Max Robert Gerstenhauer

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ernst August Robert Max Gerstenhauer (born September 30, 1873 in Barchfeld an der Ilm ; died August 18, 1940 in Weimar ) was a German landowner , ethnic politician, church politician in the run-up to the DC , chairman of the economic party , and a pioneer as a racial theorist for the National Socialist racial hygiene ; Professionally he was a civil servant, from 1936 to 1938 Ministerial Director at the Ministry of the Interior in the state of Thuringia . He was a member of the NSDAP since 1931.

Professional background

Gerstenhauer was the son of a landowner. He studied law and political science in Heidelberg , Berlin , Halle and Jena . In 1902 he was promoted to deputy district administrator in Meiningen and in July 1903 to district assistant to the government council in the State Ministry. In 1912 he was appointed to the secret government council and in the First World War he was deployed on the Western Front, with the rank of captain, initially as brigad adjutant and then in the civil administration of the General Government of Belgium . In 1916 Gerstenhauer was transferred as a privy councilor to the Higher Administrative Court in Jena. From November 1924 he worked in Weimar as a ministerial advisor in the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior and Economy. In 1934 he became Ministerial Director in the Ministry of the Interior and later Ministerial Director and Head of Department in the Ministry of Justice. In 1938 Gerstenhauer retired. In November 1938, however, he took over the management of the German written material commission in Prague.

life and work

Gerstenhauer vehemently rejected the small German solution that Bismarck had brought about; in the course of this orientation he came closer to Paul de Lagarde , he regarded him as his "spiritual guide". Afterwards the Pan-German Association , a Deutschvölkischer Kolonialverein of Curt von François , the German Colonial Society and the Deutschbund became his political home. He radicalized Friedrich Lange's anti-Semitism using the racial theories of Arthur de Gobineau and Houston Stewart Chamberlain .

Before 1914, the most determined Völkisch fighters met in the Deutschbund, with far-reaching influence on similar groups.

Gerstenhauer tried to influence the war aims in the First World War in the pan-German sense, in particular he advocated the permanent annexation of Flemish-speaking areas of Belgium into the Reich. In the Generalgouvernement of Belgium , which was preparing the incorporation, he worked as a " flame expert " in the civil administration in Brussels from 1915 .

After 1918 Gerstenhauer became a supporter of the ethnic anti-Semite Adolf Bartels . Together they made the German Federation

"... to an activist tool of the völkisch movement, ... a combat alliance, ... with a stronger emphasis ... on the leader's idea."

- Gerstenhauer, Der völkische Gedanke, p. 63

The Deutschvolkische protection and Trutzbund saw Gerstenhauer after 1918 as a member. In the Deutschbund Gerstenhauer pushed the chairman Paul Langhans as "Federal Warden" from an insignificant honorary post and created for himself in 1921 the power post of "Federal Grand Master", which he occupied until his death. He wanted to make the Bund the leading force among the countless ethnic associations of the post-war period. In ideological terms, Gerstenhauer claimed "spiritual leadership". The fragmented ethnic groups should be brought together by him into a powerful, determined "community of convenience".

His goal was to bring up a “Germanic peasant nobility” as the new elite. These people should not have mastered "all kinds of knowledge" and should not succumb to civilization. On the contrary, the boys and men had to be made defensible by riding, swimming, outdoor games and shooting sports. From 1925 Gerstenhauer called himself “Reichsherr” of a “farmers' college movement” with precisely these goals; The term “patron” of farming colleges has also come down to us in this context.

Furthermore, Gerstenhauer was active in a so-called "Culture Committee" of the Stahlhelm and in the Reichslandbund , advisory board in a "Bund für Germanic Settlement" and co-founder of a "Germanic Day".

But with the rise of the National Socialists (NS), the Völkische gradually had to back off. Therefore, from 1928 onwards, Gerstenhauer increasingly oriented himself towards National Socialism , especially in its regional Thuringian expression. The vehicle that served him for this was the Evangelical Church. He carried out their reorientation towards German Christianity . At the same time, he intensified his ethnic anti-Semitism into Nazi racism. Gerstenhauer's election as head of the latter in 1925 marked the gradual transition from the Deutschbund to the “German Christian Working Community”; In 1929, the German Christian Working Group was also organizationally affiliated with the Deutschbund, which was internally controversial.

