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Karl Haushofer as a “Pioneer” of National Socialist Cultural Diplomacy in Fascist Italy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2019

Nicola Bassoni
Nicola Bassoni*
Affiliation:
University of Genoa
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Abstract

The relevant historiography has largely overlooked the role of Karl Haushofer as a cultural-political actor in National Socialist-Fascist relations. From 1924 to 1944, the German geopolitician dealt extensively with Italy, with an eye to both its geopolitical role in Europe and to the political system of Benito Mussolini's regime. On behalf of Rudolf Hess, he began visiting Italy during the 1930s, aiming to overcome ideological and political misunderstandings between Rome and Berlin. He established a network of contacts with Italian scholars and politicians, passed information back to the so-called deputy Führer, and attempted to influence official German policy toward Italy. He eventually promoted the development of an Italian geopolitics, and, in so doing, achieved one of the most significant cultural-political transfers from National Socialist Germany to fascist Italy. This article analyzes the contacts between Haushofer and Italy, both his political activities and his geopolitical theories. It is a case study of a history of contradictions: a man committed to Pan-Germanist culture and to the defense of German minorities abroad, Haushofer also attempted to improve relations between Berlin and Rome. Moreover, he considered the Axis from a geopolitical point of view—as a realization of the European imperial idea—and from a trilateral perspective, i.e., he viewed Japan not only as an ally, but also as a cultural and political model. The reconstruction of Haushofer's relations with Italy is, therefore, an opportunity to rethink the antinomies, as well as the global dimension, of the National Socialist-Fascist alliance.

Die Rolle Karl Haushofers als kulturpolitischer Akteur der Beziehungen zwischen Nationalsozialismus und Faschismus ist in der einschlägigen Historiographie meist übersehen worden. Zwischen 1924 und 1944 befasste sich der deutsche Geopolitiker eingehend mit Italien, hinsichtlich dessen geopolitischer Stellung in Europa wie auch des politischen Systems des Mussolini-Regimes. Im Auftrag von Rudolf Hess begann er in den 1930er Jahren Italien zu bereisen, um ideologische und politische Missverständnisse zwischen Rom und Berlin auszuräumen. Er baute ein Netzwerk von Kontakten zu italienischen Gelehrten und politischen Gestalten auf, leitete Informationen an den Stellvertreter des Führers weiter und versuchte die offizielle deutsche Politik gegenüber Italien zu beeinflussen. Mit der Zeit beförderte er die Entwicklung einer italienischen Geopolitik und leistete somit einen der bedeutendsten kulturpolitischen Transfers aus dem nationalsozialistischen Deutschland nach Italien. Dieser Aufsatz untersucht die Verbindung zwischen Haushofer und Italien, sowohl hinsichtlich seiner politischen Aktivitäten als auch seiner geopolitischen Theorien. Er versteht sich als Fallstudie einer widerspruchsvollen Geschichte: Haushofer hatte sich der alldeutschen Kultur und dem Schutz deutscher Minderheiten im Ausland verschrieben, bemühte sich aber zugleich um verbesserte Beziehungen zwischen Berlin und Rom. Darüber hinaus betrachtete er die Achse Berlin–Rom–Tokio aus geopolitischer Sicht – als Verwirklichung des europäischen Reichsgedankens – und aus trilateraler Perspektive, indem er Japan nicht nur als Verbündeten, sondern auch als kulturelles und politisches Vorbild sah. Die Rekonstruktion der Verbindungen Haushofers mit Italien bietet daher die Gelegenheit, die Antinomien wie auch die globale Dimension des nationalsozialistisch-faschistischen Bündnisses neu zu denken.

Type
Article
Information
Central European History , Volume 52 , Issue 3 , September 2019 , pp. 424 - 449
Copyright
Copyright © Central European History Society of the American Historical Association 2019 

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Footnotes

Many thanks to Jim Betteridge, Andrew I. Port, Monica Black, and the journal's anonymous readers for their valuable feedback on this article.

References

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10 Hoffend, Zwischen Kultur-Achse und Kulturkampf, 24; Bauerkämper, “Ambiguites of Transnationalism,” 45, 62; Martin, Nazi-Fascist New Order, 109–12.

11 During the 1920s, the ZfG took a critical stand toward fascism. Unsurprisingly, German political conditions thereafter caused a complete rethinking of this position. The early 1930s saw harsh confrontation in the ZfG, where fascist Italy represented a bone of contention, but the real issue was the emergence of National Socialism. From 1932 on, German geopolitics actively endorsed the Hitlerite movement and the claims for a national renewal. This new feature implied a positive view of fascism and support for a German-Italian rapprochement.

12 Martha Haushofer's diaries have been evaluated as untrustworthy given the possibility that Karl Haushofer might have concealed some of his political activities from his wife. This is not the case regarding his cultural diplomacy in Italy, however. Martha Haushofer followed her husband on every Italian journey, acting as his secretary and interpreter, and, hence, taking part in every official or unofficial meeting. Moreover, she often went to Italy alone, sometimes performing political activities on behalf of her husband. For this reason, her diaries may be considered the best source for reconstructing these events. Concerning the untrustworthiness of the diaries, see: Hipler, Hitlers Lehrmeister, 137.

