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Nordic Ideology in the SS and the SS Ahnenerbe 53 Momentum and Drew from Ahnenerbe Resources

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Nordic Ideology in the SS and the SS Ahnenerbe 53 Momentum and Drew from Ahnenerbe Resources NordiN ordicc ldeologyIdeology inin thethe SSSS andand ththee SSSS AhnenerbeAhnenerbe Horst JJungingerunginger 1.1. TheThe HistoriographHistoriographyy ofof thethe ChurchChurch StruggleStruggle andand itsits MisrepresenMisrepresen­• tationstations TheThe conceptualconceptual frameworkframework ofof ththee so-calledso-called historiographhistoriographyy ofof ththee churchchurch strugglestruggle hashas shapedshaped thethe scholarlyscholarly occupationoccupation withwith ththee religiousreligious developmentdevelopment iinn ththee ThirdThird ReicReichh ttoo a largelarge extent.extent. TwoTwo fallaciousfallacious equationsequations inin particularparticular affectedaffected ththee post-wapost-warr debatedebate eveneven withinwithin secularsecular historicahistoricall scholarship.scholarship. TueThe firstfirst waswas ththee identificationidentification ooff NationalNational SocialismSocialism witwithh NationalNational SocialistSocialist Paganism.Paganism. InIn ththee continuationcontinuation ofof ththee formerformer quarrelsquarrels betweebetweenn churchchurch andand statestate overover thethe impactimpact ofof aa numbernumber ofof measuresmeasures taketakenn againstagainst churchchurch interests,interests, thethe NaziregimeNa2i regime appearedappeared fromfrom aa certaincertain perspectiveperspective asas politicapoliticall fulfihnentfulfilment ofof thethe warstworst ofof anan anti-Christiananti-Christian heathendoheathendomm aimingaiming ttoo annianni­• hilathilatee ChristianityChristianity inin GermanyGermany asas aa whole.whole. Secondly,Secondly, manymany ifif notnot mostmost studiesstudies writ­writ• tetenn inin ththee contextcontext ofof ththee churchchurch strugglestruggle supportedsupported ththee opinionopinion thatthat Christianity,Christianity, itsits doctrinesdoctrines andand essentialessential meaning,meaning, hahadd beebeenn thethe onlonlyy relevanrelevantt counterforcecounterforce inin thathatt battlbattlee betweebetweenn thethe forcesforces ofof lighlightt andand darkness.darkness. ThisThis widespreawidespreadd ideaidea ofof a deadlydeadly combatcombat betweebetweenn twotwo antagonisticantagonistic worldviewsworldviews entailedentailed a fairlyfairly distorteddistorted picturepicture ooff ththee GermanGerman historyhistory ooff religionreligionss afterafter 1933.1933. ItsIts simplisticsimplistic bipolaritbipolarityy disregardeddisregarded imim­• portanportantt overlapsoverlaps andand eliminatedeliminated intermediaryintermediary elementselements fromfrom thethe greagreatt manmanyy bilatbilat­• eraleral relationrelationss thathatt werewere inin placeplace.. AnyAny potentiapotentiall ideologicalideological permeabilitypermeability betweenbetween ChristianityChristianity andand NationaNationall SocialismSocialism wawass contestedcontested andand commoncommon featuresfeatures betweenbetween botbothh themthem andand betweebetweenn ChristianityChristianity andand PaganisPaganismm werewere belitdebelittledd oror categoricallycategorically denied.denied. WhileWhile ththee churchchurch strugglestruggle paradigmparadigm hahass beebeenn largelylargely abandonedabandoned witwithh regardregard ttoo ProtestantismProtestantism andand CatholicismCatholicism -— considerconsider justjus t thethe workswork sof of Manfred Manfred GailusGailu s andand DorisDoris BergenBergen forfor ththee ProtestanProtestantt andand thethe onesones ofof OlafOlaf BlaschkBlaschkee andand KevinKevin SpiceSpicerr 1 forfor thethe CatholicCatholic side 1 -—it i tis i sin in full ful lforce force when when it i tcomes comes to to Paganism. Paganism .With With very very little little factualfactual evidence,evidence, mucmuchh guessingguessing andand conjecturingconjecturing prevailprevail overover earnestearnest studiesstudies oonn PaganPagan groupsgroups andand individuals,individuals, onon theirtheir beliefsbeliefs andand rites.rites. AAnn overviewoverview ofof ththee frag­frag• mentedmented fieldfield ofof organisedorganised andand non-organisenon-organisedd PaganisPaganismm isis stillstill farfar beyonbeyondd reachreach.. WithWith thethe exceptionexception ofof threethree dissertationsdissertations bbyy UlrichUlrich Nanko,Nanko, HiroshHiroshii KubotaKubota anandd SchaulSchaul BaumannBaumann,, nono oneone hashas undertakenundertaken comparablecomparable effortsefforts toto shedshed lightlight onon ththee 1 Cf.Cf. ManfredManfred Gailus,Gailus, Protestantismus und Nationalsozialismus.Nationalso^ialismus. Studien zur^ur nationalso^ialistischennationalsozialistischen Durchdringung desdes SozialmilieusSo^'almilieus in in Berlin Berlin (Köln: (Koln :Böhlau, Bohlau ,2001), 2001) ,Doris Dori sBergen, Bergen ,Twisted Twisted Cross. Cross. The The German Christian Movement in the Third Reich (Chapel(Chapel Hili:Hill: UniversitUniversityy ofof NorthNorth CarolinaCarolina Press,Press, 1996),1996), OlafOlaf BlaschkeBlaschke,, Katholi^ismusKatholizismtts ttndund AntisemitismusAntisemitismus imim DetttschenDeutschen Kaiserreich Kaiserreich (Göttingen: (Gottingen Van­: Van- denhoeckdenhoeck & RuprechtRuprecht,, 1997)1997) and KeviKevinn Spicer,Spicer, HitlersHitler's Priests.Pnests. Catholic C!ergyClergy andand NationalNational So­So• cialism (DeKalb:(DeKalb: NorthernNorthern IllinoisIllinois UniversityUniversity PressPress,, 2008).2008). 