anti-intellectualism in nazi germany based on a powerpoint by david s, horace greeley high school
TRANSCRIPT
Anti-Intellectualism in Nazi Germany
Based on a PowerPoint by David S, Horace Greeley High School
INTRODUCTIONINTRODUCTION
What is Anti-Intellectualism?What is Anti-Intellectualism?
Anti-intellectualism is expressed as hostility towards, or mistrust of, intellectuals and intellectual pursuits.
It attacks merits of science, education, literature.
Anti-intellectuals often see themselves as champions of ‘the ordinary man’.
They are against academic elitism, often arguing that highly educated people from an isolated social group are dominating political discourse and higher education (academia).
Consequences of Consequences of Anti-IntellectualismAnti-Intellectualism
It fosters a society where individual thought is discouraged and the worth of the truth is minimal.
Authorities have more power• They can’t be challenged, because
there is no intellectual spirit of dissent
Consequences of Consequences of Anti-IntellectualismAnti-Intellectualism
Emergence of Pseudoscience• (i.e. Eugenics)
Rewriting of History Destruction of Literature
Nazi Anti-IntellectualismNazi Anti-Intellectualism
Knowledge that benefited state was allowed (i.e. rocket science)
Individual learning was frowned upon• Independent thinking goes against
public opinion• Propaganda a new form of “education”
Repression of the truth in favour of that which stirs up radical emotion
CENTRAL QUESTIONCENTRAL QUESTION
Why was anti-intellectualism Why was anti-intellectualism such a critical element in such a critical element in
sustaining Nazi culture from sustaining Nazi culture from 1933-1945?1933-1945?
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 a ritual Intimidates intellectual community
• Frightening to see an angry mob that has lost touch with your 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 target, but also many non-Jews as well
The Burning of the BooksThe Burning of the Books
Students marched through the streets rampaging libraries, synagogues, and even private homes to loot books
Books were thrown onto bonfire
““The Burning of the Books”The Burning of the Books”
Nazis encouraged burnings, but discouraged publicising the burnings
Aftermath• Frightened many intellectuals, Jewish
and non-Jewish, many fled Germany
“Jewish intellectualism is dead”—Joseph Goebbels after the 1933 book Burning
Some Authors of Books Burned Some Authors of Books Burned on 5/10/33on 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 whole 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
Strong desire to destroy the values of…• Liberal individualism
• Rationalism
• Intellectualism
The Nazi ClassroomThe Nazi Classroom
Girls and boys were taught that they had clear roles in German society:
• Boys would go on to be soldiers and fight for their country.
• It was the girls’ duty to become mothers and produce the next generation of soldiers.
The Nazi ClassroomThe Nazi Classroom
Physical fitness was highly prized :• If you were fit you could produce lots of
children.• If you were fit you could become a
soldier and fight for your country.
The Nazi ClassroomThe Nazi Classroom
Antisemitism:• German children were taught that the
Jews were responsible for many of the problems Germany was facing.
• They were taught that the Jews were an inferior race. Slavs, gay, Roma (Gypsy), mentally and physically disabled people, Jehova’s witnesses, black people and children of mixed marriages were also seen as ‘unter-menschen’ = “sub humans”
Reasons for this Reasons for this Education SystemEducation System
Trained children to be good soldiers• Easier to accept a total authority if you
don’t know how to think for yourself
Ultimate Goal• In Democracy: 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 (HJ)The Hitler Youth (HJ)
Clip From Clip From Triumph of the WillTriumph of the Will
Click image to see video on YouTube Notice direction of film
• Shows how admired Hitler is
• Promotes radical emotionalism
• Notice serious faces, militarism of young boys
Why was the HJ Necessary for Why was the HJ Necessary for Nazi Germany?Nazi Germany?
Hitler believed the future of Nazi Germany was in its children
Composed of a generation that knew almost only Nazism• No need to suppress individual thinking
if people are imprinted with anti-intellectual ideology at a young age
Why was the HJ Necessary for Why was the HJ Necessary for Nazi Germany?Nazi Germany?
Trained children for their roles as Nazi citizens
Men: “Wehrsport” (Military training)
Women: Preparation for Aryan motherhood
Hitler’s View of the HJHitler’s View of the HJ
“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 HJ toRelevance of the HJ toAnti-IntellectualismAnti-Intellectualism
The values of a culture result from the values instilled in its youth
• In Europe: pressure to do well in school, get a job, make money
• In Nazi Germany: Children were worth only what they contributed to the state
Social Atmosphere in anSocial Atmosphere in anAnti-Intellectual GermanyAnti-Intellectual Germany
Nazi PopulismNazi Populism
“Whoever can conquer the street will one day conquer the state...”–Joseph Goebbels
Struggle against “privileged elite”• Especially Jews
Intellectuals are elitists and tricksters• Hoodwink opponents with rhetoric
The Ministry for Popular The Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and PropagandaEnlightenment and Propaganda
Spread and enforced Nazi ideology The antithesis of intellectual-based
culture Rampant anti-Semitism Infected all mediums of art and
literature
Why have aWhy have aMinistry of Propaganda?Ministry of Propaganda?
In a totalitarian regime, public opinion must be molded to fit the state
In contrast, Intellectualism would demand:• 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 destroys Jewish buildings Considered beginning of Holocaust
Joseph Goebbels:Joseph Goebbels:Head of the Anti-intellectual SerpentHead of the Anti-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: he was practically in love with him
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 endeavour 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
CONCLUSIONSCONCLUSIONS
What Anti-intellectualism DoesWhat Anti-intellectualism Does
A force that seeks to unify…• The mind of a nation• The will of a nation
Censorship of truth• Idea that truth is irrelevant is dangerous
Use of propaganda to direct public opinion
Karl Rove (Bush adviser) on Karl Rove (Bush adviser) on Intellectualism 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”—Karl Rove
The EndThe End(or is it?)(or is it?)