Fanaticism and Objectivity

This passage from Anton Holzner’s book, Hitler’s Priest: The Anton Holzner Collection,  is a nice compliment to Lucas’s post this week on youthful fanaticism. If fanaticism is the fuel then objectivity is the steady hand at the wheel. Both are necessary.

“Two characteristics must distinguish the bearing of German man above all in personal and public life: fanaticism and objectivity. They must dominate all actions of daily life, they must above all glow through great hours and difficult decisions.

German man loves his folk, because God has put him in this folk, because his blood is inseparably bound to this folk. His homeland and his folk form a component of his essence. German man’s honor, love and remorse are for his folk. With God for Germany! is the slogan of every German at quiet daily work and in fateful, great times.

There is no tepidity, no mediocrity, no halfway, no hesitation and no question, no hedging and no doubt. There is just one glowing, always enthusiastic fanaticism. German hearts blaze like torches in devotion to their folk. Whoever is once seized by this fire, radiates with indestructible energy, may he stand at a lonely post, perform simple daily work or march in the foremost line of the soldierly, political or world-view struggle. But when a storm rages through the land, all these millions of torches untie into a huge sea of flames that lights up the dark night, devours all rubbish and destroys everything that opposes it.

The Führer’s personality, however, shines before all as a great example. The folk is given invincible strength by the consciousness that such a God blessed leader marches at its point.

There are hours and days when one can become weary and slack. There are times when one could be relaxed and indifferent. Then one thought of Führer and folk, a glance at the flag and the great symbols of the Reich, must suffice to shake us awake and ignite the glowing ambers to flame.

If one threatens to become weary from endless little adversities, if foreign world-view poison secretly seeks to spread, if one is in danger of cowardly wanting to ignore the distress or suffering of the folk comrades then fanaticism must break out again and again and lead hack to life again and again.

Fanaticism alone, however, can take wrong paths. Enthusiasm can smolder uselessly. Hence fanaticism must always be accompanied by objectivity. Germany is considered the land of poets and thinkers in Germanic man, the deep view for reality combines with the élan of enthusiasm.

Fanaticism alone can make one-sided, can lead to injustice, senselessness and blindness. But whoever combines sober objectivity with fanaticism, will strike the opponent the deepest and hardest. The pure fanatic is often not taken seriously. But whoever is objective and fanatical at the same time, will overcome any resistance that opposes him in good times and bad. This is true for the positive construction of the natural German world for which we fight and this is equally true for the defense against all opponents. If we build and defend, in big things and in little things, fanatically and objectively at the same time, then this world will successfully withstand all enemies.”