Nazism Still Exists - Part One (1/3)

In the Family of Nations, Each People Possesses Its Own Identity

"He will be the arbiter between many peoples."
Isaiah 2:4

God grants each nation its unique characteristics and a specific mission for the benefit of other nations, as well as its limitations, which should lead it to learn from others what it lacks. A similar process occurs with individuals. At the same time, every nation is affected by original sin, which gives rise to a specific flaw or dominant vice through which it harms itself and other nations.

It is interesting how these positive and negative characteristics endure over the centuries and millennia, as long as the people themselves persist. The German people are no exception to these general patterns. Thus, I assert that Nazism understood not merely as a historical phenomenon of the last century but as a category of the spirit, is nothing more than the vicious tendency of the German people, already noted by ancient historians such as Herodotus and Tacitus.

Nazism, then, is certainly the political regime that governed Germany from 1933 to 1945 under Hitler's leadership, but, more extensively and profoundly, it is a permanent vicious tendency within the German people. While today it may appear latent and not manifest in the political sphere, it remains a spiritual temptation for Germans, which, if uncorrected, risks eventually being translated into political action, as occurred under Hitler's regime and the catastrophic world war it unleashed. What is particularly alarming is that, in today's context, a war potentially ignited by Nazism could irreparably threaten the very fate of humanity.

The German spirit is animated by extraordinary radicalism, both in good and evil. Its soul is inclined towards mysticism, with noble and compelling aesthetic and emotional tendencies. It perceives God as immanent.

The German feels torn between two aspirations: either to dominate others despotically or to blindly and servilely submit to a charismatic leader. Intolerant of the restraints of law and lacking a sense of justice, it seeks to exercise absolute freedom.

His intellect is exceedingly precise in the fields of science and technology, capable of serious, prolonged, and rigorous studies, with an extraordinarily accurate understanding. However, it suddenly leaps recklessly to the heights of sentimental and pantheistic mysticism, neglecting the mediation of rational knowledge, with the gnostic presumption of knowing more than Jesus Christ. He is drawn to explore and scrutinize the deepest depths and highest peaks, weak in syllogism and distinction, but strong in intuition, an intellect thirsting for unity, totality, and communion.

With this excessive intellectual voracity, a sign of arrogance, instead of leaving God in His transcendence and mystery, he immanentizes Him within the self of a subjective consciousness, thus failing to distinguish the human self from the divine.

The German feels nature, in its beauty and immensity, as a divinity, a totality, or an entirety into which to merge, immerse, and dissolve. His soul is deeply restless, warlike, and tormented yet capable of mystical joy. He fluctuates between the sweetest tenderness and generous devotion, the most faithful submission and heroic spirit of sacrifice, and the most violent rebellion, destructive cruelty, ruthlessness, and aggression.

Germany witnessed a splendid flourishing of Christianity in the Middle Ages following the evangelization carried out by Saint Boniface and other Saints. It showed special fruits with the spread of religious Orders, especially the Benedictines, Franciscans, and Dominicans.

In this context, key figures include the Dominicans, such as Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the immediate successor of Saint Dominic in leading the Order; Saint Albert the Great, the master of Saint Thomas; the mystics Blessed Susone and Johannes Tauler. Among the Benedictines, we find Saint Hildegard of Bingen, a Doctor of the Church from the 11th century, followed by Saints Gertrude of Helfta, Gertrude of Hackeborn, and Matilda of Hackeborn in the 12th and 13th centuries.

However, the memory of the ancient pagan deities in Germany never entirely disappeared. A polytheistic concept remained, which involved the conflict between gods or within the same deity, a concept of God not as Creator but as a subject of the world and relative to it. This God is born, changes, suffers, and dies, only to be reborn again.

Thus, there is a concept of life that endlessly alternates with death, without life ever prevailing definitively. Therefore, it is not being, but eternal becoming. From this comes the symbol of the swastika, which the Nazis found in ancient Indian sculptures representing the Goddess Shiva, the mother of life and death, the nature that nourishes and destroys.

