Bernard Mees

Hitler and Germanentum

This article investigates the concept of Germanentum (Germanicness) in nazi Germany in light of the use of a similar concept, romanità (Romanness) in fascist Italy, and of Hitler’s response to German antiquity enthusiasts. Rather than the dismissive attitude often cited by historians, this article shows that Hitler accepted many aspects of the cult of Germanicness, but in keeping with his early wish to distance the Nazi Party from some sections of the old radical right, as well as his obvious philhellenism, chose to see Germanicness as part of a broader Aryan antiquarian model which had been developed by an antiquarian Grub Street, a model that embraced Graeco-Roman antiquity as part of German culture and history.