Ernst Bergmann (philosopher)

Ernst Bergmann (born Colditz [Saxony] , August 7, 1881; died Naumburg, April 16, 1945) was a German philosopher and proponent of Nazism.

He studied philosophy and German philology at the University of Leipzig and got his PhD in 1905. Subsequently he continued his studies in Berlin. Later he returned to Leipzig, where he received the status of Privatdozent at the university in 1911. In 1916 he was awarded the position of Ausserordentlicher Professor (professor without chair). He developed a religious philosophy with mystical aspects. Later he embraced the ideas of the National Socialist German Workers Party under Adolf Hitler and became one of its prominent academic propagators.

His works "Die deutsche Nationalkirche" (the German National Church) and "Die natürliche Geistlehre" (The Natural Doctrine of the Spirit) were placed on the "Index Librorum Prohibitorum", the Roman Catholic list of banned books, in 1934 and 1937 respectively.

In his work "Die 25 Thesen der Deutschreligion" (Twenty-five Points of the German Religion), he held that the Old Testament and portions of the New Testament of the Bible were unsuitable for use in Germany. He also claimed that Jesus was not a Jew, but rather of Nordic origin. He proposed Adolf Hitler as the new messiah, and the German swastika was a suitable symbol to replace the Christian cross.

In 1945, he committed suicide when the Allied forces captured Leipzig.

Bibliography

* "Erkenntnisgeist und Muttergeist. Eine Soziosophie der Geschlechter", 1932.
* "Die Deutsche Nationalkirche", 1933.
* "Deutschland, das Bildungsland der neuen Menschheit. Eine nationalsozialistische Kulturphilosophie", 1933.
* "Die 25 Thesen der Deutschreligion. Ein Katechismus", 1934.
* "Die natürliche Geistlehre. System einer deutsch nordischen Weltsinndeutung", 1937.