Ideologische Voraussetzungen, Inhalte und Ziele außenpolitischer Programmatik und Propaganda in der deutschvölkischen Bewegung der Anfangsjahre der Weimarer Republik - Das Beispiel Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund

Abstract

This dissertation deals with the partially pre-war based ideological prerequisites, contents and goals regarding foreign affairs designed and propagated by the German "völkisch" movement during the initial (troubled) years of the Weimar Republic (1918-1923). By way of introduction, this paper analyses and defines the ideological prerequisites of the German "völkisch" way of thinking: the understanding of politics and foreign affairs of the German "völkisch" as well as their understanding of war and military as a means of foreign affairs as well as their racism as a central fixing point of the German "Völkisch" picture of mankind. Racial antisemitism turns out to be an integral, but also emphasised part of the generic "Racism" and is therefore not examined isolatedly. This results in a new interpretation of the "Deutschvölkischer Schutz- und Trutzbund" (DVSTB), which was not only an antisemitic organisation, as it was regarded by historians so far, but also a racist organisation. Founded in February of 1919, the DVSTB became the largest and dominating individual organisation until its nearly Reich-wide prohibition in summer of 1922. Its dominance was due to its already in the beginning Reich-wide existing network of "Ortsgruppen" (regional groups) and fast rise of members (summer 1922: approximately 150 000 to 180 000 members).The "völkisch" movement in a whole showed signs of fragmentation into regionally acting small and very small groups. Therefore, the DVSTB was chosen to be the pars pro toto for the movement in the paper. Another step in the analysis examines how the German "völkisch" integrated the (in their social darwinist point of view) most important, because most powerful and strongest people (the "English" US Americans, French and Russians) into their racist picture of mankind and which traditional stereotypes they used for this means. Above that, this dissertation explains how the German "völkisch" perceived the from their point of view most important events in foreign affairs and which position they took up resulting from their basic ideological views. This dissertation explores the question which long-term goals the German "völkisch" movement already developed in the beginning of the Weimar Republic. Gaining "Lebensraum im Osten" (living space in the East), a claim which was already made in the middle of the 19th century, is particularly explained as an example of these goals. These goals proved to be the official German goals in foreign affairs from 1933 on. This dissertation concludes with the contacts to foreign right-wing extremists the DVSTB tried to establish with minor success to found a "völkisch" or "Weiße Internationale" (White International). The analysis shows links to other central parts of "völkisch" ideology, for example "völkisch" negations such as anti-republic as well as anti-democratic views, anti-parlamentarism, anti-communism, anti-liberalism, anti-feminism, anti-industrialism, and anti-urbanism. Repeatedly, this dissertation shows methods the DVSTB used to work against the representatives and against the constitutional order of the Weimar Republic. "Völkisch" views regarding foreign affairs are therefore shown in the superordinate context of "völkisch" anti-modernism and herewith in the overall context of a manifold spectrum of "völkisch" ideology and propaganda.