Illustration from the 1875 account of the expedition, Die zweite deutsche Nordpolarfahrt in den Jahren 1869 und 1870 unter Führung des Kapitän Koldewey.

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Germany undertook two Arctic expeditions from 1868 to 1870. The prospects of heroic adventure, national glory, and scientific advancement were all motivating factors. Polar exploration was hailed as a demonstration of Germanic courage and fortitude, as well as of the strength of German science and technology. (more…)

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The discipline of gymnastics has its roots in ancient Greek physical exercises, but the father of modern gymnastics is widely acknowledged to be the nineteenth-century German gymnastics educator Friedrich Ludwig Jahn. Jahn is credited with the invention of number of gymnastic apparatuses (the vaulting horse, parallel bars, balance beam, and rings), the founding of the first open-air gymnasium in Germany, and the popularization of gymnastics as a competitive sport. (more…)

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Lucas Cranach the Elder, Martin Luther, 1529

Today marks the fifth centenary of the Protestant Reformation. In Germany, October 31 is an annual public holiday in five states, but this year a nationwide holiday has been declared in all states to celebrate the Reformation. A search for books about Martin Luther and the Reformation on Amazon shows that a vast number of books about him have been published in recent months. It seems right to commemorate this pivotal event in the history of Germany and all of Europe, and the man responsible for it.  (more…)

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Part 2 of 2. Part 1 here.

Schleiermacher’s Philosophy of Mind

According to Schleiermacher, the task of philosophy is the “immersion of the Spirit into the innermost depths of itself and of things in order to fathom the relations of their [spirit and nature] being-together.”[1] Schleiermacher’s philosophy, like German idealism in general, was very influenced by, and a reaction to, the critical transcendental philosophy of Immanuel Kant. (more…)

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Part 1 of 2. Part 2 here.

“I feel sure that Germany, the kernel of Europe, will arise once more in a new and beautiful state, but when this will happen, and whether the country will not first have to experience even greater difficulties […] God alone knows.” — Friedrich Schleiermacher, 1806[1]

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Part 2

Racial Pioneers: Aryan Mystics, Pan-Germans, & Eugenicists

The Slavization of Austrian mass politics and the Judaization of its elites naturally invited a backlash from the state’s founding population, the Germans. This took various forms, especially the Right-wing ethno-nationalist subculture of the pan-Germans and the more pragmatic, anti-Semitic populism of the Christian-Socials.  (more…)

Johann Gottlieb Fichte, 1762–1814

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Johann Gottlieb Fichte was one of those rare men who are both thinkers and heroes. His challenging Wissenschaftslehre (“doctrine of science”) remains one of the most ambitious attempts to encompass the world and its meaning in a speculative philosophical system. In his elaboration of Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of ethical idealism, Fichte achieved a compelling synthesis of the complementary values of freedom and duty. (more…)

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Editor’s Note:

We apologize for the audio quality of Dr. Jacob’s telephone connection which makes it hard to understand his accent. But bear with us, because this is a very interesting interview.

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The “Stripped” Video

In 1998, the German hard rock band Rammstein covered “Stripped” (1986), by the English electronic/New Wave band Depeche Mode, for a Depeche Mode tribute album called For the Masses (1998). Later pressings of Rammstein’s second disc Sehnsucht (Longing) include “Stripped” at the end as a “hidden” track, i.e., it is not listed on the cover. (more…)

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Generally, I find it impossible to like popular music unless I was exposed to a particular performer or group before I turned 21. A large part of the problem is that my tastes have been “corrupted” by classical music. (more…)