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.

Racial theories

Rosenberg was also the Nazi Party's chief racial theorist, in charge of building a human racial ladder that justified Hitler's policies. Rosenberg built on the works of Arthur de Gobineau, Houston Stewart Chamberlain, and Madison Grant, as well as the beliefs of Hitler. Rosenberg considered blacks as well as Jews and other Semitic peoples to be at the very bottom of the ladder. At the very top was the white or Aryan race. Rosenberg considered Nordic peoples to be the master race, superior to all others, including other Aryans. This master race included the Scandinavians, Germans, Balts, and the tribes of the British Isles (English, Irish, Scots, and Welsh). Germans, of course, were proclaimed to be the superior Nordic peoples, the master race of the master race. Rosenberg would reshape Nazi racial policy throughout the years, but it would always consist of White Supremacism, extreme German nationalism, and harsh anti-Semitism.

Related Topics:
Arthur de Gobineau - Houston Stewart Chamberlain - Madison Grant

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