✝️Dietrich Eckart and Houston Stewart Chamberlain were some of the most influential Christian philosophers of the 20th century, yet chances are you are unfamiliar with both men and their influence.
Would it shock you to learn they were instrumental in molding an obscure young artist and street fighter into a powerful world leader and political revolutionary?
One is considered Adolf Hitler's surrogate father, and the other is considered his John the Baptist.
Would it shock you to learn they were instrumental in molding an obscure young artist and street fighter into a powerful world leader and political revolutionary?
One is considered Adolf Hitler's surrogate father, and the other is considered his John the Baptist.
◽️Part 1: Dietrich Eckart
Dietrich Eckart was regarded as the spiritual co-founder of NS and, according to Hitler, "a guiding light of the early NS Movement."
Eckart studied law and medicine and was an avid fencer and drinker. In 1891, he established himself as a poet, playwright, and journalist. Eckart moved to Munich in 1913 the same year that Hitler had relocated from Vienna.
The social relationships Eckart had acquired in Berlin due to his plays enabled him to quickly introduce a young Adolf to many influential German citizens who contributed to the success of the NSDAP.
Dietrich Eckart was regarded as the spiritual co-founder of NS and, according to Hitler, "a guiding light of the early NS Movement."
Eckart studied law and medicine and was an avid fencer and drinker. In 1891, he established himself as a poet, playwright, and journalist. Eckart moved to Munich in 1913 the same year that Hitler had relocated from Vienna.
The social relationships Eckart had acquired in Berlin due to his plays enabled him to quickly introduce a young Adolf to many influential German citizens who contributed to the success of the NSDAP.
Geopolitically, Eckart believed that the first World War was a holy war between Germans and Jews who had plotted the fall of the Russian and German empires.
In 1921 Eckart made a wager that if anyone could prove that the son of a Jewish family had served in the front in World War I longer than three weeks he would give them 1,000 marks.
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"If the light clashes with darkness there is no making of agreements, there is only a fight of life and death until the one or the other part is destroyed."
- Eckart
Weekly Quotation of the Nazi Party
Sept 6th 1942.
In 1921 Eckart made a wager that if anyone could prove that the son of a Jewish family had served in the front in World War I longer than three weeks he would give them 1,000 marks.
▫️
"If the light clashes with darkness there is no making of agreements, there is only a fight of life and death until the one or the other part is destroyed."
- Eckart
Weekly Quotation of the Nazi Party
Sept 6th 1942.
Published after his death by Rosenberg, Eckart's Eassay: "Bolshevism from Moses to Lenin: Dialogue Between Hitler and Me" was heavily influenced by the The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
In it he states:
"In Christ, the embodiment of all manliness, we find all that we need. And if we occasionally speak of Baldur, our words always contain some joy, some satisfaction, that our pagan ancestors were already so Christian as to have indications of Christ in this ideal figure."
In it he states:
"In Christ, the embodiment of all manliness, we find all that we need. And if we occasionally speak of Baldur, our words always contain some joy, some satisfaction, that our pagan ancestors were already so Christian as to have indications of Christ in this ideal figure."
Eckart was key to forming the ideas that shaped Positive Christianity and led to it's inclusion in the 25 point plan.
Steigmann Gall writes:
"The same antisemitism that is usually regarded as a function of racialism was for many (National Socialists) conceived within a Christian frame of reference. Even as they argued that race was the supreme law of life, they did not argue that it overrode religion, since in their view race was God's law.
Rather, they commingled racial and religious categories of the Jew and conversely used Aryan and Christian as interchangeable categories as well.
Eckart went further than this, demonstrating an underlying assumption that his struggle against the Jews was ontologically bound with the struggle for Christianity. The racial duality between Aryan and Semite was coterminous with a religious duality between Christian and Jew.
Eckart made the interchangeability of these categories clear when describing a conversation he had about Freemasonry with Alfred Rosenberg "In light of the indisputable facts, together with Rosenberg I showed the anti-German or rather anti-Christian, or - what amounts to the same thing - Jewish character of Freemasonry."
