Walter Kuhn
Encyclopedia
Walter Kuhn was a Nazi party member and Ostforschung
researcher interested in linguistics and German minorities outside Germany, particularly in the area of Ukraine
. During the war he was involved with Nazi re-settlement policies aimed at Jews, Poles and Germans. As a historian he was intoxicated with the idea of politically engaged scholarship and bereft of any criticism, while demonstrating anti-Polish prejudices. He worked together with Theodor Schieder
, another Nazi researcher who developed ethnic cleansing
plans regarding Poland and its Polish and Jewish population. Kuhn continued to work post-war in West Germany
.
). According to Kuhn's own statements, his father was a supporter of political movement led by Georg Ritter von Schönerer
; Schönerer's ideas featured elements of violent anti-Semitism
, anti-Slavism
, anti-Catholicism
, authoritarianism, popular solidarism, nationalism, and Pan-Germanism
. Young Walter Kuhn was distributing flowers to German youths fighting Poles already at the age of eleven While he initially studied electrical engineering in Graz
till 1927, he later attended universities in Vienna
and Tübingen
Kuhn wandered the Ukraine dressed in Wandervogel
costume trying to instil in the offspring of Ukrainian peasants-who despite often speaking Polish and being poor were seen as biologically superior-a sense of ethnic nationalism
, even if his listeners were more interested in just improving their living conditions. In his work Kuhn tried to determine "biological strength" of German peasants and pointed out the "weakness" of "intermarrying with Slavs" which could lead to "de-Germanisation". Kuhn viewed himself and his colleagues as "bearers of civilization" and his goal as "to transform the instinctive feeling of superiority and pride towards the surrounding peoples(...)into a true national consciousness". He also published works regarding Poland which were aimed at presenting its western territories as German
Kuhn's work was later supported by Nord und Ostdeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(NODGF), a Nazi research organisation from which he received money
In 1934, as Nazis gained power in Germany, Kuhn remarked optimistically that while Germans in Poland lacked leadership, things were "changing". He became a professor in Nazi Germany in 1936, and reviewed very positively a series called "Rasse, Volk, Erbgut in Schlesien"(Race, Ethnicity and Heritage in Silesia)
In 1939 he was involved in preparing German diversion attempts in Poland as well as espionage operations
On October 11, 1939 Nazi Germany authorities published in secret a publication called "Eindeutschung Posens and Westpreusens" by German historians including Hermann Aubin, Albert Brackmann
, Theodor Schieder
, Ludwig Petry, Werner Trillmilch as well as Walter Kuhn himself. The mentioned historians advised to remove 2,9 million Poles and Jews from the area of Greater Poland
, and proposed introduction of German settlers who would lead the "national fight against Poles". Several Polish cities were presented as ancient German possessions and the authors proposed a state settlement policy to ensure continued control over "German Lebensraum
".
Christopher Hale remarks that in 1939–1940 Kuhn "exchanged his Wandervogel outfit of SS black" and became responsible for resettlement policy in Nazi occupied parts of Ukraine. During his work there he advised to break up villages that showed "spiritual sickness". In 1940 Kuhn joined NSDAP In 1943 he was conscripted to Wehrmacht and later captured as prisoner by the British.
, after assistance from another former Nazi researcher Hermann Aubin, with whom Kuhn cooperated during the war.
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...
researcher interested in linguistics and German minorities outside Germany, particularly in the area of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. During the war he was involved with Nazi re-settlement policies aimed at Jews, Poles and Germans. As a historian he was intoxicated with the idea of politically engaged scholarship and bereft of any criticism, while demonstrating anti-Polish prejudices. He worked together with Theodor Schieder
Theodor Schieder
Theodor Schieder was one of the most influential German historians of the 20th century.Schieder was born in Oettingen and lived in Königsberg in East Prussia since 1934. In the interwar period Schieder became a part of a group of German conservative historians antagonistic towards the Weimar...
, another Nazi researcher who developed ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
plans regarding Poland and its Polish and Jewish population. Kuhn continued to work post-war in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
Early life
Kuhn was born in 1903 in the town of Bielitz (BielskoBielsko
Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town....
). According to Kuhn's own statements, his father was a supporter of political movement led by Georg Ritter von Schönerer
Georg Ritter von Schönerer
Georg Ritter von Schönerer was an Austrian politician active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a major exponent of German nationalism in Austria....
