The Christian Resurrection as a Propaganda Tool in Heinrich Anacker's Nazi Poetry

The Sacralization of Reich and Führer

Abstract

Nazi propaganda writers like Heinrich Anacker (1901-1971) deliberately transferred religious imagery and symbolism into their own poetry to present key concepts of the Nazi ideology as quasi-religious entities. This contribution focuses specifically on the reinterpretation of the Christian Easter story in Anacker’s anthology Die Fanfare. Gedichte der deutschen Erhebung (1936). The analysis of a selection of poems shows that Anacker reinterprets this biblical motif in an untraditional and notably political – National Socialist – way. On the one hand, Anacker connects the Easter motif with the idea of the resurrection of the Third Reich. On the other, he stylizes the Führer after the example of Jesus as messiah. Within the debate on National Socialism as a political religion, Klaus Vondung considers Reich and Führer – together with Blood, Flag, Soil and People – two of the “articles of faith” of the National Socialist “creed”.