Bernhard Kummer (21 January 1897 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

– 1 December 1962 in

Bad Segeberg Bad Segeberg (; ) is a German town of 16,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, capital of the district (Kreis) Segeberg. It is situated approximately northeast of Hamburg, and west of Lübeck. It is famous for its annual ...

) was a

Germanist German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, German literature, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on Culture ...

who was appointed to a professorship in the

Nazi era Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

and whose writings have been influential among postwar

neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...

. He was a prominent representative of

Nordicism Nordicism is a racialist ideology which views the "Nordic race" (a historical race concept) as an endangered and superior racial group. Some notable and influential Nordicist works include Madison Grant's book '' The Passing of the Great Rac ...

, the view that the so-called

Nordic race The Nordic race is an obsolete racial classification of humans based on a now-disproven theory of biological race. It was once considered a race or one of the putative sub-races into which some late-19th to mid-20th century anthropologists di ...

was inherently culturally advanced, and in books including his best known work, ''Midgards Untergang'', he argues that the conversion of the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

from their native

Germanic paganism Germanic paganism or Germanic religion refers to the traditional, culturally significant religion of the Germanic peoples. With a chronological dating, chronological range of at least one thousand years in an area covering Scandinavia, the Bri ...

, particularly the Christianisation of Scandinavia, was detrimental to European culture.

Career, writing and political activity

Kummer earned his doctorate at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

under the theologian Hans Haas, first publishing ''Midgards Untergang'' in 1927 as his doctoral thesis. A committed National Socialist, he joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in 1928 (member number 87,841), was also a member of the SA, and wrote articles for Nazi publications beginning in 1927.Hans-Jürgen Lutzhöft, ''Der Nordische Gedanke in Deutschland 1920–1940'', Kieler historische Studien 14, Stuttgart: Klett,

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, perso ...

p. 51
Heinrich
p. 245
He left the party in 1930 because membership was preventing him from obtaining a public post or scholarship and he was having difficulty providing for his family;

Gustav Neckel Gustav Neckel (born 17 January 1878 in Wismar, died 24 November 1940 in Dresden) was a German philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. Life and career His parents were Gustav Neckel (1844–1923), an industrialist and businessman, and Am ...

had applied for a scholarship on his behalf in 1929.Heinrich
p. 250 and note 92
He rejoined the party only late in the Third Reich, but for reasons of conflict with other Nazis, not out of lack of commitment to its ideology;Heinrich
p. 246
he requested readmission beginning in 1933,Willy Schilling, "NS-Dozentenschaft und Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Dozentenbund an der Universität Jena", in Uwe Hossfeld (ed.), ''Kämpferische Wissenschaft: Studien zur Universität Jena im Nationalsozialismus'', Cologne: Böhlau, 2003, , pp. 180–201
p. 190
and was supported by the Association of National Socialist Dozents, which he represented in his division of the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

. After the Nazis came to power, he lectured widely to party organisations and was a

dozent The term "docent" is derived from the Latin word , which is the third-person plural present active indicative of ('to teach, to lecture'). Becoming a docent is often referred to as habilitation or doctor of science and is an academic qualifica ...

at the

Deutsche Hochschule für Politik The Deutsche Hochschule für Politik (DHfP), or ''German Academy for Politics'', was a private academy in Berlin, founded in October 1920. It was integrated into the Faculty for Foreign Studies (''Auslandswissenschaftliche Fakultät'') of the Fried ...

in Berlin. From 1938 he belonged to the SA "Working Group for

Weltanschauung A worldview (also world-view) or is said to be the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. However, when two parties view the s ...

and Culture". He never completed his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

(the two volumes published as ''Herd und Altar''—Hearth and Altar—had been intended to serve that purpose) but taught at the University of Jena beginning in October 1936, and on 1 May 1942 was appointed Professor of Old Norse language and culture together with Germanic history of religion. Kummer participated from its inception in 1927 in the ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens'', a prestigious project. His articles are on the family and sexualityHeinrich
p. 252
and also on goddesses and other female figures such as Mother Holle. He was an influential proponent of Nordicism, particularly as an important ideologue in the ''Nordische Gesellschaft'' and as the main author with the '' völkisch'' publishing house of Adolf Klein in Leipzig. After the war, many of Kummer's works were banned in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany. However, like some other former Nazi academics, he was able to draw on friendships to continue working, emphasising Germanic democracy rather than the "Führer principle" in his postwar publications. He read a paper at the 8th International Congress for the History of Religions, in Rome in 1955. Along with other ''völkisch'' neopagans including

