The phrase "the German spirit", 1938 in the Kristallnacht pogrom of a German university teacher needed, which is known to 1933, Hitler raises fears the worst. But this scripture of Theodor Litt retains an astonishing independence, Litt was probably only possible because er im Jahr zuvor seine vorzeitige Versetzung in den Ruhestand erreicht hatte.
Statt einer NS-Bekenntnisschrift erwartet den Leser eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit Alfred Rosenbergs Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts , freilich eine unpolemische.
Den in der damaligen Zeitsituation an sich nicht vorhandenen, für die Kritik aber notwendigen Argumentationsspielraum gewinnt Litt dadurch, dass er seine Haltung deutlich von der eines gläubigen Christen absetzt. Er betrachte das Christentum als geschichtliche Erscheinung und nicht, wie der Gläubige es müsse, als eine aller Zeitlichkeit überlegene Erhebung zum Transzendenten.
Seine Kritik an Rosenberg setzt an dessen Verständnis von Welfare to. If it is the only object of man's nature to do justice and to not fail, then he could not develop into something higher. It will only be possible through the meeting with something else.
The man is not completely determined by its genetic material, because then he differed not influenced by the animal, but not solely by his environment because he was not free. Rather, he is in an intermediate position where he could choose what he associates, whom he would meet. Conducive to development is always better when it was compared to or greater than the ego. ("The security, therefore, in the gospel of self-development people want to weigh, is a self-deception. "p.29)
same applies to Litt among peoples and cultures. Such a meeting could not be undone by simply stripping creates a newly formed top layer and on the ground of his being return, for a meeting, are becoming the whole person. This was also recognized Christianity to Western culture, so that it "continued to be effective there, too, where every thought is far from gospel, confession and church" (p.56).
Finally, he criticized therefore generally "certain forms of human life interpretation and direction in life" if they disagree with the encounter the others were aligned, and emphasizes "how strict everything human, if it wants to fulfill his destiny, the" other "is instructed, under the not his disposal." (P.58)
From now seen from the surprise of the liberal arts education Coming completely unempirical argument reflects on the genetic and environmental influences is. Especially a statement appears on the Christian peoples and their influences on us today soul quite cloudy. ("The Christian nations, as long as an unshakable certainty of faith in their lives had the lead, this claim and order penetrated more deeply into the soul, moved away, depending on the belief the divine from the earthly and the more he fervently, however, and because of it, to the infinitely distant point and pushed up. "p.47)
But it is an argument that knows no compromises with the Nazi evil spirit and proves that even the conservative point of view in 1938 criticism of Nazi positions was possible
Theodor Litt.. The German spirit and Christianity from being historical encounter , Leopold Klotz Verlag , Leipzig (3 and 4 thousand) in 1938, 63 pages
Wolfgang Klafki goes in his essay Current Controversies in the German education on the relationship of the Humanities Education for National Socialism, Marburg 1998 short on Theodor Litt one turns out and that he had not been corrupted by the Nazis can.
0 comments:
Post a Comment