Blood & Soil
"The unity of blood and soil must be restored," DarreWe shall gather together the best blood. Just as we are now breeding our Hanover horse from the few remaining pure-blooded male and female stock, so we shall see the same type of breeding over the next generation of the pure type of Nordic German”
One of the most central "doctrines" or pseudo-doctrines to the Nazi Belief System was that of "Blood and Soil" or Blut und Boden. "Blood & Soil" was the foundational concept for other concepts such as "Lebensraum and was rooted in occultic philosophies prevalent in German mysticism and Ancient legend, which posited that German Racial Identity, was essentially tied literally and metaphorically to the land. In the beginning of the reign of the Third Reich, the concept of "Blut und Boden" was euphemized with a'back to the land' , back-to-basics approach of bringing back the historical lifestyle of a Prussian people; a history tied in farming and rural values. The concept however was far greater than the 'back to farming ' and country life mentality which was couched in terms of patriotism and nationalism: the concept of the bloodlines of Germany being integrally tied to the soil or land necessitated a German people on a German land, with all others as intruders.
LEBENSRAUM:GERMAN BLOOD, GERMAN SOIL
The concept of Lebensraum, or expanding "living space" for the the German people is discussed elsewhere in this website. The Nazis believed in a strong tie between Germans and their land, in fact in the most extreme position, some such as Hentschel believed that a preminently pure Aryan could only be found on German soil, in a sort of mystical bond between the land and the soul of the people. As occupied territories were conquerer in WWII, the Nazis immediately began to establish German leadership, followed by the settlement of German people, and the infusion and conversion of and to German culture, food, music and thinking. The progressively expanding confiscation of land, starting with the contested Rhineland and Sudentenland, and ending with the better part of Europe, was not merely seen as the spoils of war as in all wars, but as the "Germanization" of Europe:with an Aryan prototype people: the 'superman' of Nietzche and the 'Thulians' [Atlanteans] of Ancient Atlantis. As such, the German people to exist in their fullness as the "Volk" must be on German soil, and there was a need to expand that land for the proliferation of the German and other Nordic races. The idea of a "New Europe" and a "New European Order" was not only a political dream of the Reich, it included the dawn of a prophesied era when the bloodlines of Europe would be cleansed of 'inferior' racial influence (see, e.g. Root Race Theory and the super-race of German/nordic peoples would take hold in Europe. Land and space was necessary for both: Hitler understood that lands once taken must be populated with German bloodlines: this was more than a point of imperialism ; this was the necessity to increase the policy/concept and purported effect of "blut und boden": the concept was not just colonial, it was mystical as well.OCCULTIC PHILOSOPHIES & BLUT UND BODEN
While many scholars do
not care to discuss Occultic influences on Nazi policy and philosophy, the early
training and later memberships of many higher echelon Nazis suggests a strong
influence of 'occult' groups. While "Blut und Boden" or Blood and Soil became a
cry for Nationalism and a return to traditional farming/rural life ,
the very clear belief of the importance of "German Soil" for German Blood ran
through what appeared merely as public patriotic policy. Haushofer, Karl
(1869-1946), a founder of "geopolitics" and Hentschel, the leader of the youth
group Artamanen both proposed the founding philosophies which gave birth to the
German policy of "Lebensraum". Hentschel, believed in establishing a "breeding
colony of pure Nordics", a concept which later also took hold in Lebensborn, and taught
such youth as Himmler, the
critical tie of the 'German soul' and bloodline to the German land. Hentschel
had rootings in the racial science formed at the University of Jena, but tied in
Norse Mysticism, even naming the 'breeding colony' "Mitgart' after the
mythological name for the middle level of existence, or earth.(See The Gods of the Nazis"
NATIONALISM AND THE SOIL
Nationalism tied to land is not a new concept. We all
equate our politically organized nation with the land we live in, often
referring to a 'motherland' or in the case of the Reich, 'fatherland'. There is
an inherent feeling that the places within the boundaries of our nation are
distinctly ours, and that we 'belong to the land'. What was different in the
concept of 'blut und boden', was that the land of Germany, spiritually and
perhaps mystically was tied to the German bloodlines. One occultist instrumental
in the training of many higher level Nazis stated that German soil like German
blood was ESSENTIAL to being German. Most did not define their nationalism quite
