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Wunderlich, Sophie 2018 History Thesis Title Wunderlich, Sophie 2018 History Thesis Title: "We See Into the Distant Future, Because We Know What It Will Be" Destiny, Utopia, and Apocalypse in National Socialism: Destiny, Utopia, and Apocalypse in National Socialism Advisor: Professor Thomas Kohut Advisor is Co-author: None of the above Second Advisor: Released: release now Contains Copyrighted Material: No “We See into the Distant Future, Because We Know What it Will Be” Destiny, Utopia, and Apocalypse in National Socialism by Sophie Wunderlich Thomas Kohut, Advisor A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in History WILLIAMS COLLEGE Williamstown, Massachusetts April 16, 2018 It would be an evil day if the Germanic people did not survive…it would be the end of beauty and of Kultur, of the creative power of this earth. That is the distant future. It is for that we are fighting, pledged to hand down the heritage of our ancestors. We see into the distant future, because we know what it will be. Heinrich Himmler Speech to the SS leaders in Posen October 4, 1943 Gentlemen, in a hundred years’ time, they will be showing another fine color film describing the terrible days we are living through. Don’t you want to play a part in this film, to be brought back to life in a hundred years’ time? Everybody now has the chance to choose the part that he will play in the film a hundred years hence. I can assure you that it will be a tremendous film, exciting and beautiful, and worth holding steady for. Hold out now, so that a hundred years hence, the audience does not hoot and whistle when you appear on the screen. Joseph Goebbels Speech to the Propaganda Ministry in Berlin April 17, 1945 Table of Contents Acknowledgements i Glossary iii Introduction 1 I. Destiny 17 “Another Fine Color Film” 17 Theories of History 22 II. Inheritance 39 Imagining History (1925-1939) 44 Mythologizing the War (1939-1945) 55 III. Utopia 61 A Racial Utopia 70 Modern Metropolises 82 “A Happy People in a Beautiful Land” 90 A New World 93 IV. Apocalypse 95 Extermination 100 Heldentod 107 Cosmic Disaster 117 Epilogue 125 Bibliography 129 Images 135 i Acknowledgements My interest in this topic was sparked by a paper written for my advisor, Tom Kohut, in his class on National Socialism two years ago. It was the proudest I had ever been of a paper until the completion of this thesis. I still remember my shock upon coming to the end of his comments, which read, “Have you considered grad school?” This was a decisive moment in my time at Williams. This seemingly innocuous question gave me the confidence to admit to myself how much I loved studying history and that I wanted to pursue it more seriously. At the end of my sophomore year I decided to expand that paper into a thesis, assuming I would begin my research while studying abroad at Exeter College, Oxford. At Oxford, I became very ill and made the difficult decision to leave. When I returned from Oxford last spring, I did not know if I would be able graduate from Williams. I spent my breaks getting medical tests and could hardly complete my schoolwork. Even as I began my thesis research over the summer, my ability to return to college was unclear. I feel incredibly lucky for my newfound health and for what has turned into my happiest, healthiest year at Williams. The completion of this thesis and my impending graduation are absolutely astonishing to me still. I have many people to thank for their support throughout my wonderful and difficult four years here. I am forever grateful to my parents, who have suffered through three years of asking me how my day was and receiving an answer about the Nazis, and who have given me the opportunity to study at this amazing college. I love them and I cannot ever thank them enough. I also want to thank my grandfather, whose love of history has inspired me for as long as I can remember. I wish he could have read this. I also want to thank my friends, in particular Anna Rose Chi, Morry Kolman, Caroline McArdle, Ben Metrikin, Sarah Loewenstein, and Gabe Wexler, for their support and willingness to listen patiently while I incessantly discussed Nazis. I feel very lucky to have friends who have stuck with me throughout my time here. I am grateful to the history thesis program and to Professors Eiko Siniawer and Alex Bevilacqua, whose advice and reassurance has helped this project come to fruition, and to my fellow thesis writers, who provided feedback and companionship through this long, often grueling process. My research has undoubtedly been improved by the help of the staff of the Williams College Special Collections, who allowed me to comb through the college’s daunting Third Reich collection. I also want to thank the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Library for giving me the opportunity for a vital summer of research and work. ii I want to thank Chris Waters, who has been a source of unceasing encouragement