Alfred Baeumler

Alfred Baeumler ( born November 19, 1887 in Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Austria - Hungary, † March 19, 1968 in Eningen under Achalm ) was a German philosopher and educator. He played a leading role in shaping the education of National Socialism.

Life

After studying in Berlin and Bonn in the disciplines of philosophy and art history Baeumler in 1914 received his doctorate in Munich with a thesis on the subject, the problem of universality in Kant's aesthetics. From 1924 he taught after the Habilitation in Dresden as a lecturer at the Technical University of Dresden, was there in 1928 associate professor and full professor in 1929. In 1933 he was appointed by the Nazi Prussian Minister of Education, Bernhard Rust without the participation of the faculty at the University of Berlin on a newly constructed Department of Philosophy and Political Education. At the same time he was appointed director of the newly founded Institute for Political Education. "Poor Berlin faculty: Baeumler its philosopher, Neubert their Romanist " (Victor Klemperer, diaries 1942-45 Aufbau-Verlag Berlin 1995, p 479. ). In addition, Ernst Niekisch, with whom he was a close friend, he had written in the first years of the journal resistor posts under the pseudonyms " Martin Leopold " and " Wolf Ecker ".

Originally Baeumler near the Bund and the Young Conservatives, but then turned to National Socialism. In 1930 he co-founded the nationalist -minded, anti -Semitic struggle League for German Culture. Since the beginning of the thirties he had personal contact with Hitler and the " Nazi chief ideologue " Alfred Rosenberg. At the Reichstag elections of 1932, Baeumler known with other philosophers open to the NSDAP, but only after the takeover of the party, he applied for admission.

On 10 May 1933 Baeumler gave his inaugural lecture " Against the Un-German Spirit " as part of its program " Science, University, State " 38 in the auditorium of the University of Berlin. The large lecture hall was crowded, and most of the students had appeared in the uniform of the SA. At the beginning of the lecture invaded a student delegation flags with the swastika banner. The neglected key quote this lecture is as follows: "Politics can only make that they have to answer for too. There is probably a philosophy and science of politics, but not a scientific policy, nor a political science.. Thought has to answer before the thought "Next said Baeumler: " In a word, to which one might say what National Socialism spiritual means. Replacing the educated by the type of the soldiers " The " era of freedom of conscience, of individualism " was over. " Now pull out to burn books in which a us foreign spirit has used the German word to fight us. [ ..] What we dismiss from us today, are toxins that have accumulated during the period of a false tolerance " Later formed the train of torchbearers -. However without Baeumler at the top - to Opera Square. There should, then, the VB observer, symbolically burning of 20,000 books of the " German spirit " to be cleaned.

1934 called Baeumler Ideal as a student the " political soldiers ", the establishment of " men's houses " and the exclusion of " Female - Democratic ". Martin Heidegger criticized both Baeumler as well as at Ernst Krieck that it lacked their ideas in depth and they wanted to achieve the national educational model of the " political soldiers " by external training programs and military training. 1934 appointed Reich Leader Alfred Rosenberg, Baeumler to the " chief officer of the Office of the Commissioner of science guide for monitoring the mental training and education of the NSDAP ", 1941, he was promoted to Head of Service; Baeumler where he worked primarily as a liaison Rosenbergs to universities. In this sense Baeumler also worked as editor of the International Journal of Education and from 1936 the journal belief and school. His task in the " Amt Rosenberg " was particularly " edit at universities and to treat the fundamental issues of pedagogy assessing the professional end to scholars. "

On the 50th birthday of Adolf Hitler Baeumler wrote a 1939 article in the Festschrift German science. At this time were Ernst Krieck and Baeumler, " as the two leading philosophers of National Socialism." Since April 1942 Baeumler was head of the construction office of the "High School ", a planned Rosenberg Party University.

After 1945, Baeumler was interned for three years in camps in Hammelburg and Ludwigsburg. He was one of the few Nazi professors who did not return to a university office.

Pedagogical and philosophical views in the NS field of view

" Race as a fundamental concept of Education "

In this document, dating from 1942 Baeumler shows how the Nazi regime, the terms of race and heredity have an outstanding importance. Furthermore, he argues that the concept of " plasticity of man" has so far been poorly received. This evidence is to be provided by the race thinking. One problem he sees in intellectualism. In his view, the intellectualism accepts:

From this intellectualist acceptance of the concept of would be derived " unlimited plasticity ". The educational science do not go out from the real people, the goal of education is the man himself, as it had never existed and will never exist. The success of education resulting from the proper use of funds. All education theory do not own land, if they would not be based on sound scientific anthropology. Opponents of life and race manifest rounded education science would still work with a historically outmoded anthropology. It would depend on the right balance of intelligence and character. This would result in a realistic theory of education grow up.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to form, character and intelligence. In the race manifested 's thinking would not be opposed to a principle of unlimited plasticity, the principle of limited ductility, but this would only the true principle of plasticity "discovered". The unity of character does not consist in its static- stationary nature, but in its dynamic moving moments. It is the unity of direction. The formation of close to this unit; this unit was never bring about intellect and the environment.