Herman Wirth Hermann Felix Wirth (alternatively referred to as Herman Wirth Roeper Bosch or Herman Felix Wirth (although spelled ''Hermann'' on his birth certificate); 6 May 1885 in Utrecht – 16 February 1981 in Kusel) was a Dutch-German historian, a schol ...

, he was active in the

Deutsche Unitarier Religionsgemeinschaft Unitarier - Religionsgemeinschaft freien Glaubens ("Unitarians - Religious Community of Free Faith") is a Unitarianism, unitarian religious organization in Germany. It was founded in 1876 in Germany's Rheinhessen region under the name ("Religious ...

(German Unitarian Religious Community). ''Midgards Untergang'' in particular is still cited by neo-Nazis as scholarly evidence for their views.

Views and dispute with Otto Höfler

Beginning with ''Midgards Untergang'', Kummer propounded a view of ancient Germanic culture, influenced by

Vilhelm Grønbech Vilhelm Peter Grønbech (14 June 1873 – 21 April 1948) was a Denmark, Danish cultural historian. He was professor of the history of religion at the University of Copenhagen and also had a great influence on Danish intellectual life, especia ...

, as marked by a dualism reminiscent of

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

thought, between life-affirming ''

Midgard In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term : oikou ...

'' and life-endangering '' Utgard''.Wiedemann
p. 152
He argued that the Eddic poems already represented a weakened form of

because of both Christian influence and the adoption of

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

, an originally alien god, and that these divisive inroads by Utgard made possible the success of missionaries in converting the Germanic peoples: "the Norse Odin of the waning days of heathendom onstituteda bridge between Germanic piety and Christian devil-belief".Wiedemann
p. 153
quoting from "Frau / Weib", ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens'', col. 1737: "Brücke zwischen germanischer Frömmigkeit und christlichem Teufelsglauben". He regarded the conversion as a catastrophe, causing cultural decayHorst Junginger, "Introduction" in ''The Study of Religion under the Impact of Fascism'', pp. 1–103
p. 50
and the eventual downfall (''Untergang'') of Midgard; hence his title recalling

Oswald Spengler Oswald Arnold Gottfried Spengler (29 May 1880 – 8 May 1936) was a German polymath whose areas of interest included history, philosophy, mathematics, science, and art, as well as their relation to his organic theory of history. He is best know ...

's ''

The Decline of the West ''The Decline of the West'' (; more literally, ''The Downfall of the Occident'' or even more literally, "The Going-Under of the Evening Lands"; some of the poetry of the original is lost in translation) is a two-volume work by Oswald Spengler. Th ...

'' or ''The Downfall of the Occident'' (''Der Untergang des Abendlandes''). His views were influenced by significant anti-Catholicism; in his view, the ancient Teutons "and

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

gods coexisted in a relationship of mutual trust" and their ethics were based on custom and conscience, as opposed to dogma (as in Catholicism) or law (as in Judaism). He referred to Catholics as "the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

of Rome". In contrast to the Ariosophists, he regarded superstition and belief in witches as primitive traits imported into Germanic culture via Catholicism, rather than repositories of ancient native thought. Kummer's publications show both deep knowledge and an increasingly strident political approach. In ''Midgards Untergang'' (1927) his main focus is on what can be learned of ancient Germanic culture from the sources; in ''Mission als Sittenwechsel'' (1933) he examines the effect of the "collective mental injury" of conversion and loss of culture; and in ''Der Machtkampf zwischen Volk, König und Kirche im alten Norden'' (Volume 2 of ''Herd und Altar'', 1939), he ascribes to the conversion all the ills of his own time as he saw them: "usury, homelessness, mass culture, oss of dignity treason against blood and army, cowardice, the disregard of ancestral heritage, ailure to resistthe enticements of the day, corruption, disrespect of national interests, a

orality Orality is thought and verbal expression in societies where the technologies of literacy (especially writing and print) are unfamiliar to most of the population. The study of orality is closely allied to the study of oral tradition. The term "ora ...

