Emanuel Hirsch - Intellectual Freedom and the Turn toward Hitler

This article describes Emanuel Hirsch (1888-1973) as a very important theologian, a friend and peer to major figures such as Paul Tillich and Karl Barth. He is also a theologian whose reputation and impact have been severely (and appropriately) compromised by his political and intellectual stance in support of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi ideology. Historical retrospect makes it clear that Hirschs turn toward Hitler was the wrong choice, a choice which put him quite clearly on the wrong side of history. However, complex questions about intellectual freedom are exemplified in Hirsch's life, questions which cannot easily be resolved. He believed in intellectual freedom for modern theologians, which means that he endorsed the Enlightenment and praised Protestant theology for its courage in applying modern tools to ancient texts and ideas. In that sense, he seems almost to have been practicing Dietrich Bonhoeffer's ideal of Christianity for 'a world come of age'. On the other hand, he believed that unrestricted freedom, whether intellectual or political, would lead ultimately toward nihilism and chaos. Here he used Kierkegaard's phrase, 'the all-encompassing debate about everything', to warn against the radical skepticism he believed would result from an entirely open society. On that basis Hirsch turned toward Hitler and the Nazi ideology, thinking it would provide the right measure of restraint for the German Volk in the aftermath of the First World War and the Weimar Republic. Though he got it wrong, an examination of his ideas helps illustrate the difficulty in the question. Dieser Artikel befasst sich mit Emanuel Hirsch (1888-1973) als einem bedeutenden Theologen sowie Freund und Weggefährten von so herausragenden Persönlichkeiten wie Paul Tillich und Karl Barth. Hirschs Reputation und Wirken wurde durch seine politische und intellektuelle Nähe zu Adolf Hitler sowie dem NS-Gedankengut massiv (und auch angemessen) in Mitleidenschaft gezogen. Rückblickend betrachtet wird deutlich, dass Hirschs Wendung hin zum Nationalsozialismus der falsche Schritt war, der ihn gleichzeitig sehr deutlich auf die dunkle Seite der Geschichte rückte. Dessen ungeachtet werden in Hirschs Leben komplexe Fragen zur geistigen Freiheit aufgeworfen, die nur schwer zu beantworten sind. Er glaubte an die geistige Freiheit moderner Theologen, was bedeutet, dass er die Aufklärung befürwortete und die protestantische Theologie für ihren Mut lobte, die alten Texte und Ideen mit modernen Metho