Umvolkung
Encyclopedia
Umvolkung is a term in Nazi ideology used to describe a process of assimilation
of members of the German people
(the Volk) so that they would forget about their language and their origin.
The term is also utilized to describe the "re-Germanisation
" of the German people, after new Lebensraum
was conquered and the German people who already resided there would become more German again. Of course, Umvolkung in the first sense was seen as a negative process during the Third Reich, while the second process was seen as desirable.
, a prestigious leader of the Ostforschung
, which was a research organization which investigated the character and the attitudes of people (the so-called "Verhalten") living in parts east of the German Reich, e.g. in Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania.
There was a plan to conquer almost whole Eastern Europe and process the "Umvolkung", so all the former German people, who slowly assimilated and mixed with the other ethnies would become more German again.
or the Jungen Nationalen. The term became a catchphrase and is often utilized to make the German people fear immigrants, whose number is increasing constantly " as if the immigrants are going to turn the German inhabitants into less German people".
2. http://www.doew.at/projekte/rechts/chronik/1998_07/umvolker.html
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
of members of the German people
Volksdeutsche
Volksdeutsche - "German in terms of people/folk" -, defined ethnically, is a historical term from the 20th century. The words volk and volkische conveyed in Nazi thinking the meanings of "folk" and "race" while adding the sense of superior civilization and blood...
(the Volk) so that they would forget about their language and their origin.
The term is also utilized to describe the "re-Germanisation
Germanisation
Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
" of the German people, after new Lebensraum
Lebensraum
was one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
was conquered and the German people who already resided there would become more German again. Of course, Umvolkung in the first sense was seen as a negative process during the Third Reich, while the second process was seen as desirable.
Origin and Background
The term was invented by Albert BrackmannAlbert Brackmann
Albert Brackmann was a leading German historian associated with the Ostforschung, a multi-disciplined organisation set up to co-ordinate German research on Eastern Europe....
, a prestigious leader of the Ostforschung
Ostforschung
Ostforschung in general describes since the 18th century any German research of areas to the East of Germany. Since the 1990s, the Ostforschung itself is a subject of historic research, while the names of institutes etc. were changed to more specific ones. For example, the journal „Zeitschrift für...
, which was a research organization which investigated the character and the attitudes of people (the so-called "Verhalten") living in parts east of the German Reich, e.g. in Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania.
There was a plan to conquer almost whole Eastern Europe and process the "Umvolkung", so all the former German people, who slowly assimilated and mixed with the other ethnies would become more German again.
Today's use
Nowadays, it is still utilized by far-right German organizations and by people who identify with the Nazi ideology and its aspects, such as certain fraternities, parties, and organizations as the NPDNPD
NPD may refer to:* National Democratic Party of Germany, a far-right political party in Germany; after its German language name, Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands...
or the Jungen Nationalen. The term became a catchphrase and is often utilized to make the German people fear immigrants, whose number is increasing constantly " as if the immigrants are going to turn the German inhabitants into less German people".
Sources
1. http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/BEITRAG/essays/fami0500.htm2. http://www.doew.at/projekte/rechts/chronik/1998_07/umvolker.html
See also
- LebensraumLebensraumwas one of the major political ideas of Adolf Hitler, and an important component of Nazi ideology. It served as the motivation for the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, aiming to provide extra space for the growth of the German population, for a Greater Germany...
- Generalplan OstGeneralplan OstGeneralplan Ost was a secret Nazi German plan for the colonization of Eastern Europe. Implementing it would have necessitated genocide and ethnic cleansing to be undertaken in the Eastern European territories occupied by Germany during World War II...
- GermanisationGermanisationGermanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
- OstforschungOstforschungOstforschung in general describes since the 18th century any German research of areas to the East of Germany. Since the 1990s, the Ostforschung itself is a subject of historic research, while the names of institutes etc. were changed to more specific ones. For example, the journal „Zeitschrift für...
- XenophobiaXenophobiaXenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
- Volk
- Glossary of Nazi Germany