Hitlers philosophers

About this episode

The episode discusses the philosophers associated with Nazism, focusing on their ideas and the implications for ethics and religion.

In this episode we talk about Hitler's philosophers and the book: Nils Gilje (2026). Hitlers filosofer - nasjonalsosialisme, filosofi og religion i mellomkrigstidens Tyskland. Solum Bokvennen. There are three philosophers in particular which the podcast is based on. These are Martin Heidegger, Alfred Baeumler and Ernst Krieck. All three cultivated academic freedom and had developed a philosophy that fit with Nazism before Nazism came to power. Heidegger's romantic philosophy is central to our episode. Especially his hubristic idea that man can revolutionize the world spiritually. His goal was to get the German people to think anew. We link this and many of his other thoughts to cultural essentialism and the belief in politics as the distinction between friend and enemy. This ends up in a metaphysical decisionism. In such a realpolitical atmosphere, there is not much room for religious or ethical thinking.

People in this episode

Hosts: Knut Ove Æsøy, Steven Phelps, Kamran Namdar

Topics covered

• Nazism
• philosophy
• cultural essentialism
• academic freedom
• metaphysical decisionism

Keywords

• Hitler
• philosophers
• Heidegger
• Nazism
• academic freedom
• cultural essentialism
• metaphysical decisionism

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Hitlers filosofer - nasjonalsosialisme, filosofi og religion i mellomkrigstidens Tyskland

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