that strictly, but some used it as an underpinning of 'Germanization' or
Aryanization: the reasoning was that the German people, superior to others,
needed to grow and expand, and hence the soil under them must be German, and
following, lands must be conquered and occupied for the benefit of the 'master
race'. While we all experience degrees of nationalism or nationalistic feeling,
or patriotism, this concept is different though intertwined with that of the
German 'blut und boden'. An encyclopedic definition yields the following:
Nationalism is an ethno-political ideology that sustains the concept of a nation-identity for an exclusive group of people. Nationalism, is the discrete or implied doctrine which holds the distinct preservation of its identity and features, its independence in all aspects, and the "glory and wellbeing" of one's own nation as a fundamental ethos. 1
A holocaust studies resource notes the following defining limits of 'blut und boden':
it was popularized by Walther Darré in 1930 to establish a connection between race and land (Staudenmaie 1). For the defenders of the doctrine, the Jews were a wandering people without roots or land, and did not belong on German soil. The term “blood and soil” had been circulating for some time before Hitler or Darré, but it was the Nazis who used the doctrine as a principle of thought2The intrinsic notion of a soulish German connection to the land had its roots in racial science and occultism (see Nazi Beliefs) was promoted not only by Darre, but also by Lanz and Hentschel, who saw the tie to the land as as a metaphysical one. While the original concept had more to do with a return to the land, and the heartiness and healthiness of rural life and self-sufficiency for the German people, the concept became embellished with the meanings above. More than mere nationalism or 'back-to-farming' campaign, it laid the foundation for an anti-semitism that would not be undone: since the Jews were a nation without a land, they reasoned, the Jews then must be infinitely more inferior to the Germans whose national identity and soul were tied to the land. Since Jews were identified by race and not religion in the Reich, this land-less people were not to be considered real Germans, and hence one of the first acts of the Reich was to arrest their citizenship and delineate them as a nation which was not German, by race or land.
1Wikipedia.org: Nationalism.
JUDENREIN-JUDENFREI:MORE THAN "JEW-FREE"
The word "Judenrein means literally, a cleansing or purifying from the Jews, and the word, "Judenfrei" means 'Jew-free', or free from the Jews. Both concepts were applied to the Nazi's policies toward the "Final Solution" of the "Jewish Problem. While most of the public and political talk of pre-war Germany had to do with the expulsion of the 'troublemakng' Jews from German soil, it is very clear from many communiques that the Reich wanted the bloodlines of Europe "cleansed" and completely ridded of Jewish color. [The equivalent today would be to say that all traces of Jewish DNA would be expelled from our theoretical 'genetic pool'.] The Nazi's believed that the cleansing of all inferior bloodlines would lead to the purification of the Aryan bloodline, which they saw as the final 'rootrace' and the dawn of a utopian era.{See Nazi Beliefs A banner strung across a building at Christmastime in the Reich read "Those who are of the same Reich are of the same blood". (Found on EugenicsTHE VOLK, THE SOIL AND THE RETURN TO ARYAN MYSTICISM
The Nazis view of the people, the Land, and 'communion' and concept of intertwining, did not start as a unified philosophy. Rather, occultists and spiritualists/volk philosophers had concepts tied to Volkische mythology/mysticism and from a more 'naturalist' position, some saw the tie between Volk and Land to be a practical one: it was environmental preservation, practical self-sufficient enconomics and lead back to what Reich philosophers considered primary German values. Darre, who is often credited with coining or popularizing the term 'blut und boden' was one of the persons at a juxtaposition between the two: says one source:the fact that Darré was a fascist cannot be escaped. He stated, for example that the peasant had a "biological function in the body politic (Volkskörper)?The peasant's agricultural activity [is] not just a matter of production, but a means of maintaining the Idea of Peasantness itself" . Thus his definition of the 'mythic core' and the corrupting 'decadence' of German society though in agreement over 'German blood' - were simply at odds with the imperialist aims of the fascist Nazi regime.noteHe further gave credence to the Reich's "Lebensraum", and even an imperial mandate for it when he said:
[the] concept of Blood and Soil gives us a moral right to take back as much land in the East as is necessary to establish a harmony between the body of our Völk and the geopolitical space"1Each person had a viable living, biological part in the living Volk according to Darre.