4400 HorsHorstt JungingeJungingerr GermanGerman FaitFaithh MovementMovement,, vizviz thethe biggesbiggestt andand mostmost significantsignificant PagaPagann associationassociation iinn 2 NationalNational SocialistSocialist Germany. 2 WhoWho knowsknows muchmuch aboutabout itsits composition,composition, itsits shortshort lifelife andand earlyearly death?death? WhoWho hashas workeworkedd onon thosthosee PagaPagann groupsgroups separateseparate fromfrom oror inin opop­• 3 positionposition toto ththee GermanGerman FaithFaith Movement? 3 WWee stillstill havhavee toto drawdraw onon thethe doctoradoctorall dissertationdissertation ofof HeinHeinzz BartschBartsch,, writtewrittenn underunder thethe supervisionsupervision ofof HanHanss FreyeFreyerr anandd ArnoldArnold GehlenGehlen atat thethe UniversitUniversityy ofof LeipzigLeipzig inin 1938,1938, ttoo achieveachieve a largelarge partpart ofof reliarelia­• 4 bleble data. 4 ThoughThough BartscBartschh wawass anan outspokenoutspoken PagaPagann NationaNationall Socialist,Socialist, hishis studystudy doesdoes contain importantimportant informationinformation aboutabout thethe innerinner developmentdevelopment andand organisa­organisa• tionationall formsforms ofof PaganismPaganism inin Germany.Germany. TheThe earlyearly andand influentialinfluential post-wapost-warr accountaccount ofof HansHans BuchheimBuchheim waswas basedbased onon a ChristianChristian assumptionassumption thathatt ththee GermanGerman nationationn waswas hithit byby a deepdeep spiritualspiritual crisis,crisis, a crisiscrisis thathatt hhee associatedassociated ttoo ththee demisedemise ofof thethe churchchurch andand ththee defiancedefiance ofof ChristianChristian values.5 ThereforeTherefore BuchheiBuchheimm regardedregarded volkischvölkisch PaganisPaganismm asas thethe ideologicalideological spearheadspearhead ofof NationaNationall Socialism,Socialism, commissionedcommissioned withwith ththee tastaskk ofof substitutinsubstitutingg a wickewickedd counter-religioncounter-religion forfor Christianity,Christianity, forfor ethicsethics anandd moralitymorality asas suchsuch.. Buchheim'Buchheim'ss biasedbiased viewview neglectedneglected nonott onlyonly ththee dynamicsdynamics ofof politicapoliticall adaptionadaption processeprocessess allall religionreligionss areare subjectsubject to,to, bubutt alsoalso thethe plentyplenty ofof possiblepossible responsesresponses ttoo ththee challengechallenge ofof modernitymodernity takingtaking shapeshape in,in, atat ththee fringe,fringe, oorr outsideoutside ofof thethe estab­estab• lishedlished churches.churches. TueThe falsefalse identificationidentification ofof religioreligionn witwithh ChristianityChristianity andand ofof Christi­Christi• anityanity witwithh thethe church,church, whichwhich dominatesdominates thethe historicahistoricall narrativnarrativee toto a greatgreat extent,extent, underrateunderratess vitavitall aspectsaspects ofof ordinaryordinary people'people'ss religioureligiouss liflifee andand conductconduct irrespectiveirrespective ofof andand ververyy oftenoften inin contrastcontrast ttoo ecclesiasticalecclesiastical doctrines.doctrines. LonLongg beforbeforee ththee risrisee ofNa­of Na• tionationall SocialismSocialism manmanyy GermansGermans hahadd developeddeveloped theirtheir ownown understandingunderstanding ofof Chris­Chris• tiatiann moralsmorals andand diddid notnot hesitatehesitate ttoo disobey,disobey, openlyopenly oror inin secret,secret, ththee claimsclaims ofof thethe churchchurch hierarchyhierarchy.. LargLargee numbersnumbers ofof workerworkerss andand intellectualsintellectuals refusedrefused furtherfurther alle­alle• giancegiance toto whawhatt thetheyy consideredconsidered outdatedoutdated teachingsteachings andand dogmas.dogmas. AlthoughAlthough churcchurchh 2 UlrichUlrich Nanko,Nanko, Die Deutsche Glaubensbewegung.Ghubensbewegung. Eine Eine historische historische und und sozjologische so^iologische Untersuchung Untersuchung (lvlar­ (Mar• burg:burg: Diagonal,Diagonal, 1993),1993), HiroshHiroshii Kubota,Kubota, ReligionsmssenschaftlicheReligionswissenschqftliche Religiosität Religiositdt und und Religionsgründung. Religionsgrundung. Jakob Wilhelm Hauer im Kontext des freien Protestantismus (Frankfurt(Frankfur ta.M.: a.M. :Lang, Lang , 2005),2005) , Schau!Schau l
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