Anti-Anti-Intellectualism in Intellectualism in

Nazi GermanyNazi Germany

Thought ControlThought Control

Symbols of the ReichSymbols of the Reich

What is What is AntiAnti-Intellectualism?-Intellectualism?

A sentiment of hostility towards, or mistrust of, intellectuals and intellectual pursuits

Attacks on the merits of science, education, literature

Not just about hating intellectualism: it’s about the values in its place

John Locke on IntellectualismJohn Locke on Intellectualism

“I attribute the little I know to my not having been ashamed to ask for information, and to my rule of conversing with all descriptions of men on those topics that form their own peculiar [opinions].”—John Locke

“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common.”—John Locke

Consequences of Consequences of AntiAnti-Intellectualism-Intellectualism

A society where individual thought is compromised, and the preservation of truth is minimal

Authorities take more power--Cannot be challenged; there is no

intellectual spirit of dissent

Consequences of Consequences of Anti-Anti-IntellectualismIntellectualism

Emergence of Pseudoscience(e.g., Eugenics)

Rewriting of History Destruction of Classical Literature

Nazi Nazi AntiAnti-Intellectualism-Intellectualism

Knowledge that benefited state was allowed, e.g., war technology

Individual learning was frowned upon• Independent thinking v public opinion• Propaganda: new form of education

Repression of the truth in favor of that which stirs up emotion

CENTRAL QUESTIONCENTRAL QUESTION

Why was Why was antianti--intellectualism such a intellectualism such a

critical element in critical element in sustaining Nazi sustaining Nazi

culture from 1933-culture from 1933-1945?1945?

NAZI BOOK BURNINGSNAZI BOOK BURNINGS

Why Burn Books?Why Burn Books?

A way of venting anger• Symbolic transition of cultural values• Intellectualism to radical emotionalism

Unifies community in ritual behaviors

Intimidates the intellectual community• Angry mobs• lost touch with traditional values

The Burning of the BooksThe Burning of the Books

May 10, 1933• Nazi Party declares that any book

“which acts subversively on our future or strikes at the root of German thought, the German home and the driving forces of our people...” is to be burned.

• Jewish intellectuals were primary targets, but many non-Jews who challenged the Third Reich were suspect as well

Burning of the BooksBurning of the Books Students led by Brown Shirts ran through

the streets rampaging libraries, synagogues, and private homes for books

Confiscated books were thrown onto bonfires with ceremony

Mob CensorshipMob Censorship

Nazi leaders encouraged burnings, but discouraged any publicity

Aftermath

• Frightened intellectuals, Jewish and non-Jewish, fleeing Germany

• “Jewish intellectualism is dead”—Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda, after the 1933 Book Burning

Authors of Books Burned 5/10/33Authors of Books Burned 5/10/33 Albert Einstein Havelock Ellis Lion Feuchtwanger Sigmund Freud André Gide Franz Kafka Erich Kästner Helen Keller Alfred Kerr Jack London Heinrich Mann Thomas Mann Karl Marx

Hugo Preuss Marcel Proust Walter Rathenau Erich Maria

Remarque Margaret Sanger Arthur Schnitzler Upton Sinclair Jakob Wasserman H. G. Wells Stefan Zweig Emile Zola

EDUCATION INEDUCATION INTHE THIRD REICHTHE THIRD REICH

Two Jewish students are humiliated in front of their

class. The writing on the

board proclaims, “The Jew is our greatest

enemy! Beware of the

Jew!"

The Nazi ClassroomThe Nazi Classroom

The Curriculum• Racial biology and

eugenics

• Celebratory German history

• Discipline, duty, obedience, courage

• Physical training—Body over mind

• No concern for the “spirit of academics”

“The Jewish Nose is Wide at the End and

Looks like the number six”

The Nazi ClassroomThe Nazi Classroom

Task of the Educator• Strengthen the soul and spirit of

youth• Instill nationalism in younger

generation• Prepare students for service, and

even self-sacrifice to the Reich

NO INTENTION OF EDUCATING THE INDIVIDUAL FOR THE SAKE OF THE

INDIVIDUAL

The Nazi ClassroomThe Nazi Classroom

The Goal: to root out values of…

• Liberal individualism

• Rationalism

• Intellectualism… a complete 180° from the ideals of

Locke and the Enlightenment!

RationaleRationale Trained children to be good

soldiers for the State• Easier to accept a total authority if you

don’t know how to think for yourself• Control what is taught and thought

Ultimate Goal• In Democracies: Student learns so he

may benefit himself• In Totalitarian Germany: Student

learns so he may benefit the state

Adolf Hitler on EducationAdolf Hitler on Education "Universal education is the most

corroding and disintegrating poison that liberalism has ever invented”—Adolf Hitler

"Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way round”—Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler on EducationAdolf Hitler on Education

"The folkish state must not adjust its…educational work…to the inoculation of mere knowledge, but to the breeding of absolutely healthy bodies…And here again, first place must be taken by the development of character, especially the promotion of will-power and determination, combined with the training of joy in responsibility, and only in last place comes scientific schooling." –Mein Kampf

The Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (Hitler Jung)(Hitler Jung)

Clip from Clip from Triumph of the WillTriumph of the Will

• Hitler is admired• Promotes emotionalism• Note the serious faces and militarism of

young boys

Why was the HJ necessary in Why was the HJ necessary in Nazi Germany?Nazi Germany?

Hitler believed the future of Nazi Germany was in its children

Create a generation that knew only Nazism

• No need to suppress individual thinking as adults

• People are imprinted with anti-intellectual ideology at a young age

Goals of the Hitler YouthGoals of the Hitler Youth

Train children for their roles as Nazi citizens

Men: “Wehrsport” (military training)

Women: Preparation for Aryan motherhood

Hitler’s View of the CorpsHitler’s View of the Corps

“The weak must be chiseled away. I want young men and women who can suffer pain...”

"I will have no intellectual training. Knowledge is ruin to my young men”

Relevance of the Hitler Jung toRelevance of the Hitler Jung toAntiAnti-Intellectualism-Intellectualism

The values of a culture result from the values instilled in its youth

• U.S.: pressure to do well in school, go to college, get a job, make money

• Nazi Germany: People were worth only what they contributed to the state

Environment ofEnvironment ofAntiAnti-Intellectual Germany-Intellectual Germany

Nazi PopulismNazi Populism “Whoever can conquer the street

will one day conquer the state...”–Joseph Goebbels

Struggle against “privileged elite”• Jews• Non-German Internationalists

Intellectuals are elitists and tricksters• Hoodwink opponents with rhetoric• Communists and Non-conformists

The VolksgemeinschaftThe Volksgemeinschaft

The People’s Community• Established collective national spirit• Based on racial and national pride

Subliminal influence on cultureBureaucratization of censorship and propaganda

PEOPLE CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES

The ReichskulturkammerThe Reichskulturkammer

Reich Culture Chamber Managed by Hans Hinkel Goals:

• Promote Good Culture• Root out, ban Bad Culture

Compulsory membership for all members of German media

HEIGHT OF ANTI-INTELLECTUALISM

Divisions of the Divisions of the ReichskulturkammerReichskulturkammer

Reichspressekammer (press) Reichsfilmkammer (film) Reichsrundfunkkammer (radio) Reichsmusikkammer (music) Reichsschriftumskammer

(literature) Reichstheaterkammer (theater) Reichskammer der bildenden

künste (fine arts)

The Ministry for Popular The Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and PropagandaEnlightenment and Propaganda Spread and enforced Nazi ideology Antithesis of intellectual-based culture Rampant anti-Semitism Infected all mediums of art and

literature

Ministry of PropagandaMinistry of Propaganda

In a totalitarian regime, public opinion must be molded to fit the state

Conversely, intellectualism demands:• A “marketplace of ideas”• Tolerance of dissent• Ability to question authority• Independent thought• Formulation of rational ideas

KristallnachtKristallnacht“Night of the Broken Glass”“Night of the Broken Glass”

Political assassination by Jew ignites spark Nazi youth pillage Jewish buildings The mob trumps individualism Considered beginning of Holocaust

Joseph Goebbels:Joseph Goebbels:Head of the Head of the AntiAnti-intellectual Serpent-intellectual Serpent

Dr. Paul Joseph GoebbelsDr. Paul Joseph Goebbels Head of Ministry for

Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda

A textbook example of the anti-intellectualism he promoted

Extreme, unconditional loyalty to Hitler

Goebbels on Goebbels on Truth and IntellectualismTruth and Intellectualism

“Intellectual activity is a danger to the building of character”

“It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion”

“Not every item of news should be published. Rather must those who control news policies endeavor to make every item of news serve a certain purpose”

The “Big Lie” TheoryThe “Big Lie” Theory

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”—Joseph Goebbels

SummationSummation

AntiAnti-intellectualism-intellectualism A force that seeks to unify…

• The mind of a nation• The will of a nation

Censorship of truth• Idea that truth is irrelevant• Truth is dangerous

Propaganda is used to orchestrate the direction of public opinion

Contemporary Parallels Contemporary Parallels Regent University Law

Grads• Ranked Tier 4 School• Extremely conservative• 150 in Administration• Loyalty over intelligence

Firing of U.S. Attorneys• Serve at the pleasure of the

Chief Executive• No reasons given• Not based on performance

Repetitious RhetoricRepetitious Rhetoric Propaganda

• Overuse of the word “freedom”• Overgeneralization of “terror”• Simplification of good vs. evil

Stirring up emotions• 9/11 as a rallying point• Scapegoating “outsiders”

Karl Rove on Intellectualism Karl Rove on Intellectualism “As people do better, they start

voting like Republicans—unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing”

The EndThe End(or is it?)(or is it?)