Like Adolf Bartels, Gerstenhauer wanted to turn the Protestant regional churches, first the Thuringian Evangelical Church, into bastions of the “German Christians” as a “practical example of the national struggle”. Here the people should be educated in a “species-appropriate” manner, as well as in the various youth groups, in universities and adult education centers.

"Gerstenhauer had in mind ... a departure from 'materialistic, Judaized Christianity', which is to be replaced by the 'true religion' of an idealistic, Germanic 'German thinking and feeling'."

- Gerstenhauer, Nordic Religion, Deutschbund-Blätter 9, 1928, p. 29, quoted. according to Alexandra Esche, 2013, p. 4

At the end of his civil service career, Gerstenhauer was still involved in the theft of archival materials in Prague from 1939 after the German occupation of Czechoslovakia . A German "Administrative Document Credit Commission and Document Procurement Office Prague" saw him as head for the purpose of transferring important documents to the Nazi Reichsarchiv. In 1940 he gave lectures on Nazi racial theories and German colonial policy , which he hoped to re-establish , at the “German Charles University in Prague”, which was run by the occupiers .

As a church politician

The Thuringian Regional Church Congress was the "parliament" of the regional church. Within the Landeskirchentag, Gerstenhauer formed a DC parliamentary group “Bund für deutsche Kirche” with only 3 members, which in 1929 and 1930 increasingly determined the issues of the committee and included their views in its public statements, whereby the church clearly opposed the mostly SPD- led state government profiled.

Through his lobbying in the church, Gerstenhauer was perceived as a state politician. In the Baum-Frick government, which was dominated by the Nazis . Gerstenhauer, as a member of the state parliament since 1924, was responsible for the formation of the coalition government at a crucial point. As the state chairman of the economic party, WP, he ensured that the WP and its 6 members joined the coalition and thus helped it to gain a majority in the state parliament. Gerstenhauer was an "avid partisan of Wilhelm Frick " in the state government . In keeping with this line, Frick issued a “prayer template” for all schools, which made German-Christian prayers compulsory; As a constitutional lawyer, Gerstenhauer was defending this state-DC alliance before the state court of the country when the lawsuit came. Although he lost the trial, the pro-fascist forces had gained notoriety and prestige among the bourgeoisie, as Gerstenhauer's people could present themselves as "the real guardians of the Christian religion and ecclesiastical custom". The influence of the DC in the regional church increased, since then it has been one of the most strongly DC-oriented regional churches. In March 1933 the relatively democratic constitution of the Landeskirchentag was completely overridden; Gerstenhauer, as president of the committee, made the request. A month later he tightened his church policy:

"(There are) measures to be taken that are necessary to align with the national state and the Christian-national renewal movement."

- Gerstenhauer's application at the end of April 1933, accepted by the Landeskirchentag

Racist radicalization

First Gerstenhauer dealt with the Boers of South Africa. They are "Germans in blood", there is a German-Boer national community . Later, until 1901, he liked to call the Boer states "Low German Africa".

With reference to Europe, Gerstenhauer developed a “work plan” for racial hygiene in the folkish sense for the Deutschbund in 1913 . Gerstenhauer wrote:

"Real nobility consists of pure Germanic blood"

- Gerstenhauer, in: "Rassenlehre und Rassenpflege", 1913

In 1927 Gerstenhauer took up the "Teutstiftung", which appeared in 1913 again. The foundation was established as a branch of the federal government, and there was now also a “Federal Race Office”. Gerstenhauer headed this "office" together with Hans FK Günther, the breed Günther . Günther later became much better known, he was also more energetic because he was significantly younger than his supporter Gerstenhauer. Günther was not qualified as a professor and was nevertheless appointed by Frick by a “ministerial decision” on May 16, 1930 as “Professor of Social Anthropology ” (officially: “Chair for Racial Issues and Racial Studies”) at the University of Jena , which later became the NS model university . Many researchers assume that Gerstenhauer made this appointment, there is no definitive evidence so far; but both Fritz Lenz , the contemporary Frankfurter Zeitung and Gerstenhauer promptly expressed themselves in this way, while Günther himself denied that in 1969. The commonalities of the two concern the goal of "Aufnordung" or racial "Aufartung", the promotion of peasantry as the allegedly racially unspoiled part of the people, called by Günther "the core of Germanness". . Above all, the Teutstiftung of the two racists was supposed to create a "Stammrolle der Deutschen Rasse", in which every single German had to submit his / her ancestry, an early form of the later NS Aryan certificate ; this parentage was also to be “assessed” racially. According to Gerstenhauer, only the particularly “ German-blooded ” or “northern racial” characters should be allowed to mate with one another, as this would form “Germanic racial nuclei”. Thus "the race of the whole people would gradually improve".

