Waldorf
enthusiasm for Nazism
Many Waldorf documents from the Nazi period proclaim
allegiance to the fatherland, to the nation, to the
German essence, and even to National Socialism as the
embodiment and vehicle of the long-awaited spiritual
renewal of Germany. While the more pointedly obvious
instances of Nazi vocabulary may be seen as motivated
at least in part by tactical considerations, the
underlying national mythology is perfectly in line with
the pre-1933 anthroposophical view of the historical
and cosmic mission of the German spirit. These texts
often reveal more about the details of Waldorf
perspectives on Nazism than the outward trappings of
political conformity do (although such latter symbols –
including Nazi flags, oaths, marches, portraits of
Hitler, and so forth at German Waldorf schools after
1933 – merit more attention than they have so far
received). Written testimony from Waldorf
supporters about their attitudes toward Nazism took a
variety of forms, both public and private, official and
casual. The following examples concentrate on positive
expressions of political compatibility between Waldorf
education and National Socialism.
In a 1934 letter to a Nazi party liaison office
complaining about the actions of a powerful local Nazi
official, Mergenthaler, against the Stuttgart Waldorf
school, a party member and parent from the school
declared that Waldorf education from the beginning had
pursued “exactly what we National Socialists strive
for,” and insisted that the Führer himself would surely
intercede on behalf of the school if he were made aware
of the situation. Invoking the Waldorf schools’
contribution to the “new Germany,” the letter writer
maintained that his views were shared by all of the
parents at the Stuttgart Waldorf school.
Four years later, after Mergenthaler’s final blow
against the Stuttgart Waldorf school, 363 parents from
the school signed a letter to Hess and Goering asking
that Mergenthaler’s order to close the school be
rescinded. The letter read in part:
"The Waldorf school in
Stuttgart was founded as a bulwark against the
corrosive powers of intellectualism and materialism in
1919, when our Volk was at its lowest point politically
and culturally. […] Already at that time, when
international tendencies were dominant, and despite
facing strong hostility, the school consistently
cultivated German spiritual life and built the entire
education of the children on this basis. Eighteen years
of experience have proven that through the Waldorf
school, our children are being brought up to be
hardworking, full-fledged members of the national
community, healthy in body and soul. We are therefore
convinced that the educational work of the Waldorf
school can be successfully made fruitful for the
cultural rebuilding of our Volk within the framework of
the National Socialist state."
A similar 1936 letter from 230 parents at the Waldorf
school in Hamburg-Wandsbek insisted that Waldorf
pedagogy “fulfills the
educational principles established by the Führer
himself.” The letter cited several passages from
Mein Kampf to substantiate this claim.
Subsequent posts will provide more detail from further
documents such as these.
Peter Staudenmaier