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Sculpture on the gate to the Dietrich Eckart Amphitheatre, Berlin. Built for the 1936 Olympic Games. Postcard, 1930s.
Steigmann Gall writes:
"The same antisemitism that is usually regarded as a function of racialism was for many (National Socialists) conceived within a Christian frame of reference. Even as they argued that race was the supreme law of life, they did not argue that it overrode religion, since in their view race was God's law.
Rather, they commingled racial and religious categories of the Jew and conversely used Aryan and Christian as interchangeable categories as well.
Eckart went further than this, demonstrating an underlying assumption that his struggle against the Jews was ontologically bound with the struggle for Christianity. The racial duality between Aryan and Semite was coterminous with a religious duality between Christian and Jew.
Eckart made the interchangeability of these categories clear when describing a conversation he had about Freemasonry with Alfred Rosenberg "In light of the indisputable facts, together with Rosenberg I showed the anti-German or rather anti-Christian, or - what amounts to the same thing - Jewish character of Freemasonry."
▫️
Sculpture on the gate to the Dietrich Eckart Amphitheatre, Berlin. Built for the 1936 Olympic Games. Postcard, 1930s.
The second edition inscription of Mein Kampf was dedicated to Eckart, as he had not only helped mold the spiritual concepts of the early NS, but had physically stood with Hitler during the famous Beer Hall Putsch:
"One of the best, who devoted his life to the awakening of our people, in his writings and his thoughts and finally in his deeds."
Adolf also described him as a "Fatherly friend."
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Insert image is from a Third Reich Commemoration for Dietrich Eckart in Berlin.
"One of the best, who devoted his life to the awakening of our people, in his writings and his thoughts and finally in his deeds."
Adolf also described him as a "Fatherly friend."
▫️
Insert image is from a Third Reich Commemoration for Dietrich Eckart in Berlin.
◽️Part 2: Houston Stewart Chamberlain
Chamberlain was born in England and began his education at a lycee, or secondary school, in Versailles before attending Cheltenham College, a boarding school for Army and Navy officers. HSC also attended the University of Geneva where he learned about racial typology from Carl Vogt.
HSC eventually settled in Dresden where he immersed himself in Wagnerian music and philosophy and became a Volkisch author tackling subjects like Immanuel Kant, Nietzsche, and even the Hindu Vedas. (Which probably helped shape the concepts of "Indo-European")
Rejecting Victorian England's crass materialism and France's effete hedonism, he converted to Germanic spirituality, as conveyed to him through this portentously mystical and essentially racial opera. "I doubt whether humanity ever produced a greater, perhaps as great, a genius as Richard Wagner," he exclaimed.
Chamberlain was born in England and began his education at a lycee, or secondary school, in Versailles before attending Cheltenham College, a boarding school for Army and Navy officers. HSC also attended the University of Geneva where he learned about racial typology from Carl Vogt.
HSC eventually settled in Dresden where he immersed himself in Wagnerian music and philosophy and became a Volkisch author tackling subjects like Immanuel Kant, Nietzsche, and even the Hindu Vedas. (Which probably helped shape the concepts of "Indo-European")
Rejecting Victorian England's crass materialism and France's effete hedonism, he converted to Germanic spirituality, as conveyed to him through this portentously mystical and essentially racial opera. "I doubt whether humanity ever produced a greater, perhaps as great, a genius as Richard Wagner," he exclaimed.
In 1899 Chamberlain wrote the Foundations of the Nineteenth Century. The book was widely recognized as one of the most fundamental precursors of National Socialist ideology and had far more impact on the party than The Myth of the Twentieth Century by Rosenberg.
Chamberlain put forth the belief that Protestantism could tie race and religion together through a divine Nationalism. Chamberlain claimed that in the 16th century the Aryan Germans under the leadership of Martin Luther had broken away from the corrupt influence of Rome, and so laid the foundations of a "Germanic Christianity".
