Hitler's Worldview and the Interwar Kulturkampf

Bibliographic Data

ID10076882
AuthorsT H Weir (0000-0002-2840-2736, University of Groningen, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume53
Issue3
Pages597-621
Publication date2018-02-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0094 • E-ISSN: 1461-7250
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022009417747045
OpenAlexW2556926043
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited5

This conceptual historical investigation of Adolf Hitler's use of the term ‘worldview’ ( Weltanschauung) opens new perspectives on the debate over the relationship of religion and National Socialism. Most studies of Hitler's worldview have focused on the genealogy of his beliefs, an approach that has led to an anachronistic understanding of worldview. By contrast, this article reveals that Hitler's own usage of the term ‘worldview’ was decisively shaped by the German culture wars that preceded his entrance into politics in 1919. The article shows how the varying Nazi religious policies, from supporting ‘positive Christianity’ during the Weimar Republic to suppressing elements within the churches once taking power, continued to be framed by the dynamics of the culture wars

Anachronism · Christianity · Epistemology · German · Nazism · Paganism · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Weimar Republic · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity · Religious Education and Schools · Religious studies

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