The Mystical Origins of National Socialism

Author(s): G. L. Mosse
Source: Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1961), pp. 81-96
Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press
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 THE MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM

BY G. L. MossE

In spiteof nearlythirtyyearsof researchthe intellectual origins

ofNationalSocialismarestillshrouded in a darknessas impenetrable
as themystical ideologies presentat itsbeginnings.Thoughit is well
knownthatNietzscheandWagnerwereamongthepredecessors ofthe
movement, the intensity of Germannationalfeelingwas held to be
sufficientexplanation fortheriseofNationalSocialistideology.To-
daywe areforced to realizethata morecomplexculturaldevelopment
gave its impressto thatmovement longbeforeit crystallized intoa
politicalparty.1At the verycenterof thisdevelopment wereideas
whichwerenotso muchof a nationalas of a romanticand mystical
nature,partof the revoltagainstpositivism whichsweptEuropeat
theendoftheXIXth century.In Germany thisrevolttooka special
turn,perhapsbecauseromanticism struckdeeperrootstherethanelse-
where. ThisGermanreactionto positivism becameintimately bound
up witha beliefin nature'scosmiclife-force, a darkforcewhosemys-
teriescould be understood, not throughscience,but throughthe
occult. An ideologybased upon such premiseswas fusedwiththe
gloriesofan Aryanpast,and in turn,thatpastreceiveda thoroughly
romantic and mysticalinterpretation.
This essayintendsto throwlighton thisideologyand to showits
connection withlaterGermanhistory.An obviousconnection can be
seen throughsomeof the men who participated in this streamof
thought, menwholaterbecameprominent in the NationalSocialist
movement.However, it seemsmoremeaningful to see sucha connec-
tionin termsof an intellectual atmosphere ratherthanin termsof
individuals.Moreover, withthisin mind,theyouthmovement and
thecountry boarding-school (Landerziehungsheime) provide striking
examplesofa continuity withthe1920'sand '30's,thoughonlya brief
hintofthiscan be givenwithintheframework ofthisessay. We are
primarily concerned withthe actualformation of thisideologyfrom
the1890'sto thefirstdecadeoftheXXth century.Thisis necessary
becausehistorians haveignoredthisstreamofthought as toooutreto
be takenseriously.Whoindeedcan takeseriously an ideologywhich
drewupon the occultismof Madame Blavatski,rejectedsciencein
favorof " seeingwithone'ssoul,"and camedangerously closeto sun
worship?Yet suchideasmadea deepimpression upona wholenation.
Historians whohavedismissed theseaspectsofromanticism andmys-
ticismhave failedto graspan essentialand important ingredient of
modernGermanhistory.
1 Cf. JoachimBesser,"Die Vorgeschichte des Nationalsozialismusim neuen
"The
Licht,"Die Pforte,II, 21/22(Nov. 1950),763-785. Cf. also CraneBrinton,
thisJournal(1940), 131-150.
NationalSocialists'Use of Nietzsche,"
81

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82 G. L. MOSSE

NationalSocialismwas formulated
Like all ideologies, by certain
menwhosethoughtappealedto a widevarietyof minds. It is from
thesementhatwe have drawnourexamples. The earlyformulators
ofthisromantic andmystic world-view weremenlikePaul de Lagarde
(1827-1891),Guido von List (1848-1919),AlfredSchuler(1865-
1923), and above all, JuliusLangbehn(1851-1907).2 They were
popularized bypublishers likeEugenDiederichs(1867-1930)ofJena,
whoseinfluence was manifestin the diversebranchesof the move-
ment. It was Langbehnwhopithilysummarized theircommonaim:
" to transform Germans intoartists."3 By " artist" thesemenmeant
not a certainprofession but a certainworld-view opposedto that
whichtheycalledthe " man machine." This transformation, which
theyfelthad beenomittedwhenGermany becameunified, wouldcon-
vertthe materialism and scienceof contemporary Germanyintoan
artisticoutlookupontheworld,an outlookwhichwouldresultin an
all-encompassing nationalrenewal. Such a viewpoint was connected
to theirbeliefin thecosmiclife-force whichopposedall thatwas arti-
ficialand man-made.
Langbehnin his Rembrandt as Educator(1890) suppliedthekey
to thistransformation: mysticism was thehiddenenginewhichcould
transmute scienceinto art.4 Nature-romanticism and the mystical
provided thefoundation forthisideology.It wasnomerecoincidence
thatEugen Diederichswas the Germanpublisherof HenriBergson.
He saw in Bergsona mysticism, a " newirrationalisticphilosophy,"
5
and believedthatthe development of Germanycouldonlyprogress
in oppositionto rationalism.The worldpicture,Diederichsmain-
tained,mustbe graspedby an intuitionwhichwas closeto nature.
Fromthissourceman'sspiritmustflowandbringhimintounitywith
the community of his people. Such truespirituality Diederichssaw
thatone commontie amongall thosemenwas theirfrustra-
It is significant
2
tionin beingdeniedacademicrecognition.Schulerand List werekept at arm's
lengthby theacademicworldwhosecompanytheysought,whilePaul de Lagarde
had to teachin a Gymnasium fortwelveyearsbeforehe finallyobtaineda chair
at theUniversity of Gottingen.JuliusLangbehnfailedto obtainan academicpost
despiterepeatedefforts.Theseexperiences undoubtedly deepenedtheiraversionto
intellectualismand to whattheycalledacademicpedantry.Langbehn's Rembrandt
as Educatoris fullof diatribesagainstthe professorswhoseworldoutlookhe op-
posed. Such menwerepart of whathas been calledthe " academicproletariat."
Langbehneventually convertedto Catholicism(1900). This is not mentioned in
C. T. Carr," JuliusLangbehn-a forerunner of NationalSocialism,"GermanLife
and Letters,III (1938-1939),45-54. For Lagarde,see Jean-Jacques Anstett,
"Paul de Lagarde,"The ThirdReich (London,1955). Thereis no modernwork
on List or Schuler.
3 JuliusLangbehn, Rembrandt als Erzieher(Leipzig,1900),8. 4 Ibid.,82.
5 EugenDiederichs Lebenund Werke,ed. Lulu von Straussund Torney-Diede-
richs(Jena,1936),180.