of adultery, poverty among children, degeneration of motherly love, and intellectual disbelief." He acquired the deprecatory nickname "Germanenbernhard", which "hints at his character as a pettifogging and self-opinionated polemicist". Kummer's academic career was retarded by a conflict with

Otto Höfler Otto Eduard Gottfried Ernst Höfler (10 May 1901 – 25 August 1987) was an Austrian philologist who specialized in Germanic studies. A student of Rudolf Much, Höfler was Professor and Chair of German Language and Old German Literature at the Un ...

which became part of the conflict between the

Ahnenerbe The (, "Ancestral Heritage") was a pseudoscientific organization founded by the ''Schutzstaffel'' in Nazi Germany in 1935. Established by ''Reichsführer-SS'' Heinrich Himmler in July 1, 1935 as an SS appendage devoted to promoting racial the ...

and the

Amt Rosenberg Amt Rosenberg (ARo, Rosenberg Office) was an official body for cultural policy and surveillance within the Nazi party, headed by Alfred Rosenberg. It was established in 1934 under the name of ''Dienststelle Rosenberg'' (''DRbg'', Rosenberg Depar ...

, with which Kummer was affiliated.Heinrich
p. 254
Höfler originally fanned the flames of their disagreement with a dismissive treatment of Kummer's work in his ''Kultische Geheimbünde der Germanen'' (1934), but Kummer fought back "with almost every weapon he could get." Kummer attacked Höfler's version of the Germanic Continuity Theory as based on the equation of the ancient Teutons with primitives and therefore inherently denigratory. He accused the Catholic Höfler, whose work emphasises initiatory cults and secret societies, of "an un-Nordic predilection for strange rites and ecstatic practices".Junginger, "Introduction"
p. 52
Höfler was able to point out the potential destructiveness of such sectarianism in the Third Reich, and his viewpoint easily supported the notion of National Socialism as the culmination of Germanic history, whereas Kummer had to resort to a reawakening of suppressed cultural forces.

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

intervened in the quarrel and Kummer was forced to withdraw his attacks on Höfler and resign from the journal ''Nordische Stimmen'', which he had founded; only then did his academic career advance.Junginger, "Introduction", pp. 50&ndas
51

Selected publications

* ''Midgards Untergang: Germanischer Kult und Glaube in den letzten heidnischen Jahrhunderten''. Veröffentlichungen des Forschungsinstituts für Vergleichende Religionsgeschichte an der Universität Leipzig ser. 2 vol. 7. Leipzig: Pfeiffer, 1927. . Rev. ed. Leipzig: Klein, 1935. . 3rd enlarged ed. 1937. * ''Mission als Sittenwechsel. Mit einer Antwort an Prof. D. Rückert: ′Die kulturelle und nationale Bedeutung der Missionierung Germaniens für das deutsche Volk′''. Reden und Aufsätze zum nordischen Gedanken 1. Leipzig: Klein, 1933. * ''Herd und Altar. Wandlungen altnordischer Sittlichkeit im Glaubenswechsel''. Volume 1 ''Persönlichkeit und Gemeinschaft''. Leipzig: Klein, 1934. Volume 2 ''Der Machtkampf zwischen Volk, König und Kirche im alten Norden''. Leipzig: Klein, 1939. * ''Germanenkunde im Kulturkampf: Beiträge zum Kampf um Wissenschaft, Theologie und Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts''. Reden und Aufsätze zum nordischen Gedanken 25. Leipzig: Klein, 1925. * ''Gefolgschaft, Führertum und Freiheit. Vom Grundgesetz der Demokratie in alter Zeit''. Zeven: Lienau, 1956.

References

External links

Books by and about Bernhard Kummer
in the catalogue of the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kummer, Bernhard 1897 births 1962 deaths Writers from Leipzig People from the Kingdom of Saxony Nazi Party members Germanic studies scholars German Germanists Old Norse studies scholars Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of the University of Jena German military personnel of World War I Sturmabteilung personnel Writers on Germanic paganism

Career, writing and political activity

Views and dispute with Otto Höfler

Selected publications

See also

References

Further reading

External links