Juan Bernal
Commentators have noted that whereas Heidegger was silent concerning the Holocaust, he was notably critical of the alienation brought about by modern technologies: He made statements about the six million unemployed at the beginning of the Nazi regime, but did not say any word about the six million who were dead at the end of it. (Source: Wikipedia)
Why talk about things that happened over 60-70 years ago? Why dredge up ugly things from the past?
Some people prefer to leave the past alone for different reasons. Some prefer to concentrate on problems and issues of the present and those that we shall face in the future; and such people don’t see how the past is relevant to current issues. But some prefer to ignore the past because they prefer to cover up the past insofar as events of the past do not present humans and human society in a good light. But generally those who prefer to ignore past history are those for who do not apply the lessons of history; and history surely has lessons to teach us.
In this context, consider the lessons to be learned from the events of the 1930-40s in Germany and Europe, namely, the German Third Reich and the Nazi Holocaust that accompanied it. Set aside for now the fact that Hitler and his Nazi order in Germany threw the world into the deadly, World War II, caused millions of deaths, injury, and untold destruction. Instead, consider briefly the systematic Nazi persecution and eventual extermination of human beings deemed sub-humans and enemies of the Nazi order. These human beings were primarily the Jews, but also included Slavs, Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals, and socialists of various nationalities. To the extent that the Nazi program to murder millions of people had a racial motivation, the targets were countless people classified as non-Aryan, not just who were Jewish.
What are the lessons to be learned from all that barbarism and systematic murder of millions? Well, surely one lesson is that even a modern state of fairly well-educated, culturally advanced people can allow itself to be dominated by an inhuman, murderous ideology.
Not only were Germany and other nations that accepted the Nazi ideology nations of a long and respectable Christian tradition (both Protestant and Catholic), nations in which many religious leaders and most good Christian citizens held to long-standing anti-Semitic beliefs, making easier to Hitler and the Nazis to advance their programs. First, they discriminated against and persecuted Jews, removed them from society, including those classified as non-Aryans, and eventually murdered and exterminated all those people at various death camps. The social fact to keep in mind is that Germany and countries like Austria were also leaders in the sciences, philosophy, culture and the arts. Neither good religious faith, nor advanced sciences and systems of philosophy prevented the leaders of those nations from embracing Hitler and the murderous Nazi ideology.
In this context Martin Heidegger, a leading German philosopher, is representative of that part of German intellectual culture that embraced Hitler and the Nazi ideology, and apparently did not simply “go along” with the Nazis as a prudent move. It is generally agreed that Heidegger enthusiastically endorsed Hitler and the Nation Socialist Movement (Nazi), even if the tenure of his Nazism is a subject of much debate.
In the Spring of 1933 at a conference with some churchmen, Adolph Hitler stated his view of how the Jews should be treated.
“He saw in the Jews nothing but pernicious enemies of the State and Church, and therefore he wanted to drive the Jews out more and more, especially from academic life and the public professions.”
(1. See below.)
In the Fall of 1933, in an address to university students, Martin Heidegger offered the following advice to the students:
“Doctrine and “ideas” will no longer rule your existence. The Fuhrer himself, and only he, is the current and future reality of Germany. His word is your law.”
(2. See Below.)
Clearly, then, Heidegger advised students that Hitler’s words, including those regarding the Jews, was to be their law, along with the ridiculous claim that only Hitler was the reality of Germany. (Did Heidegger believe this rubbish?)
Although he later modified his adherence to Nazism, Heidegger surely gives us reason for thinking that early in the 1930s he also accepted as “law” the virulent anti-Semitism, which led eventually to the “Final Solution” of the Nazis. Although there never was a clear retraction from Heidegger, we can hope that this thinking did not reflect his considered views on the subject.
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1. From the essay, “The Jewish Question,” by Guenter Lewy
Hitler, upon engaging in his first measures against the Jews, was well aware of the Church’s long anti-Jewish record. In his talk with Bishop Berning and Monsignor Steinmann on April 26, 1933, he reminded his visitors that the Church for 1,500 years had regarded the Jews as parasites, had banished them into ghettos, and had forbidden Christians to work for them. “He saw in the Jews nothing but pernicious enemies of the State and Church, and therefore he wanted to drive the Jews out more and more, especially from academic life and the public professions.” He, Hitler said, merely intended to do more effectively what the Church had attempted to accomplish for so long. This service to a common cause, and not elevation of race above religion, motivated his hostility toward the Jews.” (page, 336)
Source: Readings in Western Intellectual Tradition, ed. by Jame L. Catanzaro (1968, McCutchan Publishing Co.)
2. Advice to Students * by Martin Heidegger (Nov. 3, 1933)
The National Socialist Revolution brings total revolution in our German existence. Given the circumstances of the revolution, it is up to you to remain tough and energetic, developing yourselves to be ready for anything.
Your will to knowledge demands the experience of what is essential, what is simple, what is great. It is incumbent on you to become the ones who drive farthest and are most deeply committed.
Be hard and righteous in your demands.
Remain clear and secure in your disavowal of what is false.
The knowledge that you struggle for does not lead to conceited self-possession. It reveals itself as the primary quality of the leader who answers the call of the State. You cannot just be listeners any longer. You are pledged to know, to act, cooperating in the shaping of the new school of the German Geist. Each of you must now prove his talents and abilities, and use them in the correct place. That occurs when the power of aggressive action within the circle of the whole people surrounds you.
May your loyalty and willingness to follow grow stronger every day and every hour! May your courage to make sacrifices grow constantly greater. This is necessary for the survival of our people, and for the increase of our power.
Doctrine and “ideas” will no longer rule your existence. The Fuhrer himself, and only he, is the current and future reality of Germany. His word is your law. Learn this truth deep with you: “From now on every matter demands determination, and every action requires responsibility.” (page 330)
*From Die Freiberg Studentzeitung (Nov. 3, 1933), translated by James L. Catanzaro
Source: Readings in Western Intellectual Tradition, ed. by Jame L. Catanzaro (1968, McCutchan Publishing Co.)