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 MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NAZISM 83

reflectedintheGermanmystic MeisterEckhardt(1260?-1327?)whose
workshe had edited;laterAlfredRosenberg returned to MeisterEck-
hardtforthesamereasons. Justas theromantics at thebeginning of
theXIXth century had opposedthe " coldrationality " of antiquity
and had found way
their back to a moregenuine humanity, so Dieder-
ichshailedthismovement as a " newromanticism." 8 Thus,a search

forthis" genuinehumanity " dominatedthemovement, based upon

a closenessto nature for the landscape gave man a heightened feeling
forlife. WhenDiederichsorganizedthe gathering of the Free Ger-
manYouthon theHohenMeissnermountain in 1913,LudwigKlages,
the Munich philosopher, told them that modern civilizationwas
" drowning " the soul of man. The onlyway out forman,whobe-
longedto nature,was a returnto motherearth.7Suchideasled natu-
rallyto a deepeningof the cult of the peasant. JuliusLangbehn
summedthisup: " The peasantwhoactuallyownsa pieceoflandhas
a directrelationship to thecenteroftheearth. Throughthishe be-
comesmasterof theuniverse." 8
In oppositionto peasantlifetherewas the city,the seat of cold
rationalism.Indeed,thiswas nothingnewor unique; JacobBurck-
hardthad alreadywrittenthat in citiesart became"nervousand
unstable."9 Throughout the XIXth centurymen had advocateda
retreatintotheunspoiledlandscapeawayfroma societyrapidlybe-
comingindustrialized andurbanized.Butforthe" newromanticism "
naturedid notsignify thesole sourceofhumanrenewaland vitality.
Mysticism playeda centralrolein thismovement, connected withthe
concernforman'ssoulas an embodiment of the cosmic life-force.
JuliusLangbehncitedSchiller'sphrasethat" it is thesoul which
buildsthebody" and addedthattheoutwardformof thebodywas
ofitsinnerlife.10The portraitpainterBurger-Villingen
a silhouette
enlargeduponthiswhenhe criticized thephrenology ofFrancisGall.
Gall'smeasurements oftheskullled to seriouserrors, he claimed,be-
cause theycomprised onlythe external influences of man. The im-
portantthingwas to graspthe natureof man'sfate,whichwas de-
pendentuponhissoul.11ThusBurger-Villingen measuredtheprofiles
in
of men'sfaces order to comprehend the expression of theirsouls.
For this purposehe inventeda special apparatus(a plastometer)
whichwas muchdiscussedin thesubsequentliterature. JuliusLang-
6 Ibid.,52.
7Freideutsche auf dem Hohen Meissner(Jena,
Jugend:Zur Jahrhundertfeier
1913),98ff.
8 Langbehn, Rembrandt, 131.
tr.Alexander
9 The Lifeand LettersofJacobBurckhardt, Dru (London,1955),
225. 10Langbehn, Rembrandt, 65.
11R. Burger-Villingen, der Menschenform
Geheimnis (Leipzig,1912),23, 27.

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84 G. L. MOSSE

behnwrotethat researches into man's facialcharacteristics werea

partofhistorical research.12
This remarkleads into the philosophyof historyof thesemen
whichprovidedthe explanationforthe mysticdevelopment of the
soul fromits base in nature,throughthe cosmiclife-force.History,
Diederichswrote,is neverfactualbut merelya thickening of thelife
streamofeventsthrough which,at onepointorplace,theuniversally
validlawsoflifebecomevisibleinreality.Historycouldonlybe seen
withthesoul sinceit was theprogression out of natureof theinner
life-substance.It was at thispointthatthe mysticand the occult
cameto theforefront. Thisbeliefin a life-forcewas a kindofcosmic
religionto a manlikeDiederichs, whoreferred to Plato as one ofhis
sources.13Yet, in oppositionto rationalism,thisreligion was grasped
throughtheintuitionof the soul feelingits closenessto nature.
ErnestDaque, whosebookon Urwelt(the primevalworld)was
used extensivelyby all thesemen,coinedthe phrase" naturesom-
nambulism," an intuitiveinsightinto thoselife-forces whichdeter-
minethephysicalnatureofman. As mangoteverfarther awayfrom
nature,whatremainedof thissomnambulism was wrongly described
as soothsayingor as psychologicaldisabilities.Yet all thingscreative
werea survivalofthisnaturesomnambulism.14 Paul de Lagardeput
thesameidea somewhatdifferently. Germans, thoughreachinginto
the future,shouldreturnto the past-a past devoidof all else but
the primevalvoiceof nature.'5 Manifestly, onlythosepeoplewho
were closestto naturecould graspthroughtheirsouls the inner,
cosmiclife-forcewhichconstituted theeternal.
In ViennaGuidovon List set thetoneforthiskindof argument
and fusedit withthegloriesofan Aryanpast. Naturewas thegreat
Divine guide and fromher flowedthe life-force.Whateverwas
closestto naturewouldtherefore be closestto the truth."6List be-
lievedthatthe Aryanpast was the most" genuine" manifestation
ofthisinnerforce. It was closestto natureand therefore farthest re-
movedfromartificiality-from modernmaterialism and rationalism.
Thushe sethimself thetaskofrecreating thispast. Giventhephilos-
ophyof historycommonto thesemen,theylookeddownupon any
scholarlydisciplinessuch as archeology:"We mustread withour
souls the landscapewhicharcheology reconquerswiththe spade."
Again,List advised:" If youwantto lifttheveil ofmystery [i.e.,of
thepast] youmustflyintothelonelinessof nature."17 List'sideas
Rembrandt,
12 Langbehn, 315. Diederichs,
13 Eugen 74,452.
14Quoted in the NationalSocialistarticle:Karl FriedrichWeiss,"Individu-
alismusundSozialismus," I, Der Weltkampf,
IV (1927), 66-70.
15 Paul de Lagarde,LebensbildundAuswahl,ed.K. Boesch(Augsburg,1924),52.
16Johannes Baltzli,GuidovonList (Vienna,1917),18,23. 17Ibid.,26,27.

