Alfred Rosenberg

Alfred Rosenberg (January 12, 1893–October 16, 1946) was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi party, who later held several important posts in the Nazi government. At Nuremberg he was tried and sentenced to death as a war criminal. He is considered the main author of key Nazi ideological creeds, including its racial theory, persecution of the Jews, Lebensraum, abolition of the Versailles Treaty, and opposition to "degenerate" modern art. In his public statements Hitler distanced himself from Rosenberg's rejection of orthodox Christianity in favour of a Nordic "religion of the blood", but in practice Rosenberg's neo-Paganism remained an important influence on Nazi policy.

Early career

Born to Baltic German parents in Tallinn, Estonia, he studied architecture at the Riga Technical Institute and engineering at Moscow University, completing his Ph.D. studies in 1917. During the Russian Revolution, he supported the counter-revolutionaries and, following their failure, Rosenberg emigrated to Germany in 1918. Rosenberg was one of the earliest members of the German Workers Party (later the National Socialist German Workers Party, better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party), joining in January 1919; Hitler did not join until October 1919.

Related Topics:
Baltic German - Tallinn - Estonia - Architecture - Riga - Engineering - Moscow - Ph.D. - 1917 - Russian Revolution - Counter-revolutionaries - 1918 - National Socialist German Workers Party - January - 1919 - Hitler - October

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rosenberg became editor of the Völkischer Beobachter (National Observer), the Nazi party newspaper, in 1921. In 1923 after the failed Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler appointed Rosenberg as a leader of the Nazi movement, a position he held until Hitler was released from prison. Hitler remarked privately in later years his choice of Rosenberg was strategic, based on Rosenberg's weak personality and lack of self-motivation. Hitler did not want the temporary leader of the Nazis to be a very popular or power-hungry man, as a person with either of the two qualities might not want to cede the party leadership after Hitler's release.

Related Topics:
Völkischer Beobachter - 1921 - 1923 - Beer Hall Putsch

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1929, Rosenberg founded the Militant League for German Culture. He became a deputy in 1930 and published his book on racial theory The Myth of the Twentieth Century (Der Mythus des 20. Jahrhunderts) which deals with key issues in the national socialistic ideology such as the Jewish question. It was intended as a sequel to Houston Stewart Chamberlain's book The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, one of the key proto-Nazi books of racial theory.

Related Topics:
1929 - Militant League for German Culture - 1930 - Racial theory - The Myth of the Twentieth Century - Houston Stewart Chamberlain

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was named leader of the foreign political office of the NSDAP in 1933 but played little actual part in office. In January 1934 he was deputized by Hitler with responsibility for the spiritual and philosophical education of the NSDAP and all related organizations.

Related Topics:
1933 - January - 1934

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~