The Reich used the concept
in its nationalistic push, but purists at the time wanted to see a radical change in culture and lifestyle away from
over-industrialization and urbanization.The philosophy gained power in the Reich's propaganda campaign when occultists such as Liebenfels and others incorporated racial theory and mysticism into more 'environmental' issues: to gain a tie back to the earth or soil was to become more of a unified whole, leading to the perfection of the Volk. As body, mind, soul, land and nation under a utopian people would be realized, so would the ultimate 'Ubermensch', the Master Race and a Society in equilibrium, characterized by magic, supernatural power and a sharing of 'divine spark' status; a new divinity. It was one of the reasons also that Hitler planned to replace the Church and Christianity in a New Order eventually.
GERMAN IDENTITY VS JEWISH IDENTITY: A Nation without Land
A nation without land seldom lasts past one generation. Part of the mystery of the Jewish Nation, is that they have existed after 2000 years of dispersion and assimilation into almost all cultures of the world, and yet still retained their identity as a nation. While not often openly confronted, this fact has made the Jews a constant source of anxiety for the nations they abide in, resulting often in Anti-semitic attitudes.The idea of German Identity opposing Jewish Identity in Germany during the Shoah and before though is critical to the understanding of processes which led to the 'Final solution' or 'Endlosung'. Since the Reich promoted strongly the concept of a people's identity being tied to the land that they are on, it becomes of essence to understand that Germans in the Reich believed that only Aryans belonged on German soil, and that they were tied to it. (See The Volk) It was not natural to them for a people not from the region to be on the 'land' or soil of a region, and the notion of ties went very deep for some as national ancestors are buried in the soil, and there is a sort of metaphysical soulish view of the unity of the soul of the people and the land.
Since the Jews were without 'land' per se apart from Israel, which they had been dispersed from, Reich views saw them as nomads and wanderers even in the 20th century, even when they had legal valid citizenship and long family and business histories in an area. Already mention was the designation of a status called 'citizen-guest' in which a non-Aryan identity negated the full concept of citizenship. Since the Jews were dispersed for centuries in all lands, they were not tied to the land, which the Nazis required in concept for a stable national people. It was similar reasoning to earlier historical reasonings which saw certain European governments forbidding Jews to live in certain areas or enter certain professions for fear that they would stabilize and prosper. While Jews built up the nations they lived in, often in politics, the arts, banking and economics, etc, they were historically a perennial problem in the dialogue between needing their influence and ability and severe anti-Semitism. It became a pattern in many countries to allow the Jews to aid in building a nation and a system of wealth and then committing pogroms and persecutions which robbed them of it, exactly the opposite of long held 'myths' of the Jews controlling the world.
Oddly though, despite the fact that German used 'blut und boden' against the definition of citizenship for the Jews, the Jewish National Identity also share some kernels of this philosophy in their own 'blut und boden'. The Jews, more than any other people were tied to the land of Palestine, and the nation of Israel. It is where they belonged: biblically, theologically, politically and by origins. For 2000 years of dispersion in other nations, while Israel did not have nationhood status, the Jews traditionally looked toward Israel, idealizing the area taken by Abraham Isaac and Jacob and ruled by judges and Kings, calling it Ha Eretz, [the Land] or Eretz Y'israel, the Land of Israel. It was referred to as a utopian place of milk and honey where one day, all would be well for the Jews. In some sense then, there was a counterpoint ideology of Jewish ties to a national land also, although the Reich intended the concept for the 'purification' from other races and peoples whereas while the Jews also were guided by factors of 'sanctification' and 'separation' from others in the worship of God, they did not keep others out, often even when they were divinely guided to do so.
Both Germans and Jews were clearly defined in their national identities, but the Jews were threatening to the Reich, though their numbers by percentages were small. The conflict of national identities, and the Reich's desire to purify the country of non-aryan person, (they had some diversity) did not cause the deportation and killing of the Jews, but certainly added to the tension in doing so.
GENERAL REFERENCES
quote cited in Black Metal is for White People; constructs of color and identity within the extreme metal scene;http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0207/blackmetal.php, from Welch 1967