Amid this backdrop of pre-Christian Germanic mythology, there has always existed a strand of thought that championed the dominance of the Germans over the world. However, unlike Rome, the Germans—at least in Tacitus' time—did not seek to expand their territory or subjugate other peoples. They were content with the belief that they should not be subject to anyone, and when Rome sought to incorporate them into the Empire, as it had with other nations, the Germans resisted fiercely

They surrendered only to the Christianity preached by Saint Boniface and his collaborators in the 8th century because they felt understood and appreciated. Boniface made them feel free under the sweet yoke of Christ in the power of the Spirit, children of the Father. And so, the Germans became forever brothers to the Latins in the great family of the Church.

Thus, they began to offer the best of themselves for the good of all Christendom (bold added by the translator). In this way, the finest German theology emerged, rooted in the teachings of St. Augustine, St. Benedict, and St. Thomas, and continuing through the centuries into the 18th and 19th centuries, with figures such as Scheeben, Kleutgen, Dummermuth, Bartmann, Schmaus, Schultes, Diekamp, Prümmer, Merkelbach, Gredt, Manser, Hürth, Tromp, and, more recently, Ratzinger and Müller.

However, the desire for power, supremacy, and unrestrained freedom did not vanish entirely. It continued to fuel the will to create a nationalist and imperialist movement, which began to develop a "German" Christianity that would be in harmony with the traditional pagan mythology of the old.

Thus, philosophy, theology, and mysticism began to be "German," where "German" signified the best, the finest, the perfect—what was to serve as a model for the entire world and, therefore, had to be spread worldwide, by fair means or foul.

In this endeavor, the method of heresy is evident: a selective (airesis) choice within Christian truths, accepting only those that serve to impose one's worldview, which alone is considered universal, while rejecting the doctrine spread by the Church, with the claim of correcting the Church’s errors and its infidelity to the Gospel.

How Germany Built Its Spiritual Identity

Starting from the 15th century, we find a series of literary texts that claim the fullness of truth by qualifying themselves as "German": the anonymous "Theology of the Germans"; Luther's speeches to the "Nobility of the German Nation"; Wolff's "German Metaphysics"; Fichte's speeches to the German nation; the Lutheran German as the model Christian in Hegel, a great admirer of Böhme, the 17th-century Lutheran mystic whom he considered the prototype of the German theologian. After Hegel, the German became a symbol of the Übermensch in Nietzsche, and up to Heidegger, for whom the "German is the metaphysical people par excellence," and "those who do philosophy speak German."

In the 17th century, German egocentrism was further solidified by Descartes' cogito, which was rapidly adopted by both Lutherans and idealists to bolster a subjectivist interpretation of consciousness. Descartes drew from the distant roots of idealistic subjectivism: the sophistry of Protagoras.

When the Germans are convinced of the righteousness of a cause, particularly the assertion of Germany's place in the world, they apply a rigorous method with great perseverance and superb organizational skills, regardless of cost or effort. They are capable of sustaining such endeavors for centuries.

This is evident in how the Germans, starting from Meister Eckhart, disregarding the Church’s condemnations, gradually built a philosophy and theology based on their pantheistic tendencies, which can be traced partly to Parmenides, for the monistic-idealistic aspect, and partly to Iranian influences, for the dualistic conception of God (Being-non-being, true-false, good-evil, life-death). This is why Nietzsche refers to Zarathustra.

A curious event was the meeting of German idealism with Jewish thinkers such as Spinoza, Marx, Freud, and Husserl. Here, Kabbalah met Lutheran subjectivism, Cartesian egocentrism, and Kantian idealism, leading to spiritually explosive mixtures (bold added by the translator), the effects of which are still in full force in today’s culture. Here, we see how ancient Jewish Phariseeism can coalition with German pagan mythology to increase and unleash the forces of the Antichrist.

The philosopher who directly prepared Nazi doctrine was Heidegger, in whom the idolatry of the German is evident, as noted by Victor Farias in his fascinating and well-documented book Heidegger and Nazism [1].

Nazi ideology was the endeavor through which Germany sought to assert its will to power as never before in its history. In this enterprise, it completely forgot its authentic resources, its true Christian tradition, and its rightful place within the context of the people. It became wholly absorbed in the frenzied exaltation of its pagan roots, in developments shaped by the theology of Cusa and Luther, as well as by the philosophy of Descartes, Spinoza, Fichte, Schopenhauer, Schelling, Hegel, Nietzsche, Husserl, and Heidegger.