Property Aftermath

Heirs (grandchildren) of Max Robert Gerstenhauer sued the Federal Administrative Court in 2014 because of the large estate (approx. 2 km²) that had been expropriated by SMAD in 1946 because of the fascist activities of the testator and his sons. The court agreed with them and referred the matter back to the Gera Administrative Court for further decision.

The perpetrator in the Holocaust and later President of the Senate of a court in Kiel, Hartmut Gerstenhauer , is a son of Max Robert.

Works (selection)

  • German national . A contribution to Germany's student body for the 25th anniversary of the founding of the empire . From an all-German. Leipzig 1896
  • The land question in South West Africa , its financial and foreign policy side. A contribution to the question: "How do we make German South West Africa profitable?" Edited by the German National Colonial Association. Süsserott, Berlin 1908
  • Guide to political science and law for the rural population in the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen . Meiningen 1908
  • Racial doctrine and race care. Armanen, Leipzig 1913
  • as editor: With Ernst Krieck , Werner Kulz (Hrsg.): Journal Die Sonne. Monthly magazine for Nordic worldview and lifestyle. Armanen-Verlag, Leipzig (published under this title 1924–1934 in 11 vol.); at times also publisher Alexander Duncker, Weimar
    • from approx. 1937: The sun. Monthly for race, faith and nationality, in the sense of the Nordic worldview and lifestyle. Kulz is given as the publisher, the year count continues, Armanen-Verlag
  • Old and new tasks of the völkisch movement, in Deutschbund-Blätter 1930–1931
  • The Germanic western brands and their meaning for the Germanic family of peoples. Melsungen 1932
  • The Volkish Thought in the Past and Future. From the history of the völkisch movement. Armanen, Leipzig 1933
  • Basics of a German political and folklore. In 2 volumes. Armanen, Leipzig
  1. Mittgart's decline and rise. 1937
  2. Eternal Germany. 1940

literature

  • Alexandra Esche: "'[D] so that it really becomes something good!' Max Robert Gerstenhauer's way into the NSDAP ", in: Daniel Schmidt / Michael Sturm / Massimiliano Livi (eds.): Trailblazers of National Socialism. People, organizations and networks of the extreme right between 1918 and 1933. Series: Series of publications by the Institute for City History, 19. Klartext, Essen 2015, pp. 37–55 ISBN 978-3-8375-1303-5
  • Wolfgang Fenske : How Jesus became an “ Aryan ”. Effects of de-Judaization in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Scientific Book Society WBG, Darmstadt 2005 ISBN 3-534-18928-0
  • Stefan Breuer : The nationalists in Germany. Empire and Weimar Republic. WBG, Darmstadt 2008
  • Julian Köck: "History is always right". The national movement in the mirror of its historical images. Series: Historical Studies, 73rd Campus, Frankfurt 2015 ISBN 3-593-50478-2 Zugl. Diss. Phil. University of Bern
  • Gregor Hufenreuter : Gerstenhauer, Max Robert . In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Handbuch des Antisemitismus. Vol. 2: People. De Gruyter Saur, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-44159-2 , p. 280 ff.

Web links

  • Alexandra Esche: Gerstenhauer, a spider in the national web. Lecture at the conference “Pioneers of National Socialism”, Gelsenkirchen, October 30, 2013

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gregor Hufenreuter: Gerstenhauer, Max Robert. In: Wolfgang Benz (Hrsg.): Handbuch des Antisemitismus. Vol. 2: People. De Gruyter Saur, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-598-44159-2 , p. 280 ff.
  2. ^ Gerstenhauer, The völkisch thought in the past and future. From the history of the völkisch movement. Armanen-Verlag , Leipzig 1933, p. 11
  3. ^ Association name until 1907, then: German National Colonial Association
  4. cf. Uwe Puschner , The Volkish Movement in the Wilhelmine Empire. Language, race, religion. Scientific Book Society WBG, Darmstadt 2001, p. 14
  5. ^ Herbert van Uffelen: Modern Dutch literature in the German-speaking area 1830–1990. Lit, Münster 1993 ISBN 3-89473-741-7 , p. 218 with note 26
  6. since 1929 "for life"
  7. ^ Gerstenhauer: Report of the brother Grand Master Gerstenhauer, in Deutschbund-Blätter 6/7, 1925, p. 38
  8. cf. Stefan Breuer , The Völkisch in Germany. Empire and Weimar Republic. WBG, Darmstadt 2008, p. 164ff.
  9. ^ Gerstenhauer, The völkisch-religious movement, in the magazine "Deutsche Bauernhochschule", 5, 1925
  10. the later organizational form was formed by the "German Christians"
  11. ^ Eduard Petri: German Christian conference in Weißenfels . Deutschbund-Blätter 10/11, 1925, p. 67
  12. Ser. No. 826, 827 ; on the correct title of the robber band Bundesarchiv R 2/12355
  13. the NSDAP had the central ministries for the interior, thus the entire administration of the country and the police, and for popular education
  14. ^ ON, Economic Party Crisis, Kölnische Zeitung , October 18, 1930
  15. ^ After Georg Witzmann ( German People's Party ): Thuringia from 1918–1933. Memories of a politician. Hain, Meisenheim 1956
  16. Beate Schreier, Studies on the Church History of Thuringia 1918–1933. Diss. Theol. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg 1985, vol. 2, p. 157f. Not in the trade
  17. d. H. by parentage. The additional end-e, as always in Nazi-related literature, in the original. Source: The struggle of the Boers against England. A fight for Germanness . Alldeutsche Blätter, 6, 1896, p. 151f.
  18. ibid. P. 166. Even at the end of his life, Gerstenhauer praised white racism in the Cape, see his last work from 1940
  19. A quote from it (excerpt) and literature that leads to the complete document in the Lemma Deutschbund
  20. The word is a "Aufnordung" of "German", such word games with a fictional ancestor of the Germanic tribes were popular at that time, cf. Teutons , Teutates, etc.
  21. Publication: "Teutblätter", z. B. mentioned in "Deutschbund-Blätter", year 1930/1931. In this year there is clear anti-Semitism, e.g. B. in the essay Psychology and intellectual properties of the Jews
  22. Racial Studies of the German People , 1922 edition
  23. Gerstenhauer, The execution of the race program of the Deutschbund , in Deutschbund-Blätter, August-September 1927, p. 48
  24. 8 C 49.12 of February 11, 2014
  25. frequent unchanged editions in changing publishers, until posthumously 1941. The Armanen-Verlag also traded as Robert Burger , also for this title, both in 1915 and 1941. Further editions in SiS-Verlag , 1920. The book provides a rich historical insight into the völkisch movement in the 19th century, by an activist and sympathizer. Contents of the last edition 1941 at the German National Library
  26. This was after 1945 published by the right-wing radical “Klüter Blätter. Deutsche Sammlung ", Zs. Des Deutschen Kulturwerk Europäische Geist, in the relevant publishing house Verlagsgesellschaft Berg , also under the name Türmer-Verlag. Kulz was the head of a "Oberprüfstelle für trash and dirty writing " in the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and liked to write racist, u. a. In “Die Sonne” he led a controversy with Eugen Fischer , who he thought was not radical enough.
  27. Typical authors, here e.g. B. from 1933: Johann von Leers ; Wilhelm Richter (a general): Nordic experience in German war literature ; Ludolf Haase : breed breeding (sc. In humans); Jakob Wilhelm Hauer : The Working Group of the German Faith Movement ; Ernst zu Reventlow : German Faith Movement ; other typical essays from the magazine: Der Untermensch on the opera stage. (About Jews) 1930; The biological origin of class inequality. Born in 1929
  28. Gerstenhauer wrote constantly from 1912 to 1932 in the "Blätter", always on the same topics: Future of the Völkische, Der Führer , Deutschchristentum; also distributed as special prints
  29. Gerstenhauer often treated, but on a purely ideological basis, without his concrete actions