to critical scholarship that explores the pathological implications of guilt repression for democratic political life.

The Language of Ideology: Lingual Manipulation of Readers in German Literature of the Third Reich

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Michael Press
Keyword(s):  
German Literature ◽  
Third Reich ◽  
National Socialist ◽  
Critical Studies ◽  
The Third ◽  
Historical Argument ◽  
Underlying Basis ◽  
The Third Reich ◽  
Post War ◽  
German People

In recognizing more than just hyperbole in their critical studies of National Socialist language, post-war philologists Viktor Klemperer (1946) and Eugen Seidel (1961) credit persuasive words and syntax with the expansion of Hitler's ideology among the German people. This popular explanation is being revisited by contemporary philologists, however, as new historical argument holds the functioning of the Third Reich to be anything but monolithic. An emerging scholarly consensus on the presence of more chaos than coherence in Nazi discourse suggests a new imperative for research. After reviewing the foundational works of Mein Kampf (1925) and Myth of the Twentieth Century (1930), the author confirms Klemperer and Seidel’s claim for linguistic manipulation in the rise of the National Socialist Party. Most importantly, this article provides a detailed explanation of how party leaders employed rhetorical language to promote fascist ideology without an underlying basis of logical argumentation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document