Corpse-like obedience (, also translated as corpse obedience, cadaver obedience, cadaver-like obedience,

zombie A zombie ( Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in wh ...

-like obedience, slavish obedience, unquestioning obedience, absolute obedience or blind obedience) refers to an

obedience Obedience, in human behavior, is a form of " social influence in which a person yields to explicit instructions or orders from an authority figure". Obedience is generally distinguished from compliance, which is behavior influenced by peers, and ...

in which the obeying person submits unreservedly and passively to another's will, like a mindless, animated cadaver.

Jesuit origin

The term originated with the Jesuit work by

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

from 1553, the Letter on Obedience. It has also been dated to 1558. That text said, in Latin: "" which can be translated as "We should be aware that each of those who live in obedience must allow himself to be led and guided by

Divine Providence In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is God's intervention in the Universe. The term ''Divine Providence'' (usually capitalized) is also used as a title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general providence", which ...

through the

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

, as if he were a dead body". The concept, described in the Jesuit context as "fabled and misunderstood", has since been criticised by detractors of the Jesuit order as blind obedience. Jesuit supporters, in turn, refer to it as the "perfect obedience".

Modern use

The term is often associated with

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

(where it is known as ), where it refers to "both obedience and loyalty until death" or simply "absolute obedience" or "blind obedience". It has been associated with the discussion of German military and administration of the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and Nazi eras and their passive adherence to carrying out orders, including those later judged to be war crimes (see also

Prussian virtues Prussian virtues (German: ) are the virtues associated with the historical Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918). They were derived from Prussia's militarism and the ethical code of the Prussian Army as well as from bourgeois values such as honesty an ...

, German militarism, '' Befehlsnotstand'', ''

Führerprinzip The (; German for 'leader principle') prescribed the fundamental basis of political authority in the Government of Nazi Germany. This principle can be most succinctly understood to mean that "the Führer's word is above all written law" and ...

'', and

superior orders Superior orders, also known as the Nuremberg defense or just following orders, is a plea in a court of law that a person, whether a member of the military, law enforcement, a firefighting force, or the civilian population, should not be consid ...

). The

Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service The Law for the Restoration of the Professional Hitler Service (german: Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums, shortened to ''Berufsbeamtengesetz''), also known as Civil Service Law, Civil Service Restoration Act, and Law to Re-es ...

of 1933 has been credited with enforcing this idea in the Nazi German civil administration.

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ,"Eichmann"
'' the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, invoked this concept in his defence during his post-war trial. The term has also been used in the context of other

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

regimes, such as

communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the Ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet U ...

s and parties. The concept has been described as promoted by works such as ''

The Communist Manifesto ''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Comm ...

'' or ''

Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for G ...

''. The concept has also been mentioned in the context of extreme interpretation of

military discipline Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodies ...

. Some scholars have translated the term as zombie-like obedience. A similar variation occurs in Nigerian

afrobeat Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecti ...

artist

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pi ...

's song "Zombie" (from the album of the same name), in which Kuti calls Nigerian soldiers zombies as a critique of the country's military government.

References

{{Reflist Political philosophy Conformity German words and phrases Criminal defenses Political terminology in Germany Government of Nazi Germany