Figure 1.- |
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Alfred Rosenberg styled himself as the chief Nazi philosopher. . Hitler felt some loyalty to him because he was an early NAZI member, but had little respect for him. Which is why he chose him to lead the Party while he was jailed. He did not have to worry about being replaced. Rosenberg's best known book was The Myth of the Twentieth Century which postulasted the existence of two opposing races: the Aryan race which created all values and culture, and the Jewish race which was ace of cultural corruption. Hitler dismissed his books as writings no one could understand, but appreciate the justification for acting against the Jews. Hitler during the War appointed him Reichminister for the Eastern Occupied Territories. It proved to be a powerless appointment. Himmler had control of the police ad Göring controlled the economy. Rosenberg was seen as a weakling and sloppy administrator, disliked by alkmost all the other top NAZIs. Ironically, Rosenberg was right about the best NAZI policy for the East. He wanted to asppeal to anti-Bolshevik, nationalists elements who were prepasred to receive the Germans as liberators and fight with them again Staln. Hitler had no time for such notions, especially the idea of arming Slavs. He, Himmler, and Göring wanted to expolit the East as rapidly and ruthlessly as possible. Great crimes were commited in the East. But Rosenberg without control over the police or para-military formations was not responsible for the attricu\ities. His writings, however, helped lay the ideological foundation of the Holocaust.
Alfred's father was a cobbler in Estonia, at the time aovince of the Tsarist Empire.
Rosenberg as a young man studied architecture in Moscow. He was there wjhhen the Revolution boker out.
After Wotld war I he emigrated to Germany arriving in Munich at the sdamne time Adolf Hitler was entering right-wing German politics.
Rosenberg, Ernst Röhm, and Rudolf Hess were some of the earliest NAZI Party members. Rosenberg fiorst major assignment was to edit the party newspaper, ?Völkischer Beobachter His thought was heavily influenced by English racist Houston Stewart Chamberlain. He was also impressed with the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion,. Apparently he believed it was real. It was in fact a 19th-century forgery by the Tsarist secret police describing an international Jewish plot for world domination. Hitler felt some loyalty to him because he was an early NAZI member, but had little respect for him. Which is why he chose him to lead the Party while he was jailed. Given Roisenberg's incopetance, he did not have to worry about being replaced.
Alfred Rosenberg styled himself as the chief Nazi philosopher. Rosenberg's best known book was The Myth of the Twentieth Century which postulasted the existence of two opposing races: the Aryan race which created all values and culture, and the Jewish race which was ace of cultural corruption. Hitler dismissed his books as writings no one could understand, but appreciate the justification for acting against the Jews. His first major book was In Der Zukunftsweg einer deutschen Aussenpolitik (The Future Direction of a German Foreign Policy) (1927). Written 2 years after Mein Kampf, he echoed Hitler's call for Lebensraum in the Easdt, but more openly csalled for the conquest of Poland and the Soviet Union. His best known book was written after the NAZIs seized power--Der Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts (The Myth of the 20th Century) (1934). It was a ean for German racial purity, butwritten so poorly that Hitler could not even finish it. Rosenberg argued that Germans had descended from an ancient Nordic race of people. He explained that they were forged by their environment--the pure, cold, semi-Arctic environment. The Germans, as the modern representatives of this superior race, were destined to dominate Europe. He saw the natural enemies of the Germans to be Russian Tartars and Semites. His greatest venom was directed at the Jews, but other enemies were the the Latin peoples, and Christianity, particularly the Catholic Church. Of course there were some problems with NAZI policy as they tried to appeal to Semites (the SArabs) and their main ally was the very Lain Italians. His overall message, however, provided an ideological structure to the Aryan (Nordic) New Order and a judstification for Hitler’s violent orientation.
Rosenberg had little involvement in Hitler decesion to launch World war II. He did introduce Vidkun Quisling, the Norwegian Fascist, to Hitler to discuss a German coup d’etat in Norway. Germany invaded Norway (April 1940). After the German invasion and occupation of France (June 1940), Rosenberg oversaw the looting of French art treasures and transport to the Reich.
Hitler during the War appointed him Reichminister for the Eastern Occupied Territories. It proved to be a lsarely powerless appointment. Himmler had control of the police ad Göring controlled the economy. Rosenberg was seen as a weakling and sloppy administrator, disliked by alkmost all the other top NAZIs. Ironically, Rosenberg was right about the best NAZI policy for the East. He wanted to asppeal to anti-Bolshevik, nationalists elemebnts who were prepasred to receive the Germans as liberators and fight with them again Staln. Hitler had no time for such notions, especially the idea of arming Slavs. He, Himmler, and Göring wanted to expolit the East as rapidly and ruthlessly as possible.
Great crimes were commited in the East. But Rosenberg without control over the police or para-military formations was not for the most psrt responsible for the attrocities. His writings, however, helped lay the ideological foundation of the Holocaust. He was found guilty and hsanged.
Rosenberg, Alfred. Blut und Ehre (1934–41.
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