The men who influenced the era: Houston Stewart Chamberlain http://www.hschamberlain.net/ Houston Stewart Chamberlain was born on September 9th, 1855, in Southsea, England. His mother died before he was a year old and he was raised by his grandmother in France. By the age of 14 Chamberlain was in poor health. Doctors wrongly suspected that he had a disease of the respiratory organs, and he left England to visit one health resort after another — Bad Ems, Montreux and Cannes. He was accompanied by his aunt and a Prussian private teacher, Otto Kuntze, who taught his studious pupil German and interested him in German history, literature and philosophy. In 1874 Chamberlain's father arrived in Switzerland to persuade him to finish his studies in England, but Chamberlain refused. Chamberlain moved to Vienna in 1889 to continue his research into plant physiology. But on the morning of January 19th, 1892, he was captivated by something he called the "writing demon". Chamberlain's most important work is Die Grundlagen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts (The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century), 1899. The book's central idea is that Western civilization's moral, cultural, scientific and technological superiority comes largely from the positive influence of the "Germanic" race (which includes Slavs and Celts) on the progress of history down the ages. Other races, including the Jews, have, in contrast, acted mainly as a curb on history. In consequence, many consider Chamberlain's book to be anti-Semitic, though it is more than that: Chamberlain opposes any cultural, religious or political system which, in his opinion, has global intentions, such as the Catholic Church, the Jesuit order, capitalism and socialism. A recurring theme in Chamberlain's work is that Jesus was not a Jew . According to Chamberlain, Christianity developed into a murderous totalitarian system because of two factors — the Catholic Church's emergence from racial chaos after the fall of the Roman empire; and the laws of the Old Testament, which can be attributed to Jewish influence. Only after centuries of Roman Catholic terror did the Germanic forces, embodied by Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther and others, turn Christianity into the religion that Jesus had envisioned. In Chamberlain's day, Emperor Wilhelm II was convinced by these theories and even argued that the Old Testament should be pruned to sever any remaining links between Christianity and Judaism . Another recurring theme in Chamberlain's work is the similarity between Germanic thinking and Indian brahmanism. Chamberlain became fascinated by the composer Richard Wagner. 1908 Chamberlain married his second wife, Eva, the daughter of Richard and Cosima Wagner. Germany's Emperor Wilhelm II invited Chamberlain to his palace at Potsdam. In a letter to Chamberlain he wrote: "It was God who sent the German people your book and you personally to me" .In 1915 he received the Iron Cross for services to the German empire. Having shown his loyalty to Germany, Chamberlain became a German citizen in 1916. Many argue that Chamberlain's work influenced Adolf Hitler, although the precise links are unclear. The two men did meet in Bayreuth on September 30th, 1923, on a so-called "German day". Chamberlain, who was by now elderly, ill and embittered, regarded Hitler as Germany's future saviour. Houston Stewart Chamberlain died of his nervous disease a few months later, on January 9th, 1927, in Bayreuth. He was 71 years old. Upon his gravestone were engraved the words of Luke 17:21: „Das Reich Gottes ist inwendig in euch“. The Kingdom of God is within you Pics: http://www.hschamberlain.net/galerij/galerij.html
A letter by Chamberlain to Hitler 1923... http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/Chamberlain.htm
There are many mentions of this crazy philosopher in William L. Shirer's "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" in the chapter of intellectual basis of the nazis and in T. L. Jarman's magnificent "Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany" in the chapter called "The beginings of German megalomania". Most recommended books for all. These go very deep into the intellectual influence not only of Hitler, but of the party's ideologists like Rosenberg and Bormann... Don't forget about Count de Gobineau, Kai.
I read your post but did not get to read the links that went with it. Was Neville Chamberlain the prime minister related in some way to Houston Chamberlain ? They both seem to come from English "high society", and they both lived in the same time period. Neville 1869-1940.
I was sure they were not related but in the net I finally found: CHAMBERLAIN, NEVILLE :Cousin of Houston Stewart Chamberlain... http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/biography/bios_c.htm Thanx for reminding, Friedrich! I´ll check Count de Gobineau´s backgrounds later on...
That's interesting to know. I have read there were pro-German people in British upper class circles but I never knew their names. I wonder if Houston had any influence over the Prime Minister to make peace with Hitler and ignore his military build up. Also I wonder with pro-German people in British upper circles, how secure their secreat information was from the German intellengce service.
I personally think that the politics of giving "more rope" to Hitler ended as Germany invaded the rest of the Czech in March 1939. I don´t think Houston Stewart Chamberlain could have changed anything if had been still alive. Nobody could anymore trust Hitler´s promises unless hypnotized by their propaganda. I do believe there were such in the west as well at the time but haven´t really serached that part much ever.
Chamberlain joined the Nazi Party and contributed to its publications. Their journal Völkischer Beobachter dedicated five columns to praising him on his 70th birthday, describing Foundations as the "gospel of the Nazi movement". Houston Stewart Chamberlain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