Proud and self-suggested beyond imagination, armed to the teeth with a military apparatus crafted from highly advanced technology and organized according to a strict discipline, one that only the Germans are capable of, convinced of God's immanence in the Nazi regime ("Gott mit uns"), the Nazis attempted, through arms and formidable propaganda, the titanic task of spiritually and physically subjugating the world to Germany.

The disastrous defeat completely dissuaded the German people from falling back into the revanchism that led to Nazism, and thus from attempting the Nazi enterprise again. It was judged with horror by all wise men, especially since this time, unlike the harshness of the victors in World War I, the winners showed clemency and even helped Germany in its reconstruction.

In this way, after the intoxication of Nazism, the German people were able to regain psychological balance, their traditional values, and the serenity and strength of spirit needed for reconstruction, which was successfully carried out. By 1989, the reunified Germany had become one of the most advanced and wealthy countries in the world, respectful of international agreements and active in contributing to the building and defense of world peace.

Only Heidegger, the philosophical soul of Nazism, and a few unrepentant others dared to show no sign of repentance and kept their Party membership until 1945. This unworthy defiance by Heidegger shows that German idealism had not lowered its head and seems to serve as a warning of German intellectual pride to the world, as if to say: "Look, peoples, it is true that Germany was defeated in arms, but it was not defeated in thought!" Indeed, Heidegger himself, on one occasion, said that those who wish to philosophize must speak German!

Indeed, we are still at this point, where German idealism and Heidegger, perhaps under various guises or only in certain aspects, mixed with other philosophies, continue to hold sway and enjoy great prestige in contemporary culture, even in some circles of Catholic culture. The comparison between Heidegger and St. Thomas is certainly worth examining.

Thus, the Germans' renunciation of their will to power, for obvious reasons, does not imply that they are not pursuing another path—that of persuasion. Today, philosophical and theological culture remains profoundly shaped by German idealism. It must be acknowledged that consciously and willingly embracing the errors of these doctrines reflects an attitude of pride and rebellion against God, Christ, and the Church—an attitude that certainly does not befit devout Catholics.

The fact that Italy and many parts of the world influenced by these doctrines have been spared the plague of war is not a sufficient reason to overlook the presence of idealist conceptions among us. Simply sharing these ideas is a morally reprehensible act and lays the groundwork for a potential recurrence of the immense global misfortunes we have already endured

History serves as a teacher of life, not because historical events are repeatable, but because it demonstrates, through trial and error, the philosophical validity of the principle of causality. In other words, a given cause can produce only a specific effect: Nazi ideas inevitably give rise to Nazi actions.

It is, therefore, necessary for us Catholics, and all people of goodwill, to work to correct these conceptions to prevent them from producing the bitter fruits that are the consequence of their implementation.

Thus, with the extraordinary power of their seduction and propaganda apparatus, German culture and philosophy, thanks to a systematic effort lasting centuries, and also with foreign help [2], have succeeded in creating and surrounding themselves with an aura of veneration compared to other nations. For this reason, the mere mention of a German philosopher or theologian invokes in us Italians and other countries a feeling of respectful reverence, much like a disciple before a master.

This is the foundation for the success and prestige of those philosophers and theologians who follow either Kant, Hegel, Heidegger, or others of similar stature. Studying in Germany is an ambition for many seminarians, but also for teachers, unlike the Servant of God, Father Tomas Tyn (bold added by the translator), who left Germany to study at the theological institutions in Bologna and Rome.

End of the First Part

P. Giovanni Cavalcoli OP

Fontanellato, December 18, 2024

Source:

https://padrecavalcoli.blogspot.com/p/il-nazismo-esiste-ancora-prima-parte-13.html

Notes:

[1] Edizioni Bollati Boringhieri, Turin 1988. See also Andrea Colombo: Heidegger l’esistenzialista in I maledetti. Dalla parte sbagliata della storia ( Heidegger the Existentialist in The Damned: On the Wrong Side of History), Edizioni Lindau, Turin 2017, pp. 61-73.

[2] Consider, for example, the support offered by publishing houses such as Laterza or Adelphi, and, in recent decades, also by Edizioni Paoline or Queriniana.