Conservative Revolution

Conservative Revolution
Hstoops · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Name	Conservative Revolution
Period	1918–1933
Region	Weimar Republic, Germany
Main influences	German Romanticism; Friedrich Nietzsche; Arthur Schopenhauer; Oswald Spengler; Stefan George
Notable figures	Arthur Moeller van den Bruck; Oswald Spengler; Carl Schmitt; Ernst Jünger; Hans Freyer
Predecessor	Wilhelmine Germany; German Empire
Successor	National Socialism; Conservative Right

Conservative Revolution The Conservative Revolution was an intellectual and cultural current in the aftermath of World War I centered in the Weimar Republic that sought radical alternatives to the political arrangements of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the Treaty of Versailles. It brought together writers, jurists, philosophers, and political activists who challenged liberalism, Marxism, and parliamentary forms associated with the Weimar Republic and debated concepts of nation, culture, and leadership. The current influenced debates across Europe and intersected with movements such as fascism and nationalism, while remaining contested by conservatives, socialists, and liberal democrats.

Definition and Origins

The term emerged in historiography to describe continuities between pre-war intellectuals like Friedrich Nietzsche and post-war authors associated with the German Youth Movement, Stefan George's circle, and post-1918 polemicists such as Arthur Moeller van den Bruck and Oswald Spengler. Its origins trace to reactions against the collapse of Wilhelmine Germany after World War I and the settlement at Treaty of Versailles, with participants drawing on traditions including German Romanticism, Prussian Conservatism, and critiques advanced by thinkers like Max Weber and Georg Simmel. The milieu overlapped with journals, salons, and publishing houses linked to figures from Munich to Berlin and groups like the Kampfverlag.

Key Figures and Movements

Major intellectuals included essayists and novelists such as Ernst Jünger and Hans Blüher, jurists like Carl Schmitt, historians such as Oswald Spengler, poets and cult figures from Stefan George's circle, and political theorists like Arthur Moeller van den Bruck. Organizationally, currents intersected with the Freikorps, veterans' associations spawned after World War I, youth movements affiliated with Wandervogel, and conservative student groups at universities like University of Munich and University of Berlin. Publishing platforms and periodicals—linked to publishers in Leipzig and Jena—helped disseminate ideas alongside salons hosted by patrons connected to aristocratic milieus in Prussia and Bavaria. Personal networks included contacts with figures in Italian Fascism and debates with opponents such as Walter Lippmann-aligned liberals and Karl Kautsky-influenced social democrats.

Ideology and Thematic Elements

Key themes combined cultural pessimism from Oswald Spengler's Decline thesis with elitist leadership concepts inspired by readings of Friedrich Nietzsche and strategic legal theory from Carl Schmitt. Advocates promoted visions of national rebirth drawing on mythicized histories such as the Holy Roman Empire and romanticized imaginaries from German Romanticism, while critiquing parliamentary institutions associated with the Weimar Constitution. Discourses incorporated aesthetics—poetry from the George-Kreis—and syndicalist or corporatist economic proposals debated against models like Bolshevism and Liberalism. The movement articulated views on sovereignty in dialogue with events like the Kapp Putsch and the impacts of hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic on political legitimacy.

Political Influence and Historical Impact

Members influenced debates in Reichstag politics, conservative cabinets, and nationalist paramilitary formations including links to the Freikorps and right-wing factions that later intersected with National Socialism. Intellectuals such as Carl Schmitt provided legal theories that found application in state practice during crises like the Reichstag Fire aftermath and the rise of authoritarian governance culminating in the Enabling Act of 1933. Cultural figures shaped literature and art movements across Berlin and Munich and informed foreign observers in France, Italy, and Spain. The movement's impact is traceable through appointments, publications, and cultural reception during the Weimar Republic and early Third Reich periods.

Criticism and Controversy

Contemporaries and later scholars criticized the tendency toward elitism, anti-parliamentarianism, and flirtations with violence and exclusionary national myths. Critics from Social Democratic Party of Germany circles, Communist Party of Germany, and liberal intellectuals argued that some proponents provided ideological groundwork for authoritarian and racist policies enacted under National Socialism. Debates over responsibility involve figures like Ernst Jünger, whose later stances provoked controversy, and legal scholars like Carl Schmitt, whose later work on emergency powers drew condemnation from post-war jurists and historians associated with institutions such as the Frankfurt School.

Legacy and Contemporary Relevance

Scholars trace continuities between the Conservative Revolution and later conservative intellectual currents in post-war Germany, discussions in European Union scholarship, and the revival of nationalist thought in late 20th and early 21st-century debates. Contemporary analysis engages with the movement through archives, journals, and collections housed in institutions like the German Historical Museum and university presses in Heidelberg and Berlin. Ongoing controversies concern the interpretation of figures like Oswald Spengler, Carl Schmitt, and Ernst Jünger in curricula at institutions such as Humboldt University of Berlin and debates within political parties across Europe about heritage, memory, and legal doctrine.

Category:History of Germany