; Schönerer's ideas featured elements of violent anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
, anti-Slavism
Anti-Slavism
Anti-Slavism, also known as Slavophobia, a form of racism or xenophobia, refers to various negative attitudes towards Slavic peoples, most common manifestation being claims of inferiority of Slavic nations with respect to other ethnic groups...
, anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism is a generic term for discrimination, hostility or prejudice directed against Catholicism, and especially against the Catholic Church, its clergy or its adherents...
, authoritarianism, popular solidarism, nationalism, and Pan-Germanism
Pan-Germanism
Pan-Germanism is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify the German-speaking populations of Europe in a single nation-state known as Großdeutschland , where "German-speaking" was taken to include the Low German, Frisian and Dutch-speaking populations of the Low...
. Young Walter Kuhn was distributing flowers to German youths fighting Poles already at the age of eleven While he initially studied electrical engineering in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
till 1927, he later attended universities in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
Pre-war collaboration with Nazi and German nationalists
In 1926 Kuhn went to Ukraine where he studied German communities and praised "the strength and beauty of German volkstum".Kuhn wandered the Ukraine dressed in Wandervogel
Wandervogel
Wandervogel is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 onward. The name can be translated as rambling, hiking or wandering bird and the ethos is to shake off the restrictions of society and get back to nature and freedom...
costume trying to instil in the offspring of Ukrainian peasants-who despite often speaking Polish and being poor were seen as biologically superior-a sense of ethnic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism
Ethnic nationalism is a form of nationalism wherein the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity. Whatever specific ethnicity is involved, ethnic nationalism always includes some element of descent from previous generations and the implied claim of ethnic essentialism, i.e...
, even if his listeners were more interested in just improving their living conditions. In his work Kuhn tried to determine "biological strength" of German peasants and pointed out the "weakness" of "intermarrying with Slavs" which could lead to "de-Germanisation". Kuhn viewed himself and his colleagues as "bearers of civilization" and his goal as "to transform the instinctive feeling of superiority and pride towards the surrounding peoples(...)into a true national consciousness". He also published works regarding Poland which were aimed at presenting its western territories as German
Kuhn's work was later supported by Nord und Ostdeutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(NODGF), a Nazi research organisation from which he received money
In 1934, as Nazis gained power in Germany, Kuhn remarked optimistically that while Germans in Poland lacked leadership, things were "changing". He became a professor in Nazi Germany in 1936, and reviewed very positively a series called "Rasse, Volk, Erbgut in Schlesien"(Race, Ethnicity and Heritage in Silesia)
In 1939 he was involved in preparing German diversion attempts in Poland as well as espionage operations
Second World War and involvement in Nazi operations
With the Nazi occupation of Poland in 1939 Kuhn returned to German communities in Ukraine to assist in determining their "racial qualities" connected to Nazi plans of resettlement. Kuhn's reports were taken into account by SS as it assessed which Germans were fit to be repatriated into Nazi Germany He also worked for German-Soviet commission, where he listed places in Poland to be annexed by Nazi Germany along with their alleged ethnic composition He belonged to a group of Nazi German historians assisting Nazi civilian and military institutions in their work as well as training themOn October 11, 1939 Nazi Germany authorities published in secret a publication called "Eindeutschung Posens and Westpreusens" by German historians including Hermann Aubin, Albert Brackmann
Albert 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....
, Theodor Schieder
Theodor Schieder
Theodor Schieder was one of the most influential German historians of the 20th century.Schieder was born in Oettingen and lived in Königsberg in East Prussia since 1934. In the interwar period Schieder became a part of a group of German conservative historians antagonistic towards the Weimar...
, Ludwig Petry, Werner Trillmilch as well as Walter Kuhn himself. The mentioned historians advised to remove 2,9 million Poles and Jews from the area of Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
, and proposed introduction of German settlers who would lead the "national fight against Poles". Several Polish cities were presented as ancient German possessions and the authors proposed a state settlement policy to ensure continued control over "German 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...
".
Christopher Hale remarks that in 1939–1940 Kuhn "exchanged his Wandervogel outfit of SS black" and became responsible for resettlement policy in Nazi occupied parts of Ukraine. During his work there he advised to break up villages that showed "spiritual sickness". In 1940 Kuhn joined NSDAP In 1943 he was conscripted to Wehrmacht and later captured as prisoner by the British.
Postwar carrier in West Germany
In 1947 he started to work in University of HamburgUniversity of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
, after assistance from another former Nazi researcher Hermann Aubin, with whom Kuhn cooperated during the war.