Fourth Reich

The Fourth Reich (German: Viertes Reich) is a hypothetical future German empire that is the successor to Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The term Third Reich was coined by Arthur Moeller van den Bruck as the title of his 1923 book Das Dritte Reich. It was used by the Nazis for propaganda purposes to legitimize their regime as a successor state to the retroactively-renamed First Reich (the Holy Roman Empire, 962–1806) and the Second Reich (Imperial Germany, 1871–1918). The terms "First Reich" and "Second Reich" were never used by historians.

The term "Fourth Reich" has been used in a variety of different ways. Neo-Nazis have used it to describe their envisioned revival of Nazi Germany, while others have used the term derogatorily, such as conspiracy theorists like Dr. Joseph P. Farrell, Peter Levenda, and Jim Marrs who have used it to refer to what they perceive as a covert continuation of Nazi ideals, and by critics who point out that Germany exercises a dominant role in the European Union.

Neo-Nazism

Map of Germany in 1933

In terms of neo-Nazism, the Fourth Reich is envisioned as featuring Aryan supremacy, anti-Semitism, Lebensraum, aggressive militarism and totalitarianism. Upon the establishment of the Fourth Reich, German neo-Nazis propose that Germany should acquire nuclear weapons and use the threat of their use as a form of nuclear blackmail to re-expand to Germany's former boundaries as of 1937.[1]

Based on pamphlets published by David Myatt in the early 1990s,[2] many neo-Nazis came to believe that the rise of the Fourth Reich in Germany would pave the way for the establishment of the Western Imperium, a pan-Aryan world empire encompassing all land populated by predominantly European-descended peoples (i.e., Europe, Russia, Anglo-America, Australia, South America's Southern Cone, New Zealand, South Africa).[3]

Victor Klemperer

So obvious were the parallels between Nazi and Communist propaganda and jargon in Victor Klemperer's book LTI (short for lingua tertii imperii, "the language of the Third Reich"), Klemperer had great difficulty with the publication of this essay. He started secretly collecting examples of "LQI", the lingua quartii imperii (Latin for "language of the Fourth Reich"), and his diaries record, with mounting cynicism, the cult of personality that surrounded Joseph Stalin and the East German "Staliniculus", Walter Ulbricht.[4]

German influence in the European Union

United Kingdom

British conservative and eurosceptic journalist Simon Heffer wrote in the Daily Mail in 2011: "Where Hitler failed by military means to conquer Europe, modern Germans are succeeding through trade and financial discipline. Welcome to the Fourth Reich".[5] In 2014, Nigel Farage, the former leader of the most popular eurosceptic party in the UK (UK Independence Party) said he opposed "naked militarism" as the political bloc's flag was "goose-stepped around the yard" to mark the start of a new parliamentary session.[6]

Simon Heffer wrote in The Telegraph 2016: "Mr Cameron plainly won’t admit that German domination of the EU means it has conquered without war, and signing up to the EU is signing up to the Fourth Reich. Ask the Greeks if you think I exaggerate: Germany runs Europe without firing a shot. It forces far weaker partners to stay in a currency zone that is crippling them, and uses its economic muscle to dictate immigration and other key policies. And if you believe the Germans won’t take a UK vote to stay in as a signal to continue and intensify their control over the EU, and to make us help pay for its baleful effects, then you aren’t paying attention. It’s not war we should fear, but what the Germans do in peace."[7]

Finland

In 2016 the journalist Johnny Sjöblom wrote an article in YLE named, "Merkel's Germany - Fourth Reich?".

"Now, 25 years later implemented in all fall again a lively debate about German claims to power in Europe. As a result of the economic crisis in the euro area, the German question again appeared in the agenda, claiming some peat Scientists. Germany has again become too big and powerful for Europe. during the current crisis in Germany pushed through the sin of its own in the expense of others."[8]

Germany

The German newspaper Der Spiegel wrote in 2015 about a Fourth Reich.

"People have even begun talking about the "Fourth Reich," a reference to the Third Reich of Adolf Hitler. That may sound absurd given that today's Germany is a successful democracy without a trace of national-socialism -- and that no one would actually associate Merkel with Nazism. But further reflection on the word "Reich," or empire, may not be entirely out of place. The term refers to a dominion, with a central power exerting control over many different peoples. According to this definition, would it be wrong to speak of a German Reich in the economic realm?"[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Schmidt, Michael The New Reich—Violent Extremism in Germany and Beyond, 1993.
  2. ↑ These writings of Myatt included the 14 pamphlets in his Thormynd Press National-Socialist Series, most of which were republished by Liberty Bell Publications (Reedy, Virginia) in the 1990s, and essays such as Towards Destiny: Creating a New National-Socialist Reich [archived at http://web.archive.org/web/20040712101315/http://www.geocities.com/myattns/newreich.html] and a constitution for the 'fourth Reich' [archived at http://web.archive.org/web/20041208070520/http://www.geocities.com/myattns/cons_reich.html]
  3. ↑ Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and The Politics of Identity New York: 2002--N.Y. University Press, See Chapters 4 and 11 for extensive information about the proposed "Western Imperium"
  4. ↑ Johnson, Daniel (28 September 2003). Martin Chalmers, ed. "A new life and a new tyranny - Daniel Johnson reviews The Lesser Evil: The Diaries of Victor Klemperer 1945-59". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Heffer, Simon (17 August 2011). "Rise of the Fourth Reich, how Germany is using the financial crisis to conquer Europe". Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  6. ↑ Bennett, Asa (2 July 2014). "Nigel Farage Rails At EU 'Naked Militarism' In Spectacular Euro Parliament Rant". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Fourth Reich is here - without a shot being fired". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  8. ↑ "Merkels Tyskland - Fjärde Riket?" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  9. ↑ Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg. "'The Fourth Reich': What Some Europeans See When They Look at Germany - SPIEGEL ONLINE - International". SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved 2017-02-12.

Bibliography

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