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 MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NAZISM 85

werebrought to Germany largelythrough theefforts ofAlfredSchuler

of Munich. This remarkable man,who neverpublisheda line,at-
tractedto his personmen like Rilke and George. His circleof ad-
mirersmaintainedthatSchuler" saw withhis soul" and couldre-
construct thepastby simplyusinghisinwardeye.To a smallcoterie
of friendsSchulerlecturedon thenatureof thecity. Urbanismwas
condemnedand equated withthe intellectual's allegedmaterialism
whichsupposedlypervertedtheirthought.Againstthis equation
werethoseadeptswhose" idealism" couldonlystemfromthe my-
steriouscall oftheblood,thetruecreativeinstinct.18
For Schulertheinnerlife-force was equatedwiththestrength of
the blood,an equationcommonto otherwriters as well. He fulmi-
natedagainsttheshallowness ofsoullessmenignorant ofnatureand
an ignorance
itslife-forces, epitomized,he thought, in theJewish poet
Karl Wolfskehlblaspheming:"People are my landscape." Sig- 19
nificantly,Schulerbelieved this life-force could be manipulated
through spiritualism.He triedto cureNietzsche'smadnessthrough
an ancientRomanspiritrite. Klageswas to lureStefanGeorgeto a
seancewhereSchulerwouldtake overGeorge'ssoul,transmuting it
intoa livingreceptacleof cosmicfire. George,stubbornly obdurate,
was appalledbytheproceedings, and aftertheseancedemandedthat
Klages accompanyhim to a cafe wheresettledbourgeois, ordinary
people,drankbeerand smokedtheircigars.20In Klages'eyeshe was
henceforth condemned, thoughanyhistoriananalyzingthe thoughts
of thesemenmighteasilysympathize withGeorge.
Schulerand Klages werenot alone in believingthe innerlife-
forceto be akin to spiritualism.Indeed,the mysticism which,as
Langbehnput it,transformed scienceintoart,was precisely thislife-
forcedefined in termsof theoccult. The ideologyof thismovement
had directties withthoseoccultand spiritualist movements which
werein voguetowardthe end of the century.Such ties wereespe-
ciallyfostered by Theosophy.The oppositionto positivism in Ger-
manyfeduponmovements whichin therestofEuropewereregarded
as " fads" ratherthanas seriousworldviews. In Germanythe be-
liefin thelife-force or cosmicreligionembodiedin the blood,which
all thingsAryantrulyrepresented, led to a worldview whichgave
specialstatusto thosewhowere" initiates" of suchmysteries.
The similarity of theseideas to theoccultwas notedby contem-
poraries. Franz Hartmann,himselfa leading German-American
Theosophist, remarked uponthesimilarity of List'sideas to thoseof
MadameBlavatski,thefoundress ofTheosophy.Thishe didbycom-
aus
und Vortrdge
Schuler,Fragmente
18 Alfred demNachlass,Einfiihrungvon
LudwigKlages (Leipzig,1940),33, 159. 19Ibid.,51.
20 ClaudeDavid,StefanGeorge(Paris,1952),200.

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86 G. L. MOSSE

paringList's Bilderschrift to Madame Blavatski'sIsis Unveiled.

For just as List attempted to tearthe veil fromthe truewisdomof
theancientGermans, so Blavatskirevealedthe surviving tracesof a
" secretscience' in ancientand medievalsources. Theirprinciples,
she maintained, had been lost fromview and suppressed;in like
mannerListclaimedthatChristianity had triedto wipeout thelan-
guageoftheancient Germans, thus destroying theirtruenaturewis-
dom.21 List believedthatthislost languagecouldbe foundin the
mysticwritings oftheKabalah,mistakenly thought to be Jewish, but
in realitya compilation of ancient German wisdom which had sur-
vived persecution.Madame Blavatskimade identicaluse of the
Kabalah; she,too,rejecteditsJewish origins,consideringit a survival
of trueand secretwisdom.22Hartmannhimself, attractedby such
parallelisms,becameone of List'sleadingsupporters.
But we can go further thanthis. Madame Blavatski'sIsis Un-
veiledwasconcerned witha studyofnature. She attempted to study
natureas she thoughttheancientshad studiedit, in relationnot so
muchto its outwardformbut to its inwardmeaning.Thus she also
saw natureas beingeternally transmitted through a lifeforcewhich
shethought ofas an omnipresent vitalether,electro-spiritualin com-
position.23Thisvagueidea directly influenced menofthe1920'slike
HerbertReichstein, whobelievedthatthefirstAryanwas createdby
an shock
electric directly out of thisether. Theycalledtheirtheory
"theozoology." 24 Her approach was,in general,similarto thoseex-
ponentsofthelife-force we have discussed;she,too,feltthatseeing
withone's soul was the reality and deploredscientific methods.
Thereis,however, a stillcloserrelationshipofthesetwobodiesof
thoughtthrough theiruse of imagery.For MadameBlavatski,fire
was the universalsoul substance,and thisled Franz Hartmannto
statethatit was thesun whichwas theexternalmanifestation of an
invisiblespiritualpower.25Forthemenwe havediscussed, theimage
oftheAryancomingoutofthesunwas common.The painterFidus,
so closelyassociatedwiththe Germanyouthmovement, used this
motifconstantly.This popularpainterbelievedthat it was not
enoughforthe artistto faithfully reproduce nature. Painting,for
Fidus,was a transmission fromtheextrasensory world.26His paint-
21 Baltzli,GuidovonList,45; FranzHartmann(1838-1912);HelenaPetrovna

Blavatski(1831-1891);AlvinBoydKuhn,Theosophy(New York,1930),116-117.
22 Baltzli,GuidovonList,55n.; Kuhn,Theosophy, 144. 23Ibid., 135,133.
24 Besser," Die Vorgeschichte. . . loc.cit.,773.
,"
25 FranzHartmann, The Life and Doctrinesof JacobBoehme(Boston,1891),
166n.1.
28Erste Gesamtausstellung der Werkevon Fidus zu seinem60. Geburtstage
(Woltersdorf bei Erkner,1928),9, 11.

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 MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NAZISM 87

ingsincludedstudiesof astralsymbolism, as wellas designsfortheo-

sophictemples. It was he whopaintedtheofficial pictureto symbol-
ize the HohenMeissnergathering.Best known,however,werehis
paintings,borderedby theosophicsymbols,on themessuch as the
"wanderers intothesun"-girl andboywandering handin hand,sur-
roundedby growingplants,theirnude boyishbodies translucent
beforea blazingsun.
EugenDiederichswas also deeplyconcerned withsuchsymbolism.
He founded, in 1910,theso-calledSeracirclein Jena. Its symbolwas
a redandgoldenflagwiththesunas centerpiece.The mainactivities
ofthiscirclecentered in theyouthmovement: excursions,folkdances,
and above all, the old Germanicfestivalof the " changingsun."27
Here Germaniccustomand spiritualist symbolism wereintertwined.
For Diederichsalso the sun was the creatorof life,a reaffirmation
of the primeimportance of thosecosmicforceswhichunderlayall
reality.28
Langbehnhimself maintained that" a theologianshouldalwaysbe
somewhat ofa theosophist " to compensate fortheformalism inherent
in his profession.He saw a similarvalue in spiritualism in general.
His criticism of contemporary occultismwas not thatit was wrong,
but thatit was misdirected, searching through professionalmediums
forspiritswheretherewerenone.29Sucha linkagebetweentheosophy
and thev6lkischworldviewwillremainthroughout themovement's
history. This can be conclusivelydemonstrated through Prana,which
calleditselfa Germanmonthly forappliedspiritualismand whichwas
publishedby thetheosophical publishing houseat Leipzig. The edi-
torwas Johannes Balzli,thesecretary of theGuidovon List society,
foundedto spreadthe" master's" teachingand to financehis publi-
cations. FranzHartmann, himself an honorary memberofthatsoci-
ety, was one ofPrana's most frequent contributorsas was C. W. Lead-
better,the stormyAnglicancuratewhomMadame Blavatskihad
takenwithherto IndiaandwholaterbecameAnnieBesant'sSvengali.
GuidovonListhimself contributed to itspages,whileFidusprovided
mostoftheillustrations.The word" Prana" was takento meanthe
powerofthesun,thevisiblesymbolofGod,and " all present."This
in turnwas to be thesignofthe" newGermany." 30
In Prana'spageswe findideas on foodand medicinewhichwere
commonto thismovement.Medicalsciencewas universally deplored
in favor of spiritualhealing,and the eating of meat was said to im-
pede notonlyspiritualprogress but theunderstanding of natureand
171,220,297.
27 EugenDiederichs, 28 Ibid.,267.
29 Langbehn, 93. " Witha doseof mysticism
Rembrandt, one can gildthelife
of a nation" (203).
30Prana,Organfurangewandte VI, 1-2 (1915),4.
Geisteswissenschaften,

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88 G. L. MOSSE

thelife-force.3'Theosophists linkedthefleshofanimalsto theirun-

developedintelligence; eatingmeatwouldthusinduceanimalcoarse-
nessin humans. Prana'swriters furtherelaboratedthisidea,adding
thatmeat couldnot increaselifeforit was lifelessand thusled to
death.32The medicaland vegetarianvagariesof AdolfHitlerwere
intimately linkedwiththemystic, Aryanideologyfoundin thepages
of Prana,thoughPrana was not the onlyjournalthatreflected this
mixture ofthought.
Thatsuchideasmarched intothe1920'swithrenewed vigorcanbe
seenin thecase ofArthur Dinter,whoroseto prominence as an early
NationalSocialistin the '20's. As a NationalSocialistdeputyhe
playeda leadingrolein theoverthrow ofthesocialistgovernment of
Thuringiain 1924and subsequently becamethe editorof the " Na-
tionalSocialist" publishedin Weimar. His celebratedracialnovel
" The Sin AgainsttheBlood" attaineda largecirculation.Though
his companionnovel" The Sin Againstthe Spirit" neverprovedas
popular,it combined theracialideologyofhisfirst bookwithepisodes
whichcouldhave beentakendirectly fromMadameBlavatski. For
himtheracialideasofa manlikeHoustonStewartChamberlain made
senseonlywhentheywereintegrated withhis ownspiritualistic ex-
periences.Dintermade liberaluse of such theosophist conceptsas
theastralether,thesun,andtheidea ofrebirth (Karma).3 ForLanz
von Liebenfels, anotherof Prana's favorites, the term"Ariosophy"
meanta combination of suchideaswitha worldviewcenteredupon
theGermanic past.34 Smallwonder thattheindustrialistwhowasthe
principalfinancialcontributor to GuidovonList'ssocietywas also an
ardentspiritualist.35
This.then,was themysticism whichtransformed scienceintoart.
WhenthesemencalleduponGermansto be artiststheywantedthem
to recognize thattheirtruesoulwasan expression ofthecosmicspirit
of the worldbased uponnature. Possessionof such a spiritmeant
recallingthatwhichwastrulygenuine, theGermanic past,as opposed
to modernand evilrationalism.Langbehn, so oftencitedbyhissuc-
cessors,feltthisto be theonlytrueindividualism in a worldofmass
man. This individualism wouldlead to the creationof an organic
31 Ibid., 348-349. Nourishment and the developmentof the soul go hand in
hand. Anti-alcoholism plays an importantrole here as well. At the Hohen
Meissnergathering the TemperanceLeague said that it too wantedto servethe
race. Frei(deutscheJugend,16; see also Langbehn,Rembrandt,296-297.
32 Kuhln, Theosophy,297; Prana, 46-47.
33 Dinter,Die Suendewiderden Geist(Leipzig,1921),236.
Arthuir
34 Besser," Die Vorgeschichte. . . ," 773.
Baltzli,Guido von List, 185. His name was FriedrichWannieck;he con-
3''
moreto theListsocietythanall othermembers
tributed put together
(79). Wan-
nieckand FranzHartmannhad at leastone seancetogether (185).

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 MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NAZISM 89

humanbeingin contactwithcosmicforces. These forceswerecon-

ceivedin spiritualistterms,thoughLangbehn'stouchstone was not
Madame Blavatski,but Swedenborg.To him thismysticwas the
idealGermantype.36 In a similarmannerDiederichscameto see the
identicalimagereflected in MeisterEckhardt.37
Such a philosophy of lifedid not need spiritualisticmediumsin
orderto penetratethe " secretmysteries."Indeed,forList the past
camealivein theveryhumanshapeof Tarnhari,whocalledhimself
thechiefof thelostGermantribeof the Volsungen.The tribaltra-
ditions,whichhe relatedfromhis fundof ancestralmemories con-
firmedList's own researches.Tarnharipromptly producedseveral
worksofhisownin whichhe told" familystoriesgoingbackto pre-
historictimes." The stoneofwisdomhad comealive. It is sympto-
maticthatthisimpressed EllegardEllerbeck,laterone of the chief
ornaments ofNationalSocialistliterature.As he wrotetoList,"read-
ingyoursand Tarnhari'sworksI realizeagainthatAr [Aryan]lives
laughingly." 38
One idea impliedin all ofthismustbe stressed.Onlyhe whohad
tieswiththegenuinepastcouldhavea truesoul,couldbe an organic
and nota materialistic humanbeing. Such tieswereconceivedof as
beinginherited.The genuinespiritof the ancestorswas cumulative
in theirprogeny.For Guidovon List as forhis successors, onlythe
" "
Aryancouldgraspthe mysteriesoflifewhichgoverned theworld.
TheseideasallowedLangbehnnotonlyto stressoncemorethevirtue
of a settledand ancientGermanicpeasantry,but of a hereditary
monarchy as well. A hereditary monarchwas not merelysomeone
elevatedfromthemasseslikethepresident ofa republic.In thegov-
ernment ofthenationsucha monarch wouldbe aidedbythe" natural
aristocracy."This aristocracy did notderivesolelyfroman inherit-
ance of status; everyGermancouldbe a partof it if he threwoff
rationalism and becameagainan " artist"-the organicman.39Such
a manwasRembrandt, in Langbehn's opinion;writing hisbookRem-
brandtas Educator(Erzieher),hehopedtoinfluence Germans through
a strikingexample. The end resultwas to be the creationof an or-
ganicstatewheretherewouldbe neither" bourgeois."nor " prole-
tarians,"nor" junkers,"but onlythe " people" linkedtogether in a
commoncreativity (now becomepossible),and unitedin a bondof
brotherhood.Classeswouldnot be abolished;as Langbehnput it:
"Equalityis death. A corporate societyis life."40
36Langbehn, Rembrandt,94-95. Blavatskiand G. R. S. Meade believedthat
" of all mystics,Swedenborghas certainlyinfluencedTheosophymost . . . ," though
his powersdid not go beyondthe plane of matter. H. P. Blavatski,The The-
osophicalGlossary(Hollywood, 1918),293. 37EugenDiederichs, 15.
38Baltzli,GuidovonList,155,199.
39Langbehn, Rembrandt,130-131. 40 Ibid.,158,159.

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90 G. L. MOSSE

In hisfirstbook,H. F. K. Gunther, laterto becomethechiefracial

expertoftheThirdReich,sketched sucha socialideal. Humanrights
havetodaypre-empted theplaceofhumanduties. Theseduties,for-
merlyexpressed in theloyaltyof theknightly gentleman to his king
and generalized throughout societyin theweb of reciprocal loyalties
betweenlandlordand peasant,mustonceagainbecomethecementof
socialorganization.To Gunther, " the community, thepublicgood,
demandsthateveryprofession fulfillthe workwhichis its due."41
Manifestly, sucha socialideal foundin all thesemen,continued the
It
impetusofromanticism. was reminiscent of that Bavarian deputy
whoearlierin theXIXth century believedthat" Love" wouldcure
thetensions betweenlaborerand employer.In an immediate senseit
was a partof theideal of an organicsociety which reflectedorganic
man. Langbehnwas explicitin hisinsistence thattrueindividualism
couldonlybe realizedin sucha socialorder. He considered liberal
individualism a partofmaterialism, dissolving societyintoincompati-
ble unitsratherthanknitting it together.42 Paul de Lagardesum-
marizedthisin one of thosephraseswhichmade him so popular:
" That manis notfreewhocan do as he likes,buthe is freewhodoes
whathe shoulddo. Freeis he whois able to followhiscreativeprin-
cipleoflife;freeis thatmanwhorecognizes and makeseffective the
innateprinciples whichGod put withinhim." 43

Such freedom led to an organicviewofman and the state. Not

onlywas liberalism mistaken, but socialismas well. Social democ-
racy,Diederichsclaimed,was mechanistic; a truepeople'sstatewas
viable onlyif it reorganized societyin a moremeaningful manner,
according to thearistocratic principle,theonlyenvironment in which
mencouldunfoldtheirrealinnerselves." Langbehnconcludedthat
thiscorporate structure notonlyfulfilled thearistocratic principlebut
was also in tune withthe Germanicpast. Significantly, thisideal
urgedthesemento advocateonlyone concretesocial reform:each
workershouldbe givenhis ownplot of land.45 Again,the reform's
justificationwas soughtnotin termsof materialwelfarewithinthe
framework ofthemovement's generalideology-factory workremoved
manfromtheall-important contactwithnature.
Yet thesemendesiredthe transformation of theirideologyinto
deeds. It is ofgreatsignificance thatwhileDiederichsusedtheword
" theosophy " in thefirstprospectus ofhis publishing house,he came
to be criticalof thatmovement-notbecauseit was spiritualist, but
41 H. F. K. Gunther,R^tter,Tod und Teufel(1920). Quotedin R. Walther
Darre,Das Bauernthum Rasse (Munich,1937),97.
als LebensquellderNordischen
Darrewas theNationalSocialistMinisterofAgriculture.
42 Langbehn,Rembrandt, 5. 43Paul de Lagarde,96.
351-352.
44Eugen Diederichs, 45Langbehn, Rembrandt, 158,160.

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 MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NAZISM 91

becauseit was too purelyspeculativein nature. The feelingabout

infinitymustlead to deeds,and to hisimportant journal,he gavethe
nameDie Tat, " The Deed." Paul de Lagardehad alreadymadeit
46
plainthatwhilesomething was accomplished through theunderstand-
ing of trueideology, it was evenmoreimportant to transform such
idealsintoseriouspracticalaction.47It was an " idealismof deeds"
whichsuchmendesired, deedswhichhelpedto createa nationresting
upon thisidealisticfoundation.Throughsuch a concept,ideas of
forcecameto playan important rolein thisideology.For Langbehn,
artand warwenthandin hand. His proofwas by a methodrepre-
sentativeof his wholework. Shakespeare'sname meant,afterall,
shakinga spear,andthisforhimwas proofoftheconnection between
artand war. Moreover, in Germanspear(Speer) and army(Wehr)
are wordswhichrhyme.Thus in theGermanic past,trueindividual
development had gonehandin handwithwar.48
The lineaments ofthis" idealismof deeds" clearlyemergein the
poetryofAvenarius, thefirstauthorof Diederichs'publishing house.
Happinesswasnotthegoaloflife. Whatwas important forthepoet
was the strength and wealthof the soul and thisstrength depended
uponthedegreeto whichnaturereflected itselfwithinit. Thiswhole
feelingmustbe grounded in honestyandrootedness.But suchideals,
in turn,mustbe sharpenedthroughconflict withthe non-believing
worldaroundthem. Strugglebecomes,therefore, a necessity.Ave-
nariusas a poet gave due honorto the goodfighthonestlywaged;
poetsmustsympathize withtheuse offorce. As oneofthecommen-
tatorsof his poetrydeclared:"His is a trueGermanicpersonality
whichis proudand straight, knowsthebitterhate againstall which
is cowardly and fraudulent.Suchideasare a reminder notto let the
souldegenerate through mildness."4
The " idealismof deeds" postulatedthe use of forceto establish
and defenda Germany baseduponthisromantic andmysticideology.
It was to be used notto destroythe existingsocialstructure but to
createand perpetuate theorganicstate. One employedforceagainst
the enemy-thatmaterialistic and rationalisticculturewhichhad
undermined the weakenedand retreating Aryanby divorcinghim
fromnature'slife-force.The Jew,thecreatureofurbanismand ma-
terialism,typified thisenemywithinthegates. To Langbehn, Berlin
and theJewwerethecomponents ofa conspiracy inimicalto German
revival,justas latera NationalSocialistwriterexclaimed thatv6lkisch
46EugenDiederichs, 72. On the Tat see Klemensvon Klemperer,
Germany's
New Conservatism(Princeton,1957),97-100.
47Paul de Lagarde,64.
48 Langbehn,Rembrandt, 218-219.
49GerhardHeine,Fred.Avenariuals Dichter(Leipzig,1904),45.

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92 G. L. MOSSE

thoughtwouldtriumphin the provinces, not in the cities. Berlin,

aboveall,was thedomainoftheJews.50Perhapssuchconsiderations
led to theanxiousquestionin an issueoftheNationalSocialistWelt-
kampfconcerning Madame Blavatski'sJewishorigins,to whichthe
comforting (and true) answerwas giventhatshe was of Baltic ex-
traction.5'
To theirhatredoftheJews,thesemenaddedan ambivalent atti-
tude towardChristianity.LudwigKlages continueda trendwhich
derivedfromGuidovon List,whohad linkedvictorious Christianity
to thevirtualextinction oftheancientGermanic naturewisdom.He
regarded it as hislife'staskto resurrectthiswisdom.Klagesbelieved
thatthecourseofa victorious Christianitywasplottedfrom" a center"
inimicalto the Aryans.52Thus a universalChristianconspiracy
againstthetruthwas placednextto theuniversalJewishconspiracy,
a conspiracy documented bytheProtocols oftheEldersofZion. With
Lagardeand others,thisdevelopedintoa Catholic-Jesuit conspiracy
linked,so theyasserted, to theJewishworldconspiracy itself.53Men
like Diederichsand Langbehnwerein a quandry,however, forthey
did notdeemit wiseto rejectChristianity altogether.Protestantism
as theGermanformofChristianity, in oppositionto theCatholiccon-
spiracy,was theirsolutionto theproblem.Theirdistrust of Christi-
anityled themto rejectChristconceivedas an historicalfigure;
insteadtheytriedto assimilateHim to theirconceptofthelife-force.
Thiscouldbe done,as did Schuler,byholdingChristto be merely
the mostimportant of the "initiates" into the Germanicwisdom.
For List,all the great" initiates,"Buddah,Osiris,and Moses were
Saxons.54More popular,however,was HoustonStewartChamber-
lain'sand Langbehn'sidea ofChristas theAryanprototype.Dieder-
ichsbelieved,as did Lagarde(and indeed,all of themendiscussed),
thatSt. Paul,theJew,had madeChristintoa Jewish figure,
imprison-
ing him within the confines of theologicalthought.Instead,Christ
was at onewiththecosmicspirit,a spiritbestunderstood notthrough
scripture but throughsuch mysticsas Diederich'sfavorite, Meister
Eckhardt.55He spentmuchof his energypropagating thiskindof
50 Langbehn, Rembrandt,113, Tudel Weller,Rabaukenf!Peter Moenkemann
hautsichdurch(Munich,1938), 114; cf.GeorgeL. Mosse," Culture,Civilization
and GermanAnti-Semitism," Judaism, VII, 3 (Summer1958),256-267.
51 Weltkampf, IV (1927), 189.
52 Baltzli,GuidovonList,29; Klagesin Schuler, Fragmente, 43.
53Paul de Lagarde,104.
54Schuler,Fragmente, 163ff.;Reviewof Guido von List, Die Urspracheder
Ario-Germanen undihreMysterien-Sprache in Prana,VI, 11-12 (February-March
1916),560.
55 Langbehn,Rembrandt, 353, Eugen Diederichs,84-85; Anstett,"Paul de
Lagarde,"loc. cit.,184.

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 MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NAZISM 93

Christianity.The chiefadvisorto his publishing housewas Alfred

Drews,whoin his Mythof Christ(Die ChristusMythe),published
by Diederichs, attackedthehistoricity oftheChristfigure.Similarly,
Munich'sv&lkish publisher,
J.F. Lehmann,spenthis timefurthering
an identicalevangelism, agitatingagainstthe theologians of the or-
ganizedchurches whowereas inimicalto the " idealismofdeeds" as
werethe Jewsthemselves.Indeed,such a viewof Christrendered
theOld Testamentnulland void; Arthur Dintersuggested thatit be
bannedfromtheschools.56
Langbehncombinedthisview of Christwiththe ideal of force.
Germans,he wrote,shouldmodel themselvesupon the medieval
bishopswhoadvanced,swordin hand,againsttheirenemies. Such
Christianityfittedintoa Germanandmystical context, whichsymbol-
ized a humanitywhichknewthe necessityof force. "Humanity
wantswhatis best,thefighter accomplishes whatis best.""
Here also art and war mustbe combined.Yet thisconceptof
Christianityrestedonslightfoundations.Diederichs, forone,realized
thiswhenhe wrotethattheverywordChristmadehim" nervous."
He nevertriedto disguisetheheathenqualityofhisSeracircle.58By
fusingChristwiththe life-spirit of the Aryanthesemenwantedto
createa nationalreligion.One of theattractions of Swedenborg for
LangbehnwasthefactthatSwedenborg positeda separateheavenfor
eachnationand thusrecognized theimportance ofthenationalfactor
in religion."'Luther,however, was theirrealhero,forthesemensaw
in hima trulynationalreligious figurewhorejectedtheology, so they
thought.
These are the principlefacetsof an ideologywhichwas to pass
into the NationalSocialistmovement.This was the " race mysti-
cism" aboutwhichmenlikeGuntherand Rosenberg wrote. Out of
thismixtureof theromanticand the occultthe Aryanarose: some-
timesout of thesun,sometimes through a historicalprocess,but al-
waysas a true,organicindividual-a partof natureand of thelife-
forcewhichspringsfromnature. Guidovon List sangof theAryan
duringtheice ageengagedin building hisspiritualandbodilystrength
in thehardfight withnature,arisingquitedifferently thanotherraces
wholivedwithoutstruggle in themidstof a bountiful world.60For
the elementof struggle was alwaysa partof thisideology;art and
56 Melanie Lehmann,VerlegerJ. F. Lehmann; Ein Leben im Kampf fur
Deutschland(Munich,1935), 23ff. Lehmannwas intimately
involvedwiththe
growthof theNationalSocialistpartyin Munich.
57Langbehn, Rembrandt, 326-327. 58EugenDiederichs,
73.
5 Langbehn, Rembrandt, 95.
00Guido von List, Die Namen der Volkerstaemme Germaniensund deren
Deutung(Leipzig,1909),4.

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94 G. L. MOSSE

battlego together.This,however, was not the Darwinianstruggle

forthesurvivalof thefittest, butratherthegoodfightoftheAryan
whowas eternally oftheelect. The effectivenessofDacque's bookin
overcoming the " Englishdisease,"Darwinism, was notedby a Na-
tionalSocialistjournalofthe1920's. Darwinism wasofoneclothwith
politicaldemocracy; bothdissolvedtheorganicunityofmanas part
ofnature,andDarwinism didso through survivalofthefittest.6'The
Aryanwas the sole organicman and his taskwas not a struggle for
survivalagainstequals,forhe had none. Instead,his was an inner
struggle to recapturehis uniqueheritageand an outwardstruggle to
rid himselfof Jewsand theologians.AlfredRosenberghad thisin
mindwhenhe wroteof the " romanticism of steel"; the revolution
againstcapitalistbourgeois societycouldonlyhaverealityifit served
thepermanent valuesofbloodin revolt.62
The menwe have singledout foranalysisweresomeof thechief
purveyors ofthisthought.Therewerea hostofothers.A listof or-
ganizations sponsoring themeetingat theHohenMeissnermakesthis
amplyclear. The Germanyouthmovement has enteredthisstoryat
everyturn. Undoubtedly the Wandervogel wereone of the prime
transmitters of the movement's thought. They too rejectedintel-
lectualismfor the mystiqueof contactwith nature. Excursions
brought out the" realman" as opposedto theartificial manofmod-
ernmaterialculture.For Fischer,thefounder ofthatmovement, ro-
manticism was an expressionofnationalfeeling withan explicitracial
base. Bluher,the controversial historianof the Wanderv6gel, remi-
niscedthatin the movement's earlydays consciousness of race suf-
ficedto joinsoulto nature.63Closelyassociatedwiththeyouthmove-
mentwerethe countryboarding-schools foundedby HermannLietz
(1898). These schools,whichlaterhad a greatinfluence, institu-
tionalizedmanyof the ideas we have discussed. One admirersaid
correctly that "in Lietz's hands the regenerating naturalforcesof
agriculture and rurallifeweremade to workforthe educationof
men."64 Lietzbelievedthattheemphasisin educationshouldnotbe
on booklearningbuton buildingcharacter through contactwiththe
landscapeof the fatherland and knowledge of the Teutonicinherit-
ance. The endproductofthiseducationalprocesswas to be an aris-
tocracyofmenand womenwhowouldnot" bendtheirknees" before
61Weltkampf,IV (1927), 92.
62 AlfredRosenberg, " RebellionderJugend,"Nationalsozialistische
Monatshefte,
Heft2 (May 1930),50ff.
63 Hans Bluiher,
Wanderv6gel, GeschichteeinerJugendbewegung (Berlin,1916),
II, 83ff. BliuherblamedChristianity forthe degeneration
of thepureromantic of
theWanderv6gel (172).
64 AlfredAndreesen, HermannLietz (Munich,1934),101.

