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liberalWesternsocietywhichtracedits beginningsto the principlesof the Enlighten-
ment...”^120 Unsurprisingly,thoughhe wasnot German,Jean-JacquesRousseauis consid-
eredoneof the luminariesof the Romanticmovement.^121 KarlPopperremarksquite
sympathetically,“FromRousseauonward,the Romanticschoolof thoughtrealizedthat
manis not mainlyrational.”^122 Popperalso discloses,“WhileI see Kantas the defenderof
the Enlightenment,he is moreoftentakenas the founderof the schoolwhichdestroyed
it—of the RomanticSchoolof Fichte,Schelling,andHegel.”^123 Popperis wrongandhis
detractorsare correct—philosophicRomanticismindeedtrekkeda pathblazedby Kant.
Germany’s Romanticismdisplayedthematiccommonalitieswiththe Romanticismof oth-
er partsof Europe.ConsiderMaryShelley’sFrankenstein, a workof bothaestheticand
philosophicRomanticism.It is fromFrankensteinthatour modernculturehas gainedthe
notionthat any proudmanwhoseeksto applyscientificknowledgeto createa grandnew
technologywillrun afoulof nature,provokingnatureto punishhimviolentlyfor such
hubris.SomemoderncriticsdenythatFrankensteinis primarilya fablewarningagainst
technologicalprogress;theypointout that the monsterin the storywasmistreatedby his
maker,andthatthe monstermighthaveturnedout genteelandhumaneif not for the
neglectand persecutionhe suffered.Still,MaryShelleystatedherselfthatshe judgedher
taleto be a parableprotestingthe selfishscienceshe hadwitnessedassertingitself—
”supremelyfrightfulwouldbe the effectof any humanendeavourto mockthe stupen-
dousmechanismof the Creatorof the world.”^124
OxfordUniversityadministratorNicholasGoodrick-Clarke,Ph.D.,concurswithme
that Germany’s nineteenth-centuryromantic“völkischideology” wasa backlashchalleng-
ing rational“modernity.... Thesurvivalof pre-capitalistattitudesandinstitutionsin
thesecountriesmeantthatmodernization” wasdistressingto the Germans.“Manypeo-
ple despisedmodernization,” for theyresentedthe “mushroomingindustries... Liberal-
ism” andrationalityweredistrusted“becausetheytendedto demystifytime-honored
institutionsand to discreditacceptedbeliefsand authorities.”^125
WayneBiddleparaphrasesthe GermanRomanticistnotionsthatinformedNaziism:
“... the romanticizedVolkneededto be protectedfromthe corruptionof WesternZivilisa-
tion, especiallythe degenerateAmerikanismuswherebyfinancialprofitsdeterminedthe
pathof progress.To accomplishthis,rationalitywouldhaveto mixwithmythology,
contraryto the Enlightenmentnotionthatthe two are mutuallyexclusive.” Thismindset,
Biddleadds,wasknownas “thinkingwiththe blood.”^126 Blood, in the contextof this
expression,as in the NazisloganBloodand Soil, refersto bloodrelatives—loyaltyto one’s
familyor tribe.Suchprioritizationof bloodoverreasonwasvisiblein Hitler’s rebuffs
againstCarlBosch’s appealsto reason.It will be recalledfromBookTwothatBoschwas
the GermancorporateexecutivewhoassistedFritzHaberin developingthe processof
synthesizingnitrogenfertilizer.Haberconvertedto Christianity,but the Nazisfound
themselvesunableto overlookthathe wasborna Jew.Thatwasenoughfor themto
dismissand ban himfromthe MaxPlanckInstitute.In March1933,Boschmet Hitlerand
informedhimthatif he succeededin exilingHaberand otherJewish-bornscientistsfrom
universities,the stateof Germany’s physicsandchemistrywouldbe set backa century.
To this,Hitlermerelysnapped,“Thenwe’ll worka hundredyearswithoutphysicsand
chemistry.” Upsetby the industrialist’s impudence,Hitlerrefusedto speakwithBosch
everagainor so muchas be in the sameroomas him.^127
Philosophyprofessorand NaziismadvocateAlfredBaeumler(1887–1968),beingwell-
readon howthe VolkishmovementwasinfusedwithRomanticism,saidof himselfand
his fellowNaziPartymembers,“Romanticismopenedour eyesto the night,the past,our
ancestors,to the mythosand the Volk.”^128 Recallthe quotationfromBookOneof the Nazi
officerRobertLey aboutfaith—”We havefaithin AdolfHitlerand in his Idea.The faithis
convertedinto obedience.Whoeverdoesnot obeyhas no faith!”^129