From the relatively indeterminate direction of the unit, the task of education springs from. Only by the visual effect of the other gelange the soul to himself, it would be what it is. At the end of education stand clear certain shape, the shape of the "type". And for this it was deposited only by being brought up by the community. With the insight into the impossible notion of " unrestricted educational " decay, the term any " restriction " by educational means:

" The limitation is not an invention of the breed known integral education science, but an essential characteristic of man."

" The German school and their teacher "

In this document, dating from 1942 Baeumler explains what he means by political pedagogy. He says that the " Dictionary of the merciful love " would not be the Nazis are available. He interprets the word "new " and claims this content, there has never been this simple explanation. Pestalozzi and Herbart for him are classic patterns that have been outbid only by the " new time ". The role of the teacher should be put forth by the Political " in motion ". The pedagogy could not take on this role. For him, historical periods of the harvest are only appropriate that a spiritual content " reaches that level through its shaping, in which he is teachable ."

"Even the Nazi era, the school will produce, which is the spirit of his mind, but we must be aware that we are at the beginning of the new education. " Only after the new worldview of artists and thinkers have learned his "By shaping " 'll school passed as teaching material. From the attainment of world image itself but is excluded the school. Thus, in Baeumler results in the school as an object and an agent of Shaped By yesterday. On the other hand, he sees the school as a place of meaning and content of the struggling national community receives, which they also necessary take part in the historical ebb and flow of things. Thus, it is no longer independent from life, but a piece of ethnic and historical life itself, and whose laws they could no longer escape.

"The new teacher education "

In this paper from the year 1942, Baeumler busy with the revision of teacher education. He starts from the College of Education, which had assumed at the time of the decision of Adolf Hitler, the final shape. He explains this measure with " necessities of national existence " and " circumstances of the case ". He expresses, without representing it, indirectly, that the pedagogy was only become the product of Nazi ideology.

For it is in the training of teachers, the concept of the " camp " at the top, where a " pedagogical atmosphere " prevails. Without describing this Nazi conception closer, it is sufficient to cite the related vocabulary: " Community Life," " experience," " inner participation ", " summer camps ", "stand ", " venerating heart," "miracle" " talk, zerreden would mean, "" air educational life " and Others

Baeumler and Nietzsche

In the late 1920s Baeumler, Friedrich Nietzsche presented as philosopher of National Socialism began. He wrote a book Nietzsche, the philosopher and politician, which appeared in 1931 in Loeb Classical Library and widely distributed; he asked Alfred Kröner Verlag 1932 in a comprehensive volume Nietzsche in his letters and reports of contemporaries: the life story in documents together; and he published a 12- volume work output of Nietzsche's writings, which from 1930 also was published by Alfred Kröner and available until now (2009 ) in new editions is. The individual volumes of the complete works Baeumler wrote introductions or epilogues that were still printed after 1945 in new editions. Martin Heidegger praised Baeumler's edition of The Will to Power as " faithful reprint of Volume XV and XVI of the complete edition with an epilogue and a concise understanding and good outline of the life history of Nietzsche. " Later Baeumler texts were gradually replaced by texts by Walter Gebhard. Only the two compiled by Baeumler under the title The innocence of becoming volumes of materials from Nietzsche's estate are still in the original version of 1931 in the Kröner- publishing program.

Writings of Alfred Baeumler

• Kant's Critique of Judgment. Their history and systematics, Volume 1, 1923
• Bachofen the mythologist of Romanticism, 1926 (reprinted as The mythical world age, in 1965 with a new afterword Bachofen and the history of religion )
• Hegel's philosophy of mind and philosophy of law
• Handbook of Teacher Education, 1930-1933 (ed. with Richard Seyfert and Oskar Huber bird )
• Nietzsche, the philosopher and politician, 1931
• Aesthetics, Handbook of Philosophy
• League of men and Science, 1934
• Studies of German intellectual history, 1937
• Handbook of Philosophy, 1931 ( with Manfred Schröter )
• What Herman Wirth mean for science?, Eds, 1932
• The political student, in: The German Student, Issue 1, pp. 3-9
• The kingdom as fact. Speech at the Empire celebration of the Friedrich- Wilhelm University in Berlin on January 18, 1934
• Politics and education. Speeches and essays, 1942
• Race as a fundamental concept of Education in Education and Community, 1942, p 81-85
• The German school and their teacher, in: Education and Community, 1942, pp. 98-108
• The new teacher education, in: Education and Community, 1942, p 74-80
• Education and Community, 1942
• World Democracy and National Socialism, 1943
• Alfred Rosenberg and the Myth of the 20th Century, 1943
• The Irrationalismusproblem in aesthetics and logic of the 18th century to the Critique of Judgement, 1967 ( new edition of " Kant's criticism and judgment ", 1st edition, Halle, 1923).
• Hitler and National Socialism. Records from 1945 to 1947. In: The pile, Vol 5, Matthes & Seitz, Munich, 1991, pp. 159-204.