Inhumanities
Nazi Interpretations of Western Culture

A revealing account of how Nazi Germany manipulated and mobilized European literature, philosophy, art and music to support its ideological ends.

David B. Dennis (Author)

9781107521858, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 14 May 2015

558 pages, 50 b/w illus.
22.8 x 15.2 x 3 cm, 0.45 kg

'David B. Dennis has unearthed and presented in great detail Nazi ways of framing the legacy of several 'great masters' in völkisch and racial terms, thus creating a treasure trove of information on which future scholars can draw.' Riccardo Bavaj, German History

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 belief that the Third Reich represented the culmination 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 Völkischer Beobachter, the party's official organ and the most widely circulating German newspaper of the day, he reveals how activists twisted history, biography and aesthetics to fit Nazism's authoritarian, militaristic and anti-Semitic world views. Ranging from National Socialist coverage of Germans such as Luther, Dürer, Goethe, Beethoven, Wagner and Nietzsche to 'great men of the Nordic West' such as Socrates, Leonardo and Michelangelo, Dennis reveals the true extent of the regime's ambitious attempt to reshape the 'German mind'.

Introduction
Part I. Foundations of Nazi Cultural History: 1. The 'Germanic' origins of western culture
2. Voxvolkish
3. The western tradition as political and patriotic
4. The western tradition as anti-Semitic
5. The archenemy incarnate
Part II. Blind to the Light: 6. Classicism romanticized
7. Intolerance toward enlightenment
8. Forging steel romanticism
9. Romantic music as 'our greatest legacy'
Part III. Modern Dilemmas: 10. Realist paradox and expressionist confusion
11. Nordic existentialists and volkish founders
12. Music after Wagner
Part IV. 'Holy' War and Weimar 'Crisis': 13. Heralds of the front experience
14. Weimar culture wars i: defending German spirit from 'circumcision'
15. Weimar culture wars ii: combating 'degeneracy'
Part V. Nazi 'Solutions': 16. 'Honour your German masters'
17. The Nazi 'Renaissance'
18. Kultur at war
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD], History [HB], Music [AV], The arts [A]