and inspiration since my very first year at Williams. It is because of him that I became a history major. Thank you to Chris Koné for teaching me German. I feel very lucky to have had such a patient, supportive instructor. I want to thank Professor Ali Garbarini for her thoughtful teaching and for changing the way that I approach history. I also want to thank Professors Aparna Kapadia, Gail Newman, and Brian Martin for their guidance, moral support, and kindness. I want to thank Zach Wadsworth, who has been a wonderful professor, mentor, and friend. Although he once challenged me to “write just one paper that’s not about Nazis,” I clearly haven’t followed his advice very closely. I am confident that this is a more interesting project because of his input. Although I have played music for most of my life, it was not until these last two years that I have become confident enough to talk, let alone write academically, about music. I am incredibly fortunate to have gotten to know him over my time here. His support, both intellectually and personally, has been vital to this project. Finally, of course, I want to thank Tom Kohut, who is the most incredible thesis advisor I could have ever asked for—which is still an understatement. Clearly, he motivated me to study the Nazis, but it has been the remarkable thoughtfulness and kindness with which he approaches history that has been most inspirational for me. His expertise and feedback have been invaluable throughout my thesis and in his classes. Over the time I have known Tom, I have become a better writer, historian, and version of myself. Even in my lowest moments, he has always been patient, kind, and willing to listen. I cannot imagine getting through Williams, let alone this thesis, without his support and encouragement. I feel so lucky to have him in my life and there is no way I could ever express my appreciation in full. iii Glossary I. German Terms Götterdämmerung Literally: Twilight of the Gods; the German translation of Ragnarök, the Norse myth in which the world is burned, flooded and renewed; the title of the final opera in Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). Heimat Literally: homeland; a positive emotional attachment to one’s ancestral lands, associated with German nationalism. Heldentod Literally: hero’s death; connoting Romantic, noble death in battle. Kultur Literally: culture; associated with German cultural superiority, used in contrast to Zivilisation (civilization) associated with Jews and cultural decline. Schicksal Literally: Fate; according to my research: in National Socialism, a force working beneath history’s surface to enact humankind’s fate. Also used in the term Schicksalslinie (fate line) to suggest a predetermined course of history. Schicksalsgemeinschaft Literally: community of fate; in National Socialism, a racial community (see Volksgemeinschaft) that shares a common destiny. Volk Literally: people; in National Socialism, the German nation, highlighting the superiority of their race, history, and culture. Volksgemeinschaft Literally: people’s community; the egalitarian national community founded on ethnic solidarity rather than class; represented by the Führer. Vorsehung Literally: Providence; according to my research: in National Socialism, a secular, personified concept of history. Wissenschaft Literally: science; in National Socialism, associated with German technological superiority. iv II. The Nazi Leaders Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) Führer of Germany; trained in watercolor painting; committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Albert Speer (1905-1981) Nazi Party architect and Reich Minister for Armaments and Munitions (1942-1945); sentenced to 20 years in prison at Nuremberg before the International Military Tribunal. Alfred Rosenberg (1893-1946) Nazi Party ideologue and Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories (1941-1944); trained in architecture; sentenced to death at Nuremberg and executed. Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945) Head of the SS (1929-1945) and overseer of the Final Solution; trained in agronomics; captured by British forces and committed suicide on May 23, 1945. Hermann Göring (1893-1946) Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Hitler’s deputy for all governmental affairs; Hitler’s designated successor after 1939; Sentenced to death at Nuremberg and committed suicide prior to his execution. Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945) Reich Minister of Propaganda and General Plenipotentiary for Total War (1944); a novelist and playwright; committed suicide along with his wife and children on May 1, 1945. Martin Bormann (1900-1945) Hitler’s personal secretary; tried in absentia at Nuremberg and sentenced to death; it was believed that he had escaped to South America, but in 1972 his remains were identified, confirming he died escaping from Berlin on May 2, 1945.
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