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Gerhard Albert Ritter (April 6, 1888-July 1, 1967) was a conservative German historian. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. See also History An historian is an individual who studies and writes about History, and is regarded as an Authority on it

Contents

Biography

Ritter was born in Bad Sooden-Allendorf, the son of an Lutheran clergyman. Bad Sooden-Allendorf is a Town in the district Werra-Meißner-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther He was educated at a gymnasium in Gütersloh and at the universities of Munich, Heidelberg, and Leipzig. A gymnasium (pronounced with ɡ- in several languages is a type of school providing Secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar Gütersloh (ˈgyːtɐsloː is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München also known as LMU, is a University in Munich and with more The Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg ( University of Heidelberg, Ruperto Carola, Heidelberg University, or simply Heidelberg) is a The University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities From 1912 onwards, Ritter worked as a school-teacher, and fought as an infantryman in the First World War. The Infantry is the oldest and most numerous of the Combat Arms in the Armed forces, and consists World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All He married Gertrud Reichardt in 1919, with whom he had three children. Ritter worked as a professor at Heidelberg University, (1918-1923), Hamburg University (1923-1925) and Freiburg University (1925-1956). The Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg ( University of Heidelberg, Ruperto Carola, Heidelberg University, or simply Heidelberg) is a The University of Hamburg (Universität Hamburg is a University in Hamburg, Germany. In 1925, Ritter published a sympathetic biography of Martin Luther that made his reputation as an historian. A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account Martin Luther (November 10 1483 February 18 1546 was a German Monk, theologian, university professor Father of Protestantism, and church reformer Later, Ritter was to write biographies of the Prussian statesmen Karl vom Stein and of King Frederick II of Prussia. The Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preußen was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918 and from 1871 was the leading state of the German Empire, comprising Heinrich Friedrich Karl Reichsfreiherr vom und zum Stein ( October 25, 1757 &ndash June 29, 1831) commonly known as Baron vom Frederick II (Friedrich II January 24 1712 August 17 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740&ndash1786 from the His biography of Frederick the Great has been described by the American military historian Peter Paret as one of the finest military biographies ever written. A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account Peter Paret ( April 13, 1924 - is American military, cultural & art Historian with a particular interest in Most notably, Ritter wrote an acclaimed biography of Carl Goerdeler, a close friend who was executed by the Nazis. Carl Friedrich Goerdeler ( July 31, 1884 &ndash February 2, 1945) was a conservative German Politician Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Ritter specialized in German political, military, and cultural history. Political history is the narrative and analysis of political events ideas movements and leaders Military history is a Humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity The term cultural history (from the German term) refers both to an Academic discipline and to its subject matter

Ritter was a staunch German nationalist who belonged to a political movement generally known to historians as National conservatism. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation National conservatism is a political term used to describe a variant of Conservatism which concentrates more on "national interests and traditional social/ethical Ritter identified with the idea of an authoritarian government in Germany that would make his country Europe's foremost power. Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union Initially, Ritter approved of the Nazi regime and its foreign policy, but he broke with the Nazis over the persecution of the churches. Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German Ritter was a devout Lutheran and was a member of the Confessing Church (a group of dissenting Lutherans who resisted the Nazi-imposed "Aryan Christianity") in the 1930s. The Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche was a Christian Resistance movement in Nazi Germany. Ritter belonged to the conservative opposition to the Nazi regime and was imprisoned in 1944-45[1]. Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Ritter was one of the few involved in the July 20 Plot of 1944 who was not liquidated by the Nazis.

After World War II, Ritter wrote the book Europa und die deutsche Frage (Europe and the German Question), which denied that the Third Reich was the inevitable product of German history, but was rather in Ritter's view part of a general Europe-wide drift towards totalitarianism that had been going on since the French Revolution, and as such, Germans should not be singled out for criticism[2]. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an In Ritter's opinion, the orgins of National Socialism went back to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's concept of the volonté générale (general will) and the Jacobins[3]. The general will ( volonté générale) first enunciated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is a concept in Political philosophy referring to the desire or interest The Jacobin Club was the largest and most powerful political club of the French Revolution. Ritter argued that "National Socialism is not an originally German growth, but the German form of a European phenomenon: the one-party or Führer state", which was the result of "modern industrial society with its uniform mass humanity"[4]. Along the same lines, Ritter wrote "not any event in German history, but the great French Revolution undermined the firm foundation of Europe's political traditions. It also coined the new concepts and slogans with whose help the modern state of the Volk and the Führer justifies its existence"[5]. Ritter argued that throughout the 19th century, there been worrisome signs in Germany and the rest of Europe caused by the entry of masses into politics, but that it was the World War I that marked the decisive turning point[6]. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All In Ritter's opinion, World War One had caused a general collapse in moral values throughout the West, and it was this moral degeneration that led to the decline of Christianity, the rise of materialism, political corruption, the eclipse of civilization by barbarism, and demagogic politics that in turn led to National Socialism[7]. In Ritter's view, the problem with the Weimar Republic was not that it lacked democracy, but rather had too much democracy[8]. The term Weimar Republic ( ˈvaɪmarɐ repuˈbliːk is used by historians to signify the democratic and Republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933 Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Ritter argued that the democratic republic left the German state open to being hijacked by the appeals of rabble-rousing extremists[9]. In Ritter's view, had his much beloved German Empire continued after 1918, there would have been no Nazi Germany. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Ritter argued democracy was the essential precondition of totalitarianism because it created the window of opportunity for a strongman to make himself the personification of the "popular will", leading Ritter to conclude that "the system of 'totalitarian' dicatorship as such is not a specifically German phenomenon" but rather was the natural result of when "the direct rule of the people derived from the 'revolt of the masses' is introduced"[10]. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private Ritter argued that the precursors of Hitler were "neither Frederick the Great, Bismarck nor Wilhelm II, but the demagogues and Caesars of modern history from Danton to Lenin to Mussolini"[11].

Ritter saw his main task after 1945 of seeking to restore German nationalism against what he regarded as unjust slurs[12]. Ritter argued that Germans needed a positive view of their past, but warned against the appeal of "false concepts of honor and national power"[13]. In his treatment of the German Resistance, Ritter drew a sharp line between those who worked with foreign powers to defeat Hitler, and those like Goerdeler which sought to overthrow the Nazis while working for Germany[14]. The German Resistance refers to those individuals and groups in Nazi Germany who opposed the regime of Adolf Hitler between 1933 and 1945 For Ritter, Goerdeler was a patriot while the men and women of the Rote Kapelle spy network were traitors[15]. Ritter wrote that those involved in the Rote Kapelle were not part of the "German Resistance, but stood in the service of the enemy abroad", and fully deserved to be executed[16].

Ritter was well known for his asserations denying that there was a uniquely aggressive German version of militarism[17]. Militarism is the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or For Ritter, militarism was the "one-sided determination of political decisions on the basis of techinal military considerations", and foreign expansionism, and had nothing to do with values of a society[18]. In a paper presented to the German Historical Convention in 1953 entitled "The Problem of Milarism in Germany", Ritter argued traditional Prussian leaders such as Frederick the Great were a Machtpolitiker (power politican), not a militarist since in Ritter's view, Frederick was opposed to the ". . . the ruthless sacrifice of all life to the purposes of war" and instead was interested in creating ". . . a lasting order of laws and peace, to further general welfare, and to moderate the conflict of interests"[19]. Ritter maintained that militarism first appeared during the French Revolution, when the revolutionary French state, followed by Napoleon began the total moblization of society to seek "the total destruction of the enemy"[20]. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Likewise, Ritter contended that Otto von Bismarck was a Kabinettspolitker (Cabinet politician), not a militarist who ensured that political considerations were always placed ahead of military considerations[21]. Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen Duke of Lauenburg Prince of Bismarck ( April 1, 1815 July 30, 1898) Ritter was to expand on these views in a four volume study Staatskunst und Kriegshandwerk (translated into English as The Sword and the Scepter) published between 1954-1968, in which Ritter examined the development of militarism in Germany between 1890-1918. In Ritter's view, in the years following Bismarck's sacking in 1890, that saw the first apperance of militarism in Germany. In Volume 2 of Staatskunst und Kriegshandwerk, Ritter commented that reviewing the first years of the 20th century was "not without a sense of psychological shock"[22]. Ritter wrote that "the prewar Germany of my own youth, which has for an entire lifetime been illuminated in my memory by the radiant splendor of a sun that seemed to grow dark only after the outbreak of the war of 1914" was "in the evening of my life" darkened by "shadows that were much deeper than my generation-and certainly the generation of my academic teachers-was able to perceive at the time"[23].

