From 1940 to 1945, the German author and Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann authored a series of antifascist radio addresses that were broadcast into Germany by the BBC while he lived in exile in California. In his early speeches of Deutsche Hörer! (German Listeners!), Mann pleaded with Germans to resist fascism by reminding them of the humanistic heritage. However, as evidence of the Nazis’ barbarism and the Germans’ obedience mounted, Mann changed his rhetoric to argue that while not all Germans may be guilty of the Nazis’ crimes, all Germans share responsibility.

Join Elaine Chen and Jan-Paul Sandmann as they explore how Mann’s rhetorical strategy reflected a parallel evolution in his understanding of patriotism and the civic duties that the love of country demands of its citizens. When Mann appealed to the better nature of his fellow citizens at the beginning of the war, he frequently invoked the humanistic legacy of historical figures, such as Schiller and Goethe, whom Germans—Nazis included—revered. He reminded his German listeners that there was nothing Schillerian or Goethean about committing acts of unprecedented violence against vulnerable minority groups. However, when Mann’s rhetoric changes post-1942, he displayed patriotism not by lauding Germany’s accomplishments, but by subjecting notions of Germanness and German greatness to a process of rigorous critique. Chen and Sandmann will argue that this process of critique did not emerge from Mann's hatred of his fellow citizens but from his love of Germany and his desire, ultimately, to see the sources of contemporary fascism unearthed and eradicated.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive.