Inhumanities Inhumanities is an unprecedented account of the ways Nazi Germany manipulated and mobilized European literature, philosophy, painting, sculpture, and music in support of its ideological ends. David B. Dennis shows how, based on the belief that the Third Reich represented the culmi- nation of Western civilization, culture became a key propaganda tool in the regime ’ s program of national renewal and its campaign against political, national, and racial enemies. Focusing on the daily output of the V ö lkischer Beobachter , the party ’ s of fi cial organ and the most widely circulating German newspaper of the day, he reveals how activists twisted history, biography, and aesthetics to fi t Nazism ’ s authoritarian, militaristic, and anti-Semitic world views. Ranging from National Socialist coverage of Germans such as Luther, D ü rer, Goethe, Beethoven, Wagner, and Nietzsche to “ great men of the Nordic West ” such as Socrates, Leonardo, and Michelangelo, he reveals the true extent of the regime ’ s ambitious attempt to reshape the “ German mind. ” David B. Dennis is Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of Beethoven and German Politics, 1870 – 1989 ( 1996 ) and other works on the intersection of German culture and politics. Inhumanities Nazi Interpretations of Western Culture David B. Dennis c a m b r i d g e u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Mexico City Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB 2 8 RU , UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/ 9781107020498 © David B. Dennis 2012 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2012 Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by the MPG Books Group A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Dennis, David B., 1961 – Inhumanities : Nazi interpretations of western culture / David B. Dennis. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978 - 1 - 107 - 02049 - 8 1 . Nazi propaganda – Germany. 2 . Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter- Partei – Party work. 3 . Völkischer Beobachter (Munich, Germany : 1920 ) 4 Fascism and culture – Germany. 5 . Germany – Civilization – 20 th century. 6 . Germany – History – 1918 – 1933 7 . Germany – History – 1933 – 1945 8 . Civilization, Western. 9 . Press and politics – Germany – History – 20 th century. 10 . World War, 1939 – 1945 – Propaganda. I. Title. DD 254 D 46 2012 909 0 09821 – dc 23 2012015443 ISBN 978 - 1 - 107 - 02049 - 8 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. To Mariko and Cecilia The worst readers are those who act like plundering soldiers: they take a few things they can use, dirty and tangle up the rest, and desecrate the whole. F R I E D R I C H N I E T Z S C H E , Menschliches, allzumenschliches: Ein Buch f ü r freie Geister , vol. 2 , aph. 137 It is a fact of history that these ideas were embraced by many normal men. It is important to keep in mind that the Nazis found their greatest support among respectable, educated people. G E O R G E L M O S S E , German Jews Beyond Judaism , 1 CONTENTS List of Illustrations page xi Acknowledgments xiv Introduction 1 Part I Foundations of Nazi Cultural History 13 1 The “ Germanic ” Origins of Western Culture 15 2 Vox Volkish 37 3 The Western Tradition as Political and Patriotic 50 4 The Western Tradition as anti-Semitic 84 5 The Archenemy Incarnate 106 Part II Blind to the Light 125 6 Classicism Romanticized 127 7 Intolerance toward Enlightenment 142 8 Forging Steel Romanticism 176 9 Romantic Music as “ Our Greatest Legacy ” 198 Part III Modern Dilemmas 219 10 Realist Paradox and Expressionist Confusion 221 11 Nordic Existentialists and Volkish Founders 249 12 Music after Wagner 269 Part IV “ Holy ” War and Weimar “ Crisis ” 287 13 Heralds of the Front Experience 289 14 Weimar Culture Wars 1 : Defending German Spirit from “ Circumcision ” 307 15 Weimar Culture Wars 2 : Combating “ Degeneracy ” 330 Part V Nazi “ Solutions ” 359 16 “ Honor your German Masters ” 361 17 The Nazi “ Renaissance ” 383 18 Kultur at War 402 Conclusion 452 Notes 464 Index 533 x / Contents ILLUSTRATIONS 1 1 V ö lkischer Beobachter , Leonardo da Vinci tribute page: “ The Italian Faust, ” 30 April 1944 18 1 2 Michelangelo, Rondanini Pietà ( 1564 ), Museo d ’ arte antica in the Sforza Castle, Milan, Italy 20 1 3 Rembrandt, The Slaughtered Ox ( 1655 ), Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries, Glasgow, UK 23 2 1 Albrecht Altdorfer, Saint George in the Forest ( 1510 ), Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany 41 2 2 Albrecht Altdorfer, The Birth of the Virgin ( 1525 ), Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany 42 2 3 Albrecht D ü rer, Knight, Death, and the Devil ( 1513 ) 43 2 4 Albrecht D ü rer, Melencolia ( 1514 ) 44 2 5 Albrecht D ü rer, St. Jerome in his Study ( 1514 ) 45 2 6 Albrecht D ü rer, Fortuna ( 1501 ) 46 3 1 Albrecht D ü rer, The Twelve Year Old Jesus in the Temple (c. 1494 – 1497 ), Gemäldegalerie, Dresden, Germany 60 3 2 Albrecht D ü rer, Self-Portrait (age 13 ) ( 1484 ) 61 3 3 V ö lkischer Beobachter , Beethoven tribute page: “ On the 150 th Birthday of the German Master, ” 20 January 1921 72 4 1 Albrecht Altdorfer, Regensburg Synagogue ( 1519 ) 90 4 2 V ö lkischer Beobachter cartoon, “ The French Shylock in the Ruhr Region, ” 5 April 1923 95 4 3 V ö lkischer Beobachter , Richard Wagner tribute article: “ On Germany ’ s Renewal: Richard Wagner ’ s Political Will, ” 22 May 1938 103 7 1 Andreas Schl ü ter, Dying Warrior ( 1698 – 1705 ), Zeughaus, Berlin, Germany 145 7 2 V ö lkischer Beobachter , Friedrich Schiller tribute page, 10 November 1934 167 10 1 Adolph Menzel, Flute Concert ( 1852 ), Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany 239 10 2 Franz von Lenbach, Otto von Bismarck in Cuirassier ’ s Uniform ( 1890 ), Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany 241 10 3 Arnold B ö cklin, Silence in the Woods ( 1896 ), National Museum, Poznan, Poland 242 10 4 Arnold B ö cklin, Isle of the Dead ( 1883 ), Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany 243 10 5 Arnold B ö cklin, Centaur in the Village Smithy ( 1897 ), Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Hungary 244 10 6 Arnold B ö cklin, Susanna Bathing ( 1888 ), Landesmuseum fuer Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Oldenburg, Germany 245 10 7 Edvard Munch, a detail from Alma Mater ( 1910 ), Oslo University, Oslo, Norway 246 10 8 Edvard Munch, Friedrich Nietzsche ( 1906 ), Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway 247 11 1 V ö lkischer Beobachter , Nietzsche article: “ What is Nietzsche to Us Today? He was a Fighter Against the Insanity of Democracy, ” 24 August 1930 257 15 1 Pablo Picasso, A Boy with a Horse ( 1906 ), Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA 347 15 2 George Grosz, The Outpouring of the Holy Spirit ( 1927 ) 349 15 3 V ö lkischer Beobachter , Grosz article and cartoon: Siegert: “ Were you personally in the war? ” George Grosz: “ No! ” Shut Your Trap and Keep Moving! , 12 June 1930 351 16 1 Detail from the of fi cial postcard of the foundation-stone laying for the national Richard Wagner monument in Leipzig, 6 March 1934 378 17 1 Arno Breker, The Army ( 1939 ) 400 18 1 Albrecht D ü rer, Siege of a Fortress ( 1527 ) 405 18 2 Albrecht D ü rer, The Meeting of Maximilian I and Henry VIII (from the Triumphal Arch of Maximilian ) ( 1515 ) 405 xii / List of Illustrations 18 3 Albrecht D ü rer, Death and the Landesknecht ( 1510 ) 406 18 4 Albrecht D ü rer, St. George on Horseback ( 1508 ) 407 18 5 Albrecht D ü rer, wrestling illustrations from Ring- und Fechtbuch ( 1512 ) 409 18 6 Rembrandt, The Concord of the State ( 1640 – 1641 ), Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands 414 18 7 Leonardo da Vinci, A Deluge (c. 1515 ), Royal Library, Windsor, UK 433 18 8 Philipp Otto Runge, The Artist ’ s Parents ( 1806 ), Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany 435 18 9 Philipp Otto Runge, The H ü lsenbeck Children ( 1805 – 1806 ), Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany 436 18 10 Rembrandt, Self-Portrait as Zeuxis (c. 1662 ), Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne, Germany 437 18 11 Rembrandt, The Night Watch ( 1642 ), Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 438 18 12 Francisco Goya, Street Battle at the Puerto del Sol, 2 May 1808 ( 1814 ), Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain 439 18 13 Francisco Goya, The Third of May ( 1814 ), Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain 440 18 14 Francisco Goya, “ This is Worse, ” from Disasters of War ( 1810 – 1815 ) 441 18 15 Francisco Goya, The Family of Charles IV ( 1800 ), Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain 442 18 16 Matthias Gr ü newald, Isenheim altarpiece (c. 1510 – 1516 ), Unterlinden Museum, Colmar, France 445 18 17 Max Klinger, sketch for Nietzsche sculpture ( 1902 ) 450 C. 1 “ Cathedral of light, ” N ü rnberg rally 1937 453 C. 2 1937 N ü rnberg rally postcard 454 xiii / List of Illustrations ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is fi tting that a book about intersections between the best and worst of Western history was written through some of the most beautiful and some of the more challenging experiences that life offers. Of course, it could not be otherwise. Trying to adhere to the academic version of Beethoven ’ s favorite maxim, “ nulla dies sine linea, ” is the scholar ’ s way, practiced to derive and share wonder for all that life brings. But as family, friends, and colleagues know, both joy and struggle arise on this path too. For sharing this way with me, I extend loving thanks to all my family and friends – both terms meant in the fullest sense. While reading this list of acknowledgments, please know that my gratitude for your care – manifested in so many ways – is beyond words. At every stage of work on this project, I have had the compas- sionate support of my father, James M. Dennis, my brother, John Dennis, and my colleague, Robert Bucholz. Each of them has contributed pivotal advice about every aspect of the book, as well as counsel about how to manage the process through thick and thin. At a critical juncture, John Slavney proved himself a true friend in spirit and deed by closely reading and carefully editing the manuscript, adding insight, clarity, and polish to the whole. To each: my deepest thanks. For constantly encouraging and inspiring me, on a warm per- sonal level and as model scholars dedicated to the highest achievement in interdisciplinary research, writing, and teaching, I am profoundly grate- ful to Robert Wohl, Glenn Watkins, Otto Dann, and in memoriam , Eugen Weber and George L. Mosse. For their ongoing comradeship and guidance in matters aca- demic, technical, and existential, I am beholden to all my other col- leagues at Loyola University Chicago, especially, but by no means limited to, Lew Erenberg, Tim Gilfoyle, Susan Hirsch, Konstantin Läufer, Brian Lavelle, Barbara Rosenwein, George Thiruvathukal, and in memoriam , Paul Messbarger and Joe Gagliano. For kindnesses proving that our lives remain marvelously inter- dependent, no matter distances in time, space, and otherwise, I give thanks to Robert Bast, the Birschbach family, Laurie Bucholz, Jim Burnett, David Cerda, the Chiericozzi family, Richard Christian, the Conley family, George Freeman, Gloria Gonzalez, John Hall, Phyllis Hall, Harry Haskell, Stefan Hersh, Cathy Hug, the Iwano family, Peter Kazor, Hans-Georg Knopp, Dare Law, Laurel Lueders, Jim Loy, Leon Mangasarian, Peter Neagle, Duane Nelsen, Alexander Platt, Chuck Polenz, the Rock family, the Scaggs family, Stefan Sanderling, Alex Shibicky, the Siebuhr family, Jon Smoller, Nicholas Vazsonyi, my won- drous daughters, Mariko and Cecilia – to whom this book is dedicated – their mother, Amy Iwano, and, in loving memory, Claudia Dennis. For expert help and generosity in preparing the illustrations, I am indebted to Jim Dennis, John Dennis, the staff of StudioActiv 8 , and Tom Capparelli at Kriegcards.com. For research services, I am apprecia- tive of the Loyola University Chicago libraries, particularly the staffs of the Inter-Library Loan of fi ce and the Lewis Library periodicals room, as well as the Newberry Library, the Regenstein Library, the Center for Research Libraries, and the Kohler Art Library at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For “ keeping an eye ” on this project for many years, then con- vincing me that it was time to bring it to completion, and fi nally urging me to make it accessible to the widest possible audience, I express my special gratitude to Michael Watson at Cambridge University Press. Constructive recommendations by the outside readers were invaluable in helping me decide how to best organize and present this wide array of material. Professional management of the fi nal stages of editing and production came from Chloe Howell, Sarah Roberts, and Lyn Flight. Over the many years of work on this book, Loyola University Chicago provided leaves of absence in the spring of 2001 and the fall of 2005 , a summer stipend in 2007 , a course reduction in the spring of 2008 , and manuscript publication assistance, which paid for half of the xv / Acknowledgments illustration costs. I am thankful for these forms of fi nancial aid, as well as the NEH Summer Stipend I received in 2007 Some of the material incorporated into this book fi rst appeared in “ Honor Your German Masters: The Use and Abuse of ‘ Classical ’ Composers in Nazi Propaganda, ” Journal of Political and Military Sociology , vol. 30 ( 2 ), 2002 ; “ The Most German of all German Operas: Die Meistersinger Through the Lens of the Third Reich, ” in Nicholas Vazsonyi (ed.), Wagner ’ s Meistersinger: Performance, History, Representation (University of Rochester Press, 2003 ); “ Nietzsche Reception as Philosopher of F ü hrermenschen in the Main Nazi Newspaper, ” International Journal of the Humanities , vol. 5 ( 7 ), 2007 ; and Beethoven in German Politics: 1870 – 1989 (Yale University Press, 1996 ). I am obliged to these publications and presses for their permission to revisit this material here. xvi / Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION As cultural and political con fl icts raged in Weimar Germany, the editor-in-chief of the Nazi Party ’ s of fi cial newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter ( The Folkish Observer ), published a front-page editorial marking the 100 th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven ’ s death on 26 March 1927 . In it, Alfred Rosenberg declared that during the present epoch of “ spiritual battle, ” followers of Adolf Hitler could consider Beethoven ’ s music a powerful source of inspiration. Whoever under- stood the spirit of the National Socialist movement especially, Rosenberg claimed, knew that “ an impulse similar to that which Beethoven embodied in the highest degree lived in all its members ” : namely, the “ desire to storm over the ruins of a crumbling world, the hope for the will to reshape the world, and the strong sense of joy that comes from overcoming passionate sorrow. ” When the Nazis achieved victory in Germany and across Europe, Rosenberg implied, they would enjoy “ heart-warming consciousness ” that “ the German Beethoven tow- ered over all the peoples of the West. ” They would then remember that Beethoven had passed on to National Socialists the “ will of German creation. ” Living in the “ Eroica of the German Volk, ” Nazis “ wanted to make use of ” this willpower. 1 This inspirational evocation of a cultural-historical hero in the Nazi newspaper was entirely consistent with Hitler ’ s proclamations that if the National Socialist revolution was going to have a “ transformative effect, ” its spokesmen would have to “ strive by all available means ” to get the German people to “ believe in its mission with conviction. ” Above all, the Nazi leader insisted, this required “ demonstrating its cultural worthiness. ” At times of “ weakened faith ” in Germany ’ s “ highest mer- its, ” it was necessary to revive the Volk ’ s con fi dence by “ invoking works that remained untouched by political and economic troubles, ” that is, by invoking great works of Western culture in the name of his ideals. 2 This book reveals how Hitler ’ s party continually pursued these propaganda goals by means of its main instrument of mass media, the Völkischer Beobachter , which was the most widely circulat- ing newspaper of Nazi Germany. This study analyzes how the paper ’ s editors, staff writers, and contributors presented the history of European literature, philosophy, painting, sculpture, and music according to National Socialist beliefs. Nazi leaders regarded their movement as the culmination of Western culture, and this examination of their daily paper shows how they and their followers sought to substantiate this proposition with reference to intellectual and cultural history. Through investigation of every major cultural article published in the Völkischer Beobachter , it demonstrates how they wrote about German creators considered foremost (including Luther, Dürer, Goethe, Beethoven, Wagner, Nietzsche, and many others), about non-Germans sometimes deemed related in “ Germanic ” spirit (such as Socrates, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt), and about the party ’ s anointed “ enemies ” (among them, Heine, Einstein, and Thomas Mann). As such, this book is the fi rst comprehensive survey of the terms National Socialist propagandists used to appropriate the great names of European art and thought, exposing how the party linked them rhetorically to Nazi ideology and policies. Tracing precisely what Völkischer Beobachter writers asserted about their favorite masters and about those they despised makes clear how the party tried to convince readers that Nazism offered not just political renewal but cultural advancement, while at the same time advocating the destruction of Jews along with other perceived opponents. Scholarship on nineteenth- and twentieth-century “ German identity ” consistently testi fi es that the fi ne arts played a pivotal role in the developing symbolism of the modern nation. Activists seeking to strengthen German political unity emphasized shared conceptions of beauty. Competing political movements sought to increase their respect- ability by demonstrating that cultural heroes – Meister or masters – could be aligned with their respective ideologies. Consequently, as George L. Mosse observed, German politics and high culture penetrated each 2 / Inhumanities: Nazi Interpretations of Western Culture