For Ritter, it was the radicalizing experience of the First World War that had finally led to the triumph of militarism in Germany, especially after 1916 when Erich Ludendorff established his "silent dictatorship", which in Ritter's view was a huge break with Prussian-German traditions[24]. Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (sometimes given incorrectly as von Ludendorff) (9 April 1865–20 December 1937 was a German Army officer, Generalquartiermeister It was the unhappy results of that war which finally led to the "proletarian nationalism" of the Nazis gaining a mass audience, and led to the ". . . militarism of the National Socialist mass movement" coming to power[25]. Moreover, Ritter placed great emphasis on the "Hitler factor" as a expanation for Nazi Germany. In 1962, Ritter wrote that he found it "almost unbearable" that the "will of a single madman" had unnecessarily caused World War II[26]. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Through many regarded Ritter's work as an apologia for German nationalism and conservatism, Ritter was at times critical of aspects of the German past[27]. Through Ritter commented that many nations had bent their knees in submission to false values, that "the Germans accepted all of that with special ardor when it was now preached to them by National Socialism, and their nationalism had in general displayed from its beginning a particulary intense, combative quality"[28]. At the first meeting of German historians in 1949, Ritter delivered a speech that declared: "We constanly run the risk not only of being condemned by the world as nationalists, but actually being misused as expert witnesses by all those circles and tendencies that, in their impatient and blind nationalism, have shut their ears to the teachings of the most recent past. Never was our political responsibility greater, not only to Germany, but also to Europe and the world. And yet never has our path been so dangerously narrow between Scylla and Charybdis as today"[29].

In his last years, Ritter emerged as the leading critic of the historian Fritz Fischer, who claimed that there were powerful lines of continuity between the Second Reich and the Third Reich and that it was Germany that caused World War I. Fritz Fischer ( March 5, 1908 &ndash December 1, 1999) was a German historian best known for his analysis of the Causes of World War I The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Ritter fiercely rejected Fischer's arguments that Germany was primarily responsible for the outbreak of war in 1914. Furthermore, Ritter argued there were no lines of continuity between the Second and Third Reichs and considered the Sonderweg view of German history a myth. Sonderweg (literally "special path" is a controversial theory in German Historiography that considers the German -speaking lands or the country Despite the lack of a German nation state prior to 1871 the History of Germany dates back to the era of the Germanic tribes.

In 1953, Ritter found a copy of the "Great Memorandum" relating to German military planing written by General Alfred Graf von Schlieffen in 1905. The following year, Ritter published the “Great Memorandum” together with his observations about the Schlieffen Plan as Der Schlieffen-Plan: Kritik Eines Mythos (The Schlieffen Plan: Critique of An Myth). For the French counter-plan see Plan XVII The Schlieffen Plan was the German General Staff 's early 20th century overall strategic

In 1959, Ritter was elected an honorary member of the American Historical Association in recognition of what the A. The American Historical Association ( AHA) is the oldest and largest society of Historians and Teachers of History in the United States H. A described as Ritter's struggle with totalitarianism. Totalitarianism (or totalitarian rule) is a concept used to describe Political systems where a State regulates nearly every aspect of public and private Ritter was the fifth German historian to be so honored by the A. H. A. He died in Freiburg. Ritter was one of the last of the traditional German Idealist historians who saw history as an art, concerned themselves with imaginative identification with their subjects, focused on the great men of the times under the historian's study, and were primarily concerned with political and military events.

Work

Endnotes

  1. ^ Weeks, Gregory "Ritter, Gerhard A. " pages 996-998 from The Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, Volume 2 page 998.
  2. ^ Kershaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation, London: Arnold Press, 2000 page 7; Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 pages 62-63
  3. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 62.
  4. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 258.
  5. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  6. ^ Kershaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation, London: Arnold Press, 2000 page 7
  7. ^ Kershaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation, London: Arnold Press, 2000 page 7
  8. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  9. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  10. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  11. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 254.
  12. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 258.
  13. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 258.
  14. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 pages 258-259.
  15. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 259.
  16. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 259.
  17. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 254.
  18. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 255.
  19. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 256.
  20. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 page 256.
  21. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 pages 255-256.
  22. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  23. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  24. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 pages 255-256.
  25. ^ Iggers, Georg The German Conception of History, Middletown: Connecticut; Wesleyan University Press, 1968 pages 255-257.
  26. ^ Kershaw, Ian The Nazi Dictatorship Problems and Perspectives of Interpretation, London: Arnold Press, 2000 page 7
  27. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  28. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 63.
  29. ^ Hamerow, Theodore S. "Guilt, Redemption and Writing German History" pages 53-72 from The American Historical Review, Volume 88, February 1983 page 64.

References

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