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Nationalism in Germany: FICHTE'S IDEAS
by Constantin von Hoffmeister
27 October 2003
After the Congress of Vienna settled European affairs and reorganized its
whole structure according to the lines deemed best to secure a lasting
peace, many nations gained a lot (in terms of territory and prestige), but
many nations were again thrust into the limbo of mere existence, without
possessing a light of glory that might lead them out of chaos and disarray.
One of these nations was Germany. During the reign of Napoleon, all the
disparate parts of Germany were reduced from three hundred to thirty-eight.
This, in itself, was a good thing since it guaranteed fewer petty squabbles
between the egos of various princes holding absolute power within their
dominions. A lot of the German patriots thought that this improvement might
eventually lead to a unified German nation - a greater Germany, so to speak.
After the Congress of Vienna, however, these hopes were not fulfilled as the
great powers decided that it might be better to keep Germany fragmented in
the form of a loose Confederation.
Many romantic nationalists in Germany advocated Teutonic unity during the
reign of Napoleon, in the hope that the struggle against the foreign
oppressor might spark the fire of revolution and -- eventually -- liberation.
One of these nationalists was Johann Gottlieb Fichte. In his "Addresses to
the German Nation," he advocated pan-German unity and cooperation. He
stressed the importance of the German Volk to be viewed as an immortal
organism.
Fichte argues that it is of the utmost urgency that all Germans view
themselves as part of an eternal heritage that has existed in the past and
will -- hopefully, according to him -- exist in the future. Fichte states that
"the present problem, the first task ... is simply to preserve the existence
and continuance of what is German." This means that all that is German had
to be safeguarded in the past, to prevent it from becoming contaminated by
alien influences (Fichte cites the example of the Germanic uprising against
Rome as an example where the Germans defeated a superior civilization, not
because they detested Roman accomplishments but because they wanted to
preserve their Germanic purity).
At the same time, however, Fichte stresses that Germans have to do the same
in the present and in the future -- to safeguard "their existence in the
future." Only this kind of action makes the eternal nature of a nation
possible since all descendants will be in debt to the sacrifice of their
ancestors. For a true patriot, Fichte argues, the individual is worth
nothing, but the nation everything. Only the nation and its people can
guarantee that Germans are "still borne along on the stream of original and
independent life." This means that through the sacrifice of certain
individuals, the German folk lives on as a distinct cultural and ethnic
identity. Through the sacrifice of a few, the many will survive through the
ages.
Fichte proposed introducing a comprehensive system of national education. He
argues that through this system, the individual members of the German nation
will become more aware of their kinship and the duties that accompany this
realization. Therefore, the advantages of this kind of education are
manifold. The educated German will show more loyalty to his people and
nation, and will thereby become a better soldier during a time of crisis. He
will willingly sacrifice his life if he can help the survival of the nation
with this deed. Also, the "working classes accustomed from their youth up to
thinking about their business, and already able and inclined to help
themselves."
This -- of course -- is in tune with Fichte's appeal to the masses of the
German folk, instead of a select intellectual and elitist audience. Fichte
viewed the German folk as a coherent whole. This is why he makes such
concessions to the -- sometimes scorned -- lower stratum of society. For
Fichte, the individuals make up the nation while the nation is nothing but
the sum total of all individuals contained within it. As he says, "But he to
whom a fatherland has been handed down ... such a man fights to the last
drop of his blood to hand on the precious possession unimpaired to his
posterity."
CONSTANTIN VON HOFFMEISTER
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