Historical story

Asian Pan-Germanism and the philosophy of race - or how the idea of ​​German nationalism was formed

The Nazis are commonly associated with the Aryan master race, whose task was to dominate the less perfect subhumans. But not everyone knows where this idea came from! This is the shortened path to the ideology that led to the mass extermination of nations.

The formation of German nationalism was an extremely long and complicated process. The administratively divided state was also divided linguistically. The two main dialects, Low German and High German, began to blur with the publication of the Luther Bible, i.e. from 1522. However, this work - apart from favoring the Upper German dialect - influenced the Germans also in another way.

Another one has added to the number of divisions that already exist in Germany. The state split religiously. Moreover, the linguistic dialects have never completely disappeared and are clearly visible to this day. Germany continued for many years in this "lethargy of division". Until the neighboring countries began to become powers.

Germanic awakening

The moment of the nation's awakening was associated with the emergence of nationalist distortions, which, in turn, slowly began to be reflected in other areas of life. Their direct influence on society was exerted through education and science. Many fields, including archeology, became an ideological and propaganda tool. All this to sanction Germany's expansion policy.

In this spirit, the economist Friedrich List called for unity in 1841 with the words:

National unity will be the rock upon which to form the edifice of prosperity, dignity, power, modern security and future greatness. You have to seize the seas with your own ships, the markets with your own strength.

Germans are hardworking than others through their love of diligence, order, thrift, moderation, persistence and persistence in research and business, in the pursuit of improvement, morality and moderation. These qualities should give a feeling of advantage. They are the cleanest farmers in the United States, the finest laborers and artisans in South America, the most esteemed seamen everywhere. These values ​​can give a great result in a country if there is a strong state behind it.

In this spirit, the economist Friedrich List called for unity in 1841

Four years later, Wilhelm Jordan threw his appeal to the fire, urging the German people to act instead of rocking in the clouds:

Hear the proud "Rule Britania" is heard on the seas. England has taken over the world, and the treasures of all countries must serve her strength and the prosperity of the queen of the seas. The lowliest Briton is confident in the most distant countries. Woe to him who touches me! - he can cry - I am British and the nation is behind me, behind me there are hundreds of floating volcanoes, which will vengefully and destructively direct their flames against those shores that have hosted me inhospitably or offended me.

And Germany? By speculators, they were lured to distant countries and then treated there like peasants. After all, it's only Germany - and who is afraid of Germany? Germany is defenseless, without rights, because it has no strength. Why is this 40 million Germans not strong enough? Yes, you are 40 million in mass, if you wanted, the whole world would tremble at your power.

So why doesn't Germany have any will? Because this country is constantly dreaming instead of acting, because it is swaying in the clouds and forgets to settle down on earth in a prosperous and comfortable way, because it listens to lofty, philosophical phrases instead of relying on human common sense.

War soul

In the following years, the nationalist mood began to intensify. As late as 1907, the German politician Ernst Hasse began to openly call for war. In his work "Deutsche Politik" (German politics) he assured that for Germany having enemies is downright salutary . According to him, it was the enemies that would allow the Germans to survive:

The German nation has achieved nothing great except in times of need. Only when he was really badly did he achieved great things. War is a means to an end for us, and a willingness to war is an end in itself.

"The German nation has achieved nothing great except in times of need."

Return to source

A separate issue related to the idea of ​​building German national identity was the return to the roots. Appealing to Germanic ancestors was one of the pillars of the nascent ideology. It was the nation's durability and its roots that were to emphasize and legitimize the power of the German nation over other nations.

The idea of ​​searching for Germanic roots and recalling old traditions began to develop in the 19th century and quickly led to the creation of a Germanic trend in scientific research . The results of these studies, in turn, were later used in Nazi propaganda.

