Social Fascism Revisited

Stefan Vogt. Nationaler Sozialismus und Soziale Demokratie: Die sozialdemokratische Junge Rechte 1918-1945. Bonn: Verlag J.H.W. Dietz Nachf., 2006. 502 S. gebunden, ISBN 978-3-8012-4161-2. Reviewed by Eric Kurlander Published on H-German (May, 2007) During the tumultuous fourteen years of the ed the chief bulwark against both communism Weimar Republic, members of the Communist and fascism. Indeed, leading socialist moderates, Party (KPD) regularly assailed their moderate So‐ sometimes referred to as the Junge Rechte, en‐ cial Democratic Party (SPD) colleagues with accu‐ dorsed "social market" capitalism, peaceful revi‐ sations of "social fascism." By allying with bour‐ sion of the Versailles Treaty, and a bourgeois al‐ geois parties in defense of a liberal democratic liance in defense of liberal democracy. Though state, the Communists argued, the SPD fomented they failed in staving off fascism, these historians nationalist revisionism, monopoly capitalism, argue," the "young Right" succeeded in paving the and--inevitably--fascism. Few western scholars way for the social liberalism of postwar ("Bad have accepted this critique in its entirety, but Godesberg") Social Democracy.[2] many have blamed the Majority Socialists' initial Stefan Vogt's new intellectual history rejects vacillation between Left and Right for the weak‐ this bourgeois revisionism out of hand, adding a ness and ultimate collapse of the Weimar Repub‐ new wrinkle to the "social fascist" paradigm of the lic. Rather than nationalizing heavy industry, 1930s. In Vogt's provocative reading of events, purging the monarchist bureaucracy, or breaking Weimar social democracy enabled fascism not up Junker estates, the SPD colluded with right- only in its hostility to the communist Left but in wing paramilitary groups in 1919 to suppress its ideological commitment to the radical Right. working-class revolutionaries and tolerated a cap‐ Far from suggesting a "third way" between free italist economic order that guaranteed the persis‐ market liberalism and revolutionary Marxism, tence of the conservative elites who brought the Junge Rechte incorporated "national Socialist" down the Weimar Republic.[1] While most histori‐ traditions that were hostile to modernity and ra‐ ans now concede that the 1918-19 revolution was tionality. Like Hitler's National Socialist German "incomplete," however, some contend that such Worker's Party (NSDAP), Vogt suggests, these So‐ moderation was necessary. As the bourgeois par‐ cial Democrats were similarly obsessed with ties disintegrated, the Majority Socialists constitut‐ H-Net Reviews völkisch nationalism and eastward expansion and idealism and anti-Enlightenment irrationality to covetous of the reactionary Mittelstand. Despite prove that Jewish socialists like Bernstein or Co‐ his protests to the contrary, Vogt therefore propos‐ hen provided the basis for National Socialism.[4] es a "special path" thesis rather more teleological The same lack of nuance characterizes Vogt's ap‐ than the first (pp. 16-22). praisal of Paul Tillich's "religious socialism," A long frst chapter examines the origins of which ostensibly sought "Anschluß an einen ideol‐ the Junge Rechte, or more precisely its ideological ogischen Diskurs, der sonst vom rechten Rand des underpinnings, in the socialist revisionism of the politischen Spektrums" aus betrieben wurde" (p. prewar period. Whereas many historians read Ed‐ 76). Both claims might have been better served by uard Bernstein's turn away from revolutionary drawing out the similarities between "national So‐ Marxism as a pragmatic attempt to create a more cialist" trends on the bourgeois "Left" and the so‐ viable and modern Volkspartei, Vogt locates a cialist "Right." Vogt manages to discuss concepts growing fascination with ethnic nationalism and like Mitteleuropa, "Christian" Socialism, and "na‐ anti-Enlightenment irrationalism. War merely ac‐ tional Socialism" repeatedly without a single ref‐ celerated preexisting trends toward "national So‐ erence to Adolf Stöcker's Christian-Social or cialism" (pp. 27-28). The socialists' decision to sup‐ Friedrich Naumann's National-Social Party (Na‐ port war credits and defend their country from tionalsozialen). These lacunae are especially hard invasion was certainly a departure from doctri‐ to understand when prominent members of both naire Marxism, as Vogt makes clear. But one wish‐ organizations would later join the SPD and/or the es for greater differentiation between the moder‐ NSDAP. The chapter concludes by examining two ate patriotism endorsed by universalist, and often of the most important social bases of the Junge Jewish, socialists like Bernstein or Hermann Co‐ Rechte in the wake of the First World War, the hen and the exclusionary völkisch nationalism of Jungsozialisten and, more importantly, the the radical Right.