Along with being very critical of the Catholic Church structure that he believed was too controlled by Jewish interests, he also put forth strong arguments that Jesus was an Aryan based on the prevailing anthropology of the day.
Chamberlain put forth the belief that Protestantism could tie race and religion together through a divine Nationalism. Chamberlain claimed that in the 16th century the Aryan Germans under the leadership of Martin Luther had broken away from the corrupt influence of Rome, and so laid the foundations of a "Germanic Christianity".
Along with being very critical of the Catholic Church structure that he believed was too controlled by Jewish interests, he also put forth strong arguments that Jesus was an Aryan based on the prevailing anthropology of the day.
Chamberlain utilized a biblical understanding of the racial composition of Galilee to argue that Jesus was an giant Aryan Amorite.
The nature of this race of people is still debated today, but we know In Sumerian the Amorites were known as the "Martu" or the "Tidnum", in Akkadian they were known by the name of "Amurru", and in Egypt as "Amar", all of which mean 'Westerners' or 'those of the west'.
Amorites were thought to be a race of giant "barbarians" or nomads who lived in the northern part of the Levant which today would be inside modern Turkey and northern Syria. In the Book of Deuteronomy, they are described as the last remnants of the giants who once lived on earth (3:11).
Foundations also put forth the idea that Jews were a race and not just a religion, long before genetic testing had advanced to the point to prove such claims.
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Top of the stele containing the law code of Hammurabi. Visible is a depiction of the god Shamash (right) and Hammurabi (left), the best-known of all the Amorite kings of Mesopotamia.
The nature of this race of people is still debated today, but we know In Sumerian the Amorites were known as the "Martu" or the "Tidnum", in Akkadian they were known by the name of "Amurru", and in Egypt as "Amar", all of which mean 'Westerners' or 'those of the west'.
Amorites were thought to be a race of giant "barbarians" or nomads who lived in the northern part of the Levant which today would be inside modern Turkey and northern Syria. In the Book of Deuteronomy, they are described as the last remnants of the giants who once lived on earth (3:11).
Foundations also put forth the idea that Jews were a race and not just a religion, long before genetic testing had advanced to the point to prove such claims.
▫️
Top of the stele containing the law code of Hammurabi. Visible is a depiction of the god Shamash (right) and Hammurabi (left), the best-known of all the Amorite kings of Mesopotamia.
Like Eckart, HSC also closely connected the geopolitics of the first World War with the destruction of the Aryan people and was horrified by Germany's defeat. Chaberlain had also tried to enlist in the German Army but was turned down due to be 58 year of age and suffering from progressive paralysis of the limbs.
HSC wrote a letter to Wilhelm II, the Emperor king of Prussia, stating:
"England has fallen totally into the hands of the Jews and the Americans. A person does not understand this war unless he realizes that it is in the deepest sense the war of Judentum and its near relative Americanism for the control of the world—a war against Christianity, against Bildung, moral strength, uncommercial art, against every idealist perspective on life, and for the benefit of a world that would include only industry, finance, and trade—in short, unrestricted plutocracy. All the other additional factors—Russian greed, French vanity, Italian bombast, the envious and cowardly spirit of the neutrals—are whipped up, made crazy; the Jew and the Yankee are the driving forces that operate consciously and in a certain sense have hitherto been victorious or at all events successful ... It is the war of modern mechanized "civilization" against the ancient, holy and continually reborn culture of chosen races. Machines will crush both spirit and soul in their clutches."
HSC wrote a letter to Wilhelm II, the Emperor king of Prussia, stating:
"England has fallen totally into the hands of the Jews and the Americans. A person does not understand this war unless he realizes that it is in the deepest sense the war of Judentum and its near relative Americanism for the control of the world—a war against Christianity, against Bildung, moral strength, uncommercial art, against every idealist perspective on life, and for the benefit of a world that would include only industry, finance, and trade—in short, unrestricted plutocracy. All the other additional factors—Russian greed, French vanity, Italian bombast, the envious and cowardly spirit of the neutrals—are whipped up, made crazy; the Jew and the Yankee are the driving forces that operate consciously and in a certain sense have hitherto been victorious or at all events successful ... It is the war of modern mechanized "civilization" against the ancient, holy and continually reborn culture of chosen races. Machines will crush both spirit and soul in their clutches."