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 MYSTICAL ORIGINS OF NAZISM 95

theMolochofcapitalism andmaterialism.Instead,theywouldstand
foran ideal whichrepresented in Lietz's wordsa "purer religious
worldofthought and feeling."Forthesakeofthisidealsuchleaders
wouldtakeup thefightagainstthe" dark" instincts ofthemasses.65
Thisreligious
worldLietzsaw in termsofa Christianity which,as
fortheothers,was divorcedfromChristas a historical personage.In
Paul de Lagardehe saw thetheologian nearestto hisposition.Christ
mustbe rescuedfromSt. Paul andemergeagainas a heroimage:thus
youngGermanscouldbe inspiredto an active,heroiclife. For this
tasktheancientGermanand Grecianreligious mythsweremorevalu-
able thanthe Old Testament, whichLietz also rejected.66Lietz de-
velopedtheseideas intoan explicitracism. At firsthe tookJewish
studentsintohisschool,buthe gradually bannedthemfromhis edu-
cationalsystem.Towardtheendofhislife,aftertheGermandefeat
in theworldwar,he beganto writeaboutthenecessity offreeing
Ger-
manyfromthe " Jewishspirit" and fromall thosewhoweremoved
byit.67
TypicalforLietz'sattitudeswas thechangewhichhe madein the
Englishsystemofstudentself-government, a systemwhichhad origi-
nallyimpressed himand had,in a sense,inspiredhis work. He sub-
stitutedforthisthe" family" system-eachteacherwas supposedto
be the" father" ofa smallgroupofstudents.The difference ofclass
and statuswereto be displacedby an " organicstate."68 Thisled to
a breakwithsomeofhis associateswhobelieved,as Lietzdid not,in
thereasonableness of themajorityand thuswishededucationaldeci-
sionsto be made by studentsand facultyjointly. The ideal of the
organicstatewas thusmirrored in thestructure oftheschoolsthem-
selves. As he wrotetowardtheendofhislife:onlytheorganic, that
whichis in tunewithnature,69 will last. Here too Lietz was close
to the ideologywe have discussed.It is small wonderthat the
list of bookswhichhe recommended forreadingaloud to students
duringthe eveninghourset aside forthatpurposeincludedracial-
nationalistic
novelsand endedbyrecommending thebookspublished
by Eugen Diederichs.Diederichs, in turn,longedto publishLietz's
works,whileLehmannactuallypublishedbookswhichfurthered his
Lietz,DeutscheNationalerziehung
65 Hermann (Weimar,1938),123-124.
66 Ibid.,114,120; H. Lietz,Lebenserinnerungen
(Weimar,1935),41,47. Christ
symbolized struggle(189).
67 For his developingattitudetowardsJewssee Lietz,Lebenserinnerungen, 115.
From1909on,onlystudents ofAryandescentwereadmitted(161). On theJewish
spirit,see Lietz,DeutscheNationalerziehung,14.
68 Lebenserinnerungen, 194; Andreesen,HermannLietz, iii; for Lietz's own
hymnon patriarchal society,see Lebenserinnerungen,
194.
69 Hermann Lietz,Des VaterlandesNot und Hoffnung (Haubinda,1934),86.

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96 G. L. M0SSE

cause,and senthis sonsto one ofLietz'sschools. Nor is it astonish-

ing that one of his leadingcollaborators becameone of the most
prominent ofNationalSocialisteducators.70
Again,in thiscase,personalcontinuities werenotas important as
the furthering,indeedinstitutionalizing, of a culturalatmosphere.
Afterthe firstworld war many countryboardingschools were
founded, someby prominent menlikePrinzMax von Baden. Their
aim was a national,spiritualrenewalbased on the principles which
Lietz had set forth.To be sure,some substituteda broad non-
nationalhumanitarian outlook,while othersadoptedLietz's ideas
withoutgivingtheman explicitracialbase. Yet theatmosphere was
set; its romanticismand " idealismof deeds" coloredthe thoughtof
those generations who had passed throughthe countryboarding
schoolsand theyouthmovement.
Transmitted in thisway,the romanticand mysticideologywith
whichwe have been concerneddreweverwideningcirclesinto its
sphereofinfluence, evenifamongthesemanylaterrejectedNational
Socialism. Amongthoseinfluenced weresomeof the best literary
mindsofcontemporary Germany.StefanGeorgecameunderthein-
fluenceof Schulerand Klages at the same timethat he composed
some of the "cosmic" poemsof his SeventhRing (Der Siebente
Ring). Claude David has no hesitationin sayingthatthe hand of
thisgroupofmenis seenin someofRilke'sElegies.7' Stillmoreac-
tivelyinvolvedwiththemovement was AugustStrindberg.He par-
ticipatedin the ancientGermanicriteswhichLanz von Liebenfels,
withList's assistance,performed in one of his Hungariancastles.72
Strindberg'snovelTschandalatookovera wordwhichList and Lieb-
enfelshad usedto designatethelowerraces.
In Germanythe recovery of the unconscious,in reactionagainst
the dominantpositivist ideologies,laid the groundwork forthe Ger-
man formofXXth-century totalitarianism. This reactioncombined
the deep streamof Germanromanticism withthe mysteries of the
occultas wellas withtheidealismofdeeds. Whatsortofdeedsthese
turnedoutto be is written in bloodon thepagesofhistory.
University ofWisconsin.
70Ibid., 76. EugenDiederichs,64; Lehmann,Verleger,38, 277. The closecol-
laboratorwas AlfredAndreesen, from1909 his deputydirectorat Bieberstein.
Lietz,in hissocial-political of faithduringthewar,tellsof hisallegiance
confession
to the worldview of Germanidealism. Lebenserinnerungen, 196. The schools
werealso representedon theHohenMeissnerin 19i3 (Freideutsche Jugend, 18).
71 David,StefanGeorge, 208.
72 For the relationshipof Strindberg and Lanz von Liebenfels,see Wilfried
Daim,Der MannDer HitlerDie Ideen Gab (Munich,1958),92-99.

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