[3] It also seems careless to con‐ Hofgeismar discussion circle ("Hofgemeis‐ flate Bernstein's support for colonialism or impe‐ arkreis"). Vogt argues effectively that these two rialism on economic grounds with radical nation‐ groups, impressed more strongly by the war expe‐ alism (pp. 35-39). Paul Lensch or Eduard rience than their older colleagues and radicalized Heimann's emphasis on the "fundamentalen Kon‐ by the Ruhr occupation, sought to emancipate the flik zwischen Deutschland und England, in dem German nation alongside the proletariat. die gesellschaftlichen Prinzipien von Individualis‐ Chapter 2 addresses the organizational devel‐ mus und Liberalismus besonders ausgprägt sein" opment of the Junge Rechte during Weimar's peri‐ has parallels to conservative nationalist propa‐ od of relative political and economic stability. ganda (pp. 41-45). The fact remains, however, that Having come together and matured during the many left-wing socialists also denigrated the indi‐ initial crisis years (1919-24), the Junge Rechte ex‐ vidualistic Anglo-Saxon social order well before perienced a period of political stagnation during Germany entered the First World War. the years of relative stability (1924-30). Vogt According to Vogt, another essential element makes a convincing case, however, that the social‐ in the genesis of "national Socialism" is the Mar‐ ist "right-wing" gained a growing influence on burger School's decision to oppose an ethical and various republican institutions. Academics like religious socialism inspired by neo-Kantianism to Adolf Reichwein and Eduard Heimann introduced the dialectical materialism of Marx. This section is adult education programs at the universities of fascinating to read and cleverly argued. It none‐ Jena and Berlin, while Theodor Haubach, Gustav theless requires a considerable elision of Kantian Dahrendorff, and Carl Mierendorff took up promi‐ nent positions in the party bureaucracy, the para‐ 2 H-Net Reviews military Reichsbanner and socialist press, espe‐ Junge Rechte likewise articulated a view shared cially Die Neuen Blätter für den Sozialismus, by many bourgeois and socialist republicans (pp. which became one of the most influential socialist 205-206). There is no denying that the ethical con‐ periodicals during the waning years of the cerns of the Junge Rechte with regard to the eco‐ Weimar Republic. From Reich Interior Minister nomic interest politics of the 1920s bore certain Carl Severing to Chancellor Hermann Müller, similarities to the anti-materialism of the bour‐ from intellectuals like Tillich and Radbruch to geois Center-Right. But these concerns were hard‐ journalists like Rathmann and Mierendorff, by the ly indicative of Nazi proclivities. Indeed, Vogt ad‐ late 1920s the "Junge Rechte besaß ein breites und mits numerous times that, despite their putative zuverlässiges Netz an Verbündeten in der ober‐ affinities for the forces of "conservative revolu‐ sten Führungsetage der Partei, etwas, das dem tion," the Junge Rechte remained frmly anchored linken Flügel der Partei weitgehend fehlt" (p. 153). in the ranks of Social Democracy, unwilling to Having established the disproportionate polit‐ abandon proletarian interests, undermine the Re‐ ical and institutional strength of the Junge Rechte, public, or embrace antisemitism (pp. 159-160, Vogt turns in chapter 3 to the "Entwicklung ihrer 165-166, 168-169, 175, 180, 191, 209-210, 212, 215, ideologischen und politischen Diskurse" in the 220, 256-257). These frequent qualifications do lit‐ context of fve "ideologischer Leitmotive": nation, tle to enhance Vogt's argument. class, state, democracy, and belief. Many of these Shifting the focus from ideology to practice, in arguments are already familiar. There is no chapter 4 the author contends that the Junge doubt, for example, that the Junge Rechte was Rechte manifested strong proclivities for National more "nationalist" than the proletarian Left and Socialism in everyday politics. Here too, little dis‐ the USPD or KPD. But Vogt never really proves tinguishes the Junge Rechte's political support for that their patriotic support for Anschluß with German self-determination or a revision of the Austria, revision of the Versailles Treaty, or the re‐ Versailles Treaty from that of the republican Cen‐ turn of lost territories in the East was qualitative‐ ter-Left (pp. 271-277). The Junge Rechte's concep‐ ly different from mainstream socialism. If, in fact, tion of a "socialist market economy" (p. 278) or a there is little to distinguish the Junge Rechte's for‐ "third front" between communism and free mar‐ eign policy from that of Weimar's longtime for‐ ket capitalism (p. 294) seems remarkably similar eign minister and Nobel

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