- Germanophile
A Germanophile is a person who is fond of
German culture , andGermany in general, exhibiting as it were German nationalism in spite of not being anethnic German . The term was especially in use in the 19th to 20th centuries after the creation of the German nation state and the rise of theGerman Empire . The term is used not only politically but also culturally; for exampleSlavoj Žižek refers to the geographical triad of Europe as beingEngland (utilitarian pragmatism),France (revolutionary hastiness) and Germany (reflective thoroughness). In 19th century Britishromanticism , the term's antonym wasScandophile , expressing a dichotomy of associating Anglo-Saxon culture either with continental West Germanic culture, or with North Germanic (Scandinavian) culture (the "Viking revival "). The term was also used in opposition toHellenophile , an affinity to "Teutonic" or Germanic culture and worldview as opposed to a predilection forClassical Antiquity . In 19th century continental Europe, the dichotomy was rather between Germany and France, the main political players of the period, and a Germanophile would choose to side with Germany, against French or "Romance" interests taken to heart by aFrancophile . The corresponding term relating toEngland isAnglophile , an affinity that was in turn often observed in early 20th century Germans choosing to side against France.H. L. Mencken is a germanophile American writer of the 20th century.This term was also popularly used in the 20th century to refer to the German educational system formed by Alexander von Humboldt, which was leading at that time, and served as a model for many elite universities around the world from Oslo to Harvard.
ee also
*
Germanophobe
*Philhellenism
*Laconophile
*Anglophile
*Francophile
*Scandophile
*Tim Allen
*Italophile
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.