The Völkisch Bloc
A Völkisch poster calling for a pre-election assembly in Munich on the 3rd of April, 1924, just two days after Adolf Hitler was sentenced to prison for his role in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. The Völkisch-Sozialer Block (Völkisch-Social Bloc or VSB) was a right-wing electoral alliance in interwar Germany with a philosophy loosely aligned with that of the NSDAP. It is theorized that the prolific nationalist ideologue Anton Drexler was present at this meeting, having been elected to the Bavarian Landtag in February 1924.
The Völkisch movement was a Pan-Germanic ethnonationalist movement inspired by the idea of naturally grown ethnic communities rooted in German folk traditions, environmentalism and a shared Germanic heritage. Flourishing during the interwar period, it aimed to preserve and celebrate the unique customs, language and mythology of the German people, while also promoting a return to rural living, self-sufficiency, and the revival of traditional crafts and arts. According to historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1985), Völkisch denoted the “national collectivity inspired by a common creative energy, feelings and sense of individuality. These metaphysical qualities were supposed to define the unique cultural essence of the German people.”
At its core, the Völkisch movement rose out of a reaction against the perceived dehumanizing and atomizing effects of post-industrial society, and a desire for simplicity, harmony and meaning. They sought to re-instill a sense of belonging and purpose amongst their adherents by cultivating a culturally and spiritually unified community. This form of spiritual renewal was also pursued by drawing upon ancient Germanic myths and symbols, creating a sense of continuity with the distant past and a link to one’s ancestral origins. A holistic spiritual movement as much as a political one, the Völkisch movement is a quintessentially German conception rooted in romanticism, cultural pride, artistic revival and a deep reverence for the natural world. It would later influence subsequent movements within literature, philosophy, politics and even early ecological thought, especially in Nazi Germany.
The agrarian Blood and Soil (Blut und Boden) ideology espoused by Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture Richard Walther Darré is one such product of Völkisch influence in National Socialist policies, in which questions of agriculture are not treated as mere questions of economics, but as concerning race and destiny. Criticism stemming from such ideological overlaps with National Socialism has resulted in Völkisch beliefs being largely shunned, and having effectively disappeared from mainstream German political discourse and cultural life today.
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The Völkisch Bloc | Germans Vote Völkisch! | Electoral Assembly
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A Völkisch poster calling for a pre-election assembly in Munich on the 3rd of April, 1924, just two days after Adolf Hitler was sentenced to prison for his role in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. The Völkisch-Sozialer Block (Völkisch-Social Bloc or VSB) was a right-wing electoral alliance in interwar Germany with a philosophy loosely aligned with that of the NSDAP. It is theorized that the prolific nationalist ideologue Anton Drexler was present at this meeting, having been elected to the Bavarian Landtag in February 1924.
The Völkisch movement was a Pan-Germanic ethnonationalist movement inspired by the idea of naturally grown ethnic communities rooted in German folk traditions, environmentalism and a shared Germanic heritage. Flourishing during the interwar period, it aimed to preserve and celebrate the unique customs, language and mythology of the German people, while also promoting a return to rural living, self-sufficiency, and the revival of traditional crafts and arts. According to historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1985), Völkisch denoted the “national collectivity inspired by a common creative energy, feelings and sense of individuality. These metaphysical qualities were supposed to define the unique cultural essence of the German people.”
At its core, the Völkisch movement rose out of a reaction against the perceived dehumanizing and atomizing effects of post-industrial society, and a desire for simplicity, harmony and meaning. They sought to re-instill a sense of belonging and purpose amongst their adherents by cultivating a culturally and spiritually unified community. This form of spiritual renewal was also pursued by drawing upon ancient Germanic myths and symbols, creating a sense of continuity with the distant past and a link to one’s ancestral origins. A holistic spiritual movement as much as a political one, the Völkisch movement is a quintessentially German conception rooted in romanticism, cultural pride, artistic revival and a deep reverence for the natural world. It would later influence subsequent movements within literature, philosophy, politics and even early ecological thought, especially in Nazi Germany.
The agrarian Blood and Soil (Blut und Boden) ideology espoused by Reich Minister for Food and Agriculture Richard Walther Darré is one such product of Völkisch influence in National Socialist policies, in which questions of agriculture are not treated as mere questions of economics, but as concerning race and destiny. Criticism stemming from such ideological overlaps with National Socialism has resulted in Völkisch beliefs being largely shunned, and having effectively disappeared from mainstream German political discourse and cultural life today.
Poster reads:
The Völkisch Bloc | Germans Vote Völkisch! | Electoral Assembly
Location | Date | Speaker
