Body, Femininity and Nationalism: Girls in the German Youth Movement 1900-1934 by Marion E. P. de Ras

Author:Marion E. P. de Ras [Ras, Marion E. P. de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780415182553
Goodreads: 520657
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2004-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

THE ‘VÖLKISCHE’ DEBATE AND ANTI-SEMITISM

At the outset, ‘German’ and ‘Völkisch’ had been the central point of the DMWB girls’ discourse. In the minutes of the league it was clearly expressed:

Membership of our league can be obtained only by those German girls who are not opposed to our nationalistic ideas. During a probationary period they have to prove through their whole way of life that they will conform to the community. As a visible sign of this the new member will receive the silver Swastika on a blue background.38

Therefore, despite its wish to remain outside party politics, it couldn't turn a blind eye to the increasing national debate on political standpoints. The swastika to them had been both the symbol of the solstice and the symbol of ‘Germanic history’. The political reality of wearing this particular symbol, however, was rather different. Extreme right-wing - radical parties and groups, such as the National Socialists (founded 1919), used the symbol to propagate not only their pro-German and Germanic mentality but also their anti-Semitism.39

Initially it was this party political use of the symbol that made the DMWB decide to give up the swastika as the symbol of their league, not the fact that it propagated anti-Semitism. Yet, the actions and expressions of radical right-wing groups confronted them with their own political standpoints, which hitherto they had perceived as ‘different’ from those of the Nazi party and others on the extreme right. According to Walbrodt, expressed in an interview in 1963, the league did not wish to be aligned with any anti-Semitic tendencies. This contradicts, however, her own demand not to accept Jews in the league.40 In any case by 1921 a debate about nationalism and anti-Semitism could no longer be avoided.

Once again we then come to the controversial question: What is Völkisch? It became clear that this was how anti-Semitists called themselves. Many of us then turned our backs on this ugly understanding of the concept. However, the anti-Semites don't have the right to keep the concept Völkisch entirely for themselves. In addition there is this group that means to constantly emphasize and pronounce its strong national consciousness. There are those, however, who will call themselves Völkisch, and by so doing wish only to express that a national culture is natural, and that by right of birth and history they feel rooted in their country. Talking about it is then superfluous, because it is the most natural and simple thing that exists.41

Most DMWB belonged to the latter group. For them being Völkisch was self-evident. They perceived it as a natural part of themselves, by their attitude they naturally felt closely connected to their environment. There was no need to discuss it much, nor to fanatically preach about it. The leadership, however, wished to clarify these standpoints and demanded a discussion. This discussion entered the annals of the league not as the Völkisch question but as the ‘Jewish question’.

The opening essay ‘What Is Völkisch?’ was written by one of the leading figures in the league, Grete Deppermann.

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