The Cultural Roots of National Socialism

Originally published in 1978, this book discusses some of the most important problems of 20th Century. The central concern of the volume is the deep-rooted provincialism which has pervaded the German cultural scene since the middle of the 19th Century. The causes and consequences of cultural developments which made the most tragic period of German history possible are reflected upon in this outstanding work.

Part 1: Culture as Fa?ade 1. Master Goethe 2. Potsdam is Weimar 3. Naked and Beautiful 4. Beautiful, Clean, Clear 5. The Pathos of Schiller 6. Spiesser Romanticism 7. In the Arbour 8. Of Trashy Tunes and Colportage 9. Sentiment at Home Part 2: Mythos Against Logos 1. Repulsive Intellectuals 2. Western Decadence 3. Professors and Heroes 4. Heroes, Hawkers and Democrats 5. Socialist Traitors 6. German Conservatism 7. Leadership 8. Man as Predator 9. A Gilded Race of Germans 10. Of Blood and Race 11. Blood and Soil 12. National Exaltation 13. The Word ‘German’ Part 3: Repression and Complex 1. The German Maid 2. The Maid’s Hero 3. Bier-Mug Mystique 4. Mob Romanticism 5. The Enigma of the Orient 6. Anti-Semitism 7. The Ghastly Idyll 8. Ossified Churches