Ernst Bloch on Nazism or Joachim Florsky against the Third Reich (Comment on the translation of E. Bloch’s article “On the Original History of the Third Reich”)

Abstract

The article considers the views of the German philosopher Ernst Bloch on the problem of the evolution of the idea of the “Third Reich” in the European Christian tradition of the Middle Ages and New Times, as well as its actualization by German Nazism. The author of the paper is the translator of many texts by E. Bloch. He attempts to understand the origins of the popularity of Nazism from a culturological and historical-philosophical point of view E. Bloch in a series of works turns, for the first time in 1924, to the European Christian tradition, to those images and figures that have defined the mental landscape for many centuries. The image of the Third Reich occupies an essential place in the intellectual history of Europe and the European Christian tradition. The influence of this image on the consciousness of the masses cannot be underestimated. Bloch reveals the inconsistency of the concept of the Third Reich and the figure of the savior (“Kaiser-liberator”, “leader”), which contains both the origins of the junction of Christianity and anti-fascism, and the grounds for inversion in favor of Nazism. The author also focuses on E. Bloch’s views on the legacy of the theologian Joachim Florsky (12th century), who created a historiosophical scheme that had an impact on many philosophical and religious concepts of history. Bloch enters Joachim Florsky into the historical and philosophical tradition, analyzing the mythologeme of the Savior in the cultural history of Europe. The paper presents an overview of modern research on the legacy of I. Florsky by Russian and foreign scientists, which prove the relevance of the ideas of E. Bloch, who revealed the connection between medieval religious movements and Nazism, opening a discussion with opposing points of view. The author examines the relationship between chiliasm and revolution, the influence of mysticism on the consciousness of German society at the beginning of the 20th century and on intellectuals. The article characterizes the position of E. Bloch, who believed that German Nazism committed an ideological theft of theological Christian concepts. The article highlights Bloch’s call to change the attitude to medieval chiliasm and mysticism in connection with the revolutionary potential existing in these currents.