Völkisch nationalism

Völkisch nationalism (German: Völkischer Nationalismus, lit. 'Folkist nationalism') is a German ultranationalist, ethno-nationalist and racial nationalist^[1]^[2] ideology. It assumes the essentialist design as Völker (lit. "peoples") or Volksgruppen (lit. "ethnic groups"), which are described as closed ethnic-biological and ethnic-cultural units within a hierarchy of such populations.

At times, Völkisch nationalism was a broad and predominant ideological view in Central Europe, represented in numerous nationalist, explicitly antisemitic and other racist associations of all kinds with many publications and well-known personalities. In some places today, such as Germany, Völkisch nationalism is takes the form of ethnopluralism.^[3]

Content

Völkisch nationalism means the rise of their own Volks defined by common descent, culture and language, and the desire for a homogeneous population by excluding foreigners. The people become a collective subject. It forms a hierarchical value of the Völker.^[4]

German social scientist Helmut Kellershohn [de] calls seven core elements of a Völkisch nationalism:^[5]

The equality of "Volk" or "nation". the idea of a homogeneous "nation" according to racist criteria.
the rise of the "Volk" to a collective subject in the sense of ethnic groups and the subordination of specific interests under the primacy of the "Volksgemeinschaft".
The justification of a "strong state" that organizes the Volksgemeinschaft through "national" elites and/or charismatic leadership.
the heroization of the "decent Volksgenosse" who puts himself in the service of his community with body and soul and brings for these sacrifices.
the Völkisch (lit. "national") or racist construction of an "internal (state) enemy" responsible for setbacks in the realization of the Volksgemeinschaft and has an identity-building and consensus-building function as a negative projection area for the Volksgemeinschaft.
A biopolitical understanding of the Volkskörper (lit. "national body") that wants to keep or make it healthy and strong through population policy.
A chauvinistic idea of power.

History

Towards the end of the 19th century, the movement gained influence over the political and cultural debate in Central Europe. Its historical significance was found in its own nationalism, especially in the German Reich. German Protestantism is considered to be its social support and its "necessary ideal condition".^[6] From an ideological perspective, the "bourgeois-Protestant mentality" has become increasingly German-Völkisch since the Reichsgründung (lit. "Establishment of the Reich"). A nationally charged Protestantism of the Reich thus led to the Nazi concept of the German Christians.^[7]

The Völkisch movement, to which the German national associations and the NSDAP belonged – whose party organ was the Völkischer Beobachter – rejected the Weimar Constitution and represented Völkische Gemeinschaftlichkeitskonzepte (lit. "ethnic [German] concepts of community"). The biological and cultural homogeneity of the "Volks" as a "Abstammungsgemeinschaft" (lit. "community of descent") and the "exclusion or destruction of the heterogeneous" were invoked. Völkische (lit. "nation", "ethnic") concepts such as "Volkstum", "Lebensraum" and above all "Volksgemeinschaft" were widespread in large parts of the German population and especially within the "Fatherland Camp", thus an integral part of the Nazi programming.

From the postwar era to today, Völkisch nationalism is rejected by the mainstream German political circles. But with the rise of right-wing populism since the 2010s, these political movements have grown somewhat again in Germany; Der Flügel (2915 - 2020) was the name of the Völkisch nationalist and right-wing extremist group within the Alternative for Germany.

Völkisch nationalist groups

Current

Defunct

Der Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten
Freikorps
German Fatherland Party
German National People's Party
German Socialist Party
German Völkisch Freedom Party
German Völkisch Party [de]
German Workers' Party
Greater German People's Community
National Socialist Freedom Movement
National Socialist German Workers' Party

References

^ Roger Griffin (2005), Völkischer Nationalismus als Wegbereiter und Fortsetzer des Faschismus. Ein angelsächsischer Blick auf ein nicht nur deutsches Phänomen.
^ Tom Reiss (15 February 2005). The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life. Random House Publishing Group.
^ Roland Sieber (2016), Von „Unsterblichen“ und „Identitären“. In: Stephan Braun, Alexander Geisler, Martin Gerster (Hrsg.): Strategien der extremen Rechten: Hintergründe – Analysen – Antworten.
^ Brigitte Bailer-Galanda (1994), Wolfgang Neugebauer: Handbuch des österreichischen Rechtsextremismus, p. 36.
^ Helmut Kellershohn (1994), Das Projekt Junge Freiheit. Eine Einführung: Das Plagiat. Der Völkische Nationalismus der Jungen Freiheit. p. 17–50.
^ Frank Unger (2010), Demokratie und Imperium: die Vereinigten Staaten zwischen Fundamentalismus, Liberalismus und Populismus. Würzburg p. 175.
^ Frank-Michael Kuhlemann (2002) Bürgerlichkeit und Religion. p. 305.
^ Häusler, Alexander (2016). Die Alternative für Deutschland: Programmatik, Entwicklung und politische Verortung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS. ISBN 978-3-658-10637-9.; Heinrich August Winkler, zitiert von David Bebnowski: Die Alternative für Deutschland. VS Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-658-08286-4, S. 28.

[1] Roger Griffin (2005), Völkischer Nationalismus als Wegbereiter und Fortsetzer des Faschismus. Ein angelsächsischer Blick auf ein nicht nur deutsches Phänomen.

[2] Tom Reiss (15 February 2005). The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life. Random House Publishing Group.

[3] Roland Sieber (2016), Von „Unsterblichen“ und „Identitären“. In: Stephan Braun, Alexander Geisler, Martin Gerster (Hrsg.): Strategien der extremen Rechten: Hintergründe – Analysen – Antworten.

[4] Brigitte Bailer-Galanda (1994), Wolfgang Neugebauer: Handbuch des österreichischen Rechtsextremismus, p. 36.

[5] Helmut Kellershohn (1994), Das Projekt Junge Freiheit. Eine Einführung: Das Plagiat. Der Völkische Nationalismus der Jungen Freiheit. p. 17–50.

[6] Frank Unger (2010), Demokratie und Imperium: die Vereinigten Staaten zwischen Fundamentalismus, Liberalismus und Populismus. Würzburg p. 175.

[7] Frank-Michael Kuhlemann (2002) Bürgerlichkeit und Religion. p. 305.

[Häusler_2016_p.-8] Häusler, Alexander (2016). Die Alternative für Deutschland: Programmatik, Entwicklung und politische Verortung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS. ISBN 978-3-658-10637-9.; Heinrich August Winkler, zitiert von David Bebnowski: Die Alternative für Deutschland. VS Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-658-08286-4, S. 28.