The Europe-Ideology in German Conservatism, 1930-1955 (German History in Context)

A political-intellectual history of German conservatism and national identity from the 1930s to the 1950s centered on the evolution of conservatives' idea of Europe, or "Europe-Ideology." This book traces the development by leading German conservatives-including those who colluded with the Nazis or even joined the party-of a new post-national concept of European identity that they called the Europa-Gedanke, or "Europe-Ideology." It assesses what Europe meant for these thinkers, how this meaning changed amid the politics of the volatile historical time period from the 1930s to the mid-1950s, how their idea of Europe competed with other concepts of Europe and of German nationalism, and how it informed the transformation of German conservatism going into the postwar liberal order. This research is very timely given the surge of populist, right-wing politics over the last decade. Working from public and private documents of the conservative thinkers in question, the book investigates the strange path of democratization and de-radicalization of German right-wing nationalism. It offers insights into the transformation of radical nationalistic ideologies and how democratic regimes have accommodated them. It explores not only the intellectual and political history of German conservatism and its alliance with, and escape from, fascism, but also the policies of postwar West German democrats and American intelligence agencies that assisted and directed the transformation of these radical political impulses in the postwar world.