Stolzing-Cerny, who had joined the NSDAP in 1920 wrote to HSC about a "Thrilling" new man on the Austrian political scene, "One Adolf Hitler".
Initially reluctant to back Adolf, HSC learned about the "Battle of Coburg", where Hitler had personally fought with 800 members of the SA in a street battle against the KPD communists.
At the end of the day the victory belonged to the NSDAP and the Austrian Painter.
After this a friendship began to grow between the two men. Adolf began to read HSC's works closely to help form the ideas that would later become Mein Kampf and the 25 point plan.
Initially reluctant to back Adolf, HSC learned about the "Battle of Coburg", where Hitler had personally fought with 800 members of the SA in a street battle against the KPD communists.
At the end of the day the victory belonged to the NSDAP and the Austrian Painter.
After this a friendship began to grow between the two men. Adolf began to read HSC's works closely to help form the ideas that would later become Mein Kampf and the 25 point plan.
In 1923, Chamberlain visited Adolf Hitler in Bayreuth, and in September, he sat in his wheelchair with Hitler during the Volkisch "German Day" paramilitary parade.
In September of that year, he issued an open letter to the NSDAP leader, thanking him and expressing his admiration:
"Most respected and dear Hitler, ... It is hardly surprising that a man like that can give peace to a poor suffering spirit! Especially when he is dedicated to the service of the fatherland. My faith in Germandom has not wavered for a moment, though my hopes were - I confess - at a low ebb. With one stroke you have transformed the state of my soul. That Germany, in the hour of her greatest need, brings forth a Hitler—that is proof of her vitality ... that the magnificent Ludendorff openly supports you and your movement: What wonderful confirmation! I can now go untroubled to sleep ... May God protect you!"
In September of that year, he issued an open letter to the NSDAP leader, thanking him and expressing his admiration:
"Most respected and dear Hitler, ... It is hardly surprising that a man like that can give peace to a poor suffering spirit! Especially when he is dedicated to the service of the fatherland. My faith in Germandom has not wavered for a moment, though my hopes were - I confess - at a low ebb. With one stroke you have transformed the state of my soul. That Germany, in the hour of her greatest need, brings forth a Hitler—that is proof of her vitality ... that the magnificent Ludendorff openly supports you and your movement: What wonderful confirmation! I can now go untroubled to sleep ... May God protect you!"
A year later In an essay published in January 1924 Chamberlain lauded Hitler for waging a "Vernichtungskrieg" ("war of destruction") against all of Germany's adversaries:
"Because he [Hitler] is no mere phrasemonger, but consistently pursues his thought to an end and draws his conclusions from it, he recognizes and proclaims that one cannot simultaneously embrace Jesus and those that crucified him. That is the splendid thing about Hitler—his courage! ... In this respect he reminds one of Luther. And whence come the courage of these two men? It derives from the holy seriousness each has for the cause! Hitler utters no word he does not mean in earnest; his speeches contain no padding or vague, provisional statements ... but the result of this is that he is decried as a visionary dreamer. People consider Hitler a dreamer whose head is full of impossible schemes and yet a renowned and original historian called him "the most creative mind since Bismarck in the area of statecraft."
"I daresay everyone recognizes this, but nobody risks speaking out; nobody ventures to extract the consequences of his thoughts for his actions; nobody except Hitler. ... This man has worked like a divine blessing, cheering hearts, opening men's eyes to clearly seen goals, enlivening their spirits, kindling their capacity for love and for indignation, hardening their courage and resoluteness. Yet we still need him badly: May God who sent him to us preserve him for many years as a "blessing for the German Fatherland!"
▫️
Adolf Hitler with Winifred Wagner, the composer's daughter-in-law, at Wahnfried, the Wagner's villa, in 1937.
"Because he [Hitler] is no mere phrasemonger, but consistently pursues his thought to an end and draws his conclusions from it, he recognizes and proclaims that one cannot simultaneously embrace Jesus and those that crucified him. That is the splendid thing about Hitler—his courage! ... In this respect he reminds one of Luther. And whence come the courage of these two men? It derives from the holy seriousness each has for the cause! Hitler utters no word he does not mean in earnest; his speeches contain no padding or vague, provisional statements ... but the result of this is that he is decried as a visionary dreamer. People consider Hitler a dreamer whose head is full of impossible schemes and yet a renowned and original historian called him "the most creative mind since Bismarck in the area of statecraft."
"I daresay everyone recognizes this, but nobody risks speaking out; nobody ventures to extract the consequences of his thoughts for his actions; nobody except Hitler. ... This man has worked like a divine blessing, cheering hearts, opening men's eyes to clearly seen goals, enlivening their spirits, kindling their capacity for love and for indignation, hardening their courage and resoluteness. Yet we still need him badly: May God who sent him to us preserve him for many years as a "blessing for the German Fatherland!"
▫️
Adolf Hitler with Winifred Wagner, the composer's daughter-in-law, at Wahnfried, the Wagner's villa, in 1937.
Hitler paid a pilgrimage to HSC's bedside in 1923, shortly before the Munich beer-hall putsch.
“You are not a fanatic,” Chamberlain wrote to his disciple afterwards. “The fanatic inflames the mind, you warm the heart. I do not regard you as a violent man. You brought me peace.”
Chamberlain died on January 9th 1927 and his ashes were buried at the Bayreuth cemetery in the presence of Adolf Hitler.
Houston Stewart Chamberlain has been referred to as "Hitler's John the Baptist". Joseph Goebbels was also converted to the Volkisch ideology after reading Chamberlain's books and essays.
“You are not a fanatic,” Chamberlain wrote to his disciple afterwards. “The fanatic inflames the mind, you warm the heart. I do not regard you as a violent man. You brought me peace.”
Chamberlain died on January 9th 1927 and his ashes were buried at the Bayreuth cemetery in the presence of Adolf Hitler.
Houston Stewart Chamberlain has been referred to as "Hitler's John the Baptist". Joseph Goebbels was also converted to the Volkisch ideology after reading Chamberlain's books and essays.
A selection of sources:
Ullrich, Volker (2017). Hitler: Ascent: 1889–1939. Translated by Jefferson
Weber, Thomas (2017). Becoming Hitler: the Making of a Nazi. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-03268-6.
The Holy Reich Page (2004) Steigmann-Gall p 29-30.
Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr. (1996). Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 82.
Field, Geoffrey G. (1981), Evangelist of Race: The Germanic Vision of Houston Stewart Chamberlain, New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0-231-04860-6
Evans, Richard J. (2005) The Coming of the Third Reich, London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0143034693
Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr. (1996). Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-275-95485-7.; citing Forman, James D. (1978) Nazism, New York. p. 14.
telegraph.co.uk/opera/what-to-…
worldhistory.org/amorite/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coburg_Ba…
Ullrich, Volker (2017). Hitler: Ascent: 1889–1939. Translated by Jefferson
Weber, Thomas (2017). Becoming Hitler: the Making of a Nazi. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-03268-6.
The Holy Reich Page (2004) Steigmann-Gall p 29-30.
Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr. (1996). Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 82.
Field, Geoffrey G. (1981), Evangelist of Race: The Germanic Vision of Houston Stewart Chamberlain, New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0-231-04860-6
Evans, Richard J. (2005) The Coming of the Third Reich, London: Penguin Books. ISBN 0143034693
Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr. (1996). Why Hitler?: The Genesis of the Nazi Reich. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-275-95485-7.; citing Forman, James D. (1978) Nazism, New York. p. 14.
telegraph.co.uk/opera/what-to-…
worldhistory.org/amorite/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coburg_Ba…
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