Efforts were made to prove the excellence and superiority of the Norse race over others. V

What this research was supposed to do is perfectly illustrated by August Gotthilf Rein's speech at the University of Gera in January 1814 (original spelling):

(…) in the 5th century the Germanic pours into the expanses of Western and Southern Europe like the tide of the sea. They destroy all the laws that exist there and the entire Roman colossus, destroying many good and beautiful things, also establishing - as if compensating for these losses - new, still functioning states, laws and laws, bringing also nourishing life to Rome weakened by despotism and debauchery.

Origin of the Germans

In 1819, on the initiative of Karl von Stein, the "Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichte" (Society for Older German History) was founded. It dealt with researching and describing German prehistory and history. The idea of ​​pan-Germanism over time began to awaken in the nation a desire to conquer the world . Accompanying research justified these aspirations.

There were attempts to find Germanic roots in many theories. One of them said that "Indogerman" was the equivalent of "Indo-Europeans." This trend also included the word "Aryan", which first appeared in 1823 in F. Klaproth's work "Asia polyglot". Over time, the Aryans became tied to the Caucasus:Kauk - Asos. This land thus became the mythical seat of the Aesir - the family of Odin - and the home of deities.

Over time, the Aryans became tied to the Caucasus:Kauk - Asos. This land thus became the mythical seat of the Aesir - the family of Odin - and the home of deities.

Other researchers tried to pinpoint the European ancestry of the Germans. On the basis of mythology, attempts were made to link them with the ancient Greeks. The only difference is that the Greek religion and the entire culture were to be derived from the Germanic. This topic touched upon, inter alia, J.G. Radolf in 1844 in his work "Das nordische Griechentum und die urgeschichte Bedeutung des nordwestlichen Europa" (The Norse Greek state and the prehistoric importance of northwestern Europe).

Philosophy of the master race

In the mid-nineteenth century, a new direction of research emerged in German cultural anthropology. It was called Rassenphilosophie - the philosophy of race. From that moment on, efforts were made to prove the excellence and superiority of the Norse race over others. It began to describe the characteristics of the master race, which was characterized by strong will, the drive to rule, freedom and independence. In short, the Herrenschicht (master layer) was the epitome of all desirable virtues and progress.

Germanic roots were also sought outside of science. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries became a time of returning to ancient poems. Thus, ideology used works such as "Edda poetycka" or "Pieśń o Nibelungach". They were raised to the rank of national epics in which the essence of the German soul was sought. Siegfried became an ideal hero. The German nation was to become its ultimate embodiment.

The idea of ​​Pan-Germanism became an element of Nazi propaganda.

The idea of ​​Pan-Germanism became an element of Nazi propaganda. The slogan of the master race quickly gained popularity, and the reference to Germanic roots gave the nation a sense of stability and strength. Already in 1931, the Main Office for Race and Settlement of the SS (Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt der SS, abbreviated as RuSHA) was established. It is here that the method of determining the Aryan features. On their basis, candidates for SS men were then recruited.

But going back to the roots and the idea of ​​Pan-Germanism are just one of the cogs of the great machine that was Nazi propaganda. How the Nazis managed to take power in Germany, take over the entire nation and set off to conquer Europe, tells the latest Polsat Viasat History series "Abyss:the rise and fall of Nazism". The premiere is on April 5 at 21:00.

Literature:

  1. Grunberger R., Social history of the Third Reich , trans. W. Kalinowski, Warsaw 1994.
  2. Jankowiak A., Borderland heritage. The Reception of the Germanic Myth in the Ideology and Propaganda of Nazi Germany, [in:] B. Górczyńska-Przybyłowicz, S. Jankowiak, I. Skórzyńska, K. Stryjkowski, A. Wachowiak (ed.), DomOtwarty / DomZamniany? Frontier lessons. Central and Eastern Europe (20th / 21st century) , Poznań 2014, pp. 280-294.
  3. Kmieciński J., Nationalism in German studies in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Archeologia Baltica, vol. X, Łódź 1991.
  4. Witkowski I., Propaganda of the Third Reich , Warsaw 2008.