13 Hipler, Hitlers Lehrmeister 20–21.

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15 Haushofer, Karl, Weltpolitik von heute (Berlin: Zeitgeschichte, 1934), 11Google Scholar, see also 19–20, 34–43, and 56–59.

16 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 3, letter from Haushofer to Berger, Sept. 18, 1943.

17 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Apr. 18, 1934.

18 Archivio della Fondazione Giovanni Gentile (Fondazione G. Gentile) Rome, VA 7(6), SS2, ISMEO Attività didattica e scientifica, report of Tucci to Mussolini, March, 1931; Fondazione G. Gentile, VA 2(3), SS1, ISMEO Normative e organi. Consiglio di amministrazione, organigram of the administrative committee; report of the meeting on May 26, 1933. “Gli Asiatici chiudono il convegno di Roma testimoniando la loro ammirazione per il Fascismo,” La Stampa, Dec. 28, 1933; Serra, Enrico, “Il Ministero degli esteri del Regno d'Italia e l'opinione pubblica,” in Opinion publique et politique extérieure en Europe, vol. 2 (Rome: École Française de Rome, 1984), 202Google Scholar.

19 Das even suggested to Haushofer the hotel where he should stay in Rome. BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Apr. 14, 1934. Subhas Chandra Bose visited Haushofer in Munich on March 22, 1934, twenty days before he went to Rome.

20 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Jan. 27–Feb. 7, 1935. On the institute and its director, see: Hoffend, Zwischen Kultur-Achse und Kulturkampf, 84–91, 294–98.

21 Archivio storico-diplomatico del Ministero degli affari esteri (ASDMAE) Rome, Affari politici–Germania 1934, B23, Hilterismo in Alto Adige, letter from Pittalis to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 20, 1934; ASDMAE, Affari politici-Germania, B22, Settimana del germanesimo all'estero, letter from Chiusano to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sept. 18, 1934. Haushofer was, for instance, a member of the Arbeitsstelle für Südtirol, which was an association dedicated to the “defense” of South Tyrolean culture, i.e., to the spreading of works on local tradition, the organization of irredentist meetings, and the publication of journals such as the Tiroler Grenzbote. He was also a member of the Volksdeutsche Rat and the Volkesbund für das Deutschtum im Ausland.

22 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 10, letter from Haushofer to Gentile, Feb. 9, 1937; ASDMAE, Gab. Segreteria generale 1923–43, B390, Haushofer, verbal note of the German Embassy in Rome, March 25, 1935.

23 Archiv des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte (IfZArch) Munich, MA 1423/1, Karl Haushofer, “Die geopolitischen Züge des Romanismus in Antlitz der deutschen Kulturlandschaft,” 1935.

24 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, March 22–27, 1935; Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 2, 216–18. Concerning the journey of Scarpa in Germany, see: Cassata, Francesco, “La Difesa della Razza.” Politica, ideologia e immagine del razzismo fascista (Turin: Einaudi, 2008), 25Google Scholar. Although it is unclear who might have informed Haushofer from Italy, it is possible that Ricciardi himself informed him.

25 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, March 27, 1935; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 14, Liste allenfalls hilfsbereiter Persönlichkeiten.

26 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, March 22, 1935; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 112/2, Haushofer's note for R. H[ess].

27 Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amtes (PA AA) Berlin, RZ 510, Deutschtum 1920–43, R60062, Sternbach, letter from Haushofer to Sternbach, March 16, 1935.

28 Archivio Centrale dello Stato (ACS) Rome, MI, DG Pubblica sicurezza, Divisione affari generali e riservati, Confinati politici, B979 Sternbach, letter from Norcia to the Provincial Commission for Admonition and Confinement, Apr. 1, 1935, and handwritten note, Sept. 5, 1935; ASDMAE, Affari politici–Germania 1935, B28, 2 Rapporti politici–Trattazione generale, letters from Pittalis to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Apr. 3 and 24, 1935; PA AA, RZ 510, Deutschtum 1920–43, R60062, Sternbach, letter from Haushofer to Fischer, Apr. 10, 1935.

29 ASDMAE, Affari politici–Germania 1937, B37, 1–2 Rapporti politici, letter from the Italian Consulate in Munich to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jun. 7, 1937.

30 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 10, letter from Gabetti to Haushofer, Dec. 12, 1936, and letter from Haushofer to Gentile, Feb. 9, 1937. This attempt to meet the Duce also failed, but the reason was less complicated. Mussolini was in Libya to participate in the ostentatious celebrations that culminated in the delivery of the “Sword of Islam.”

31 Haushofer, Karl, Analogie di sviluppo politico e culturale in Italia, Germania e Giappone (Florence: IsMEO, 1937), 5–20Google Scholar. Haushofer compared Mussolini's words to the ones from the Japanese imperial anthem: “May our sovereign Lord remain, rooted for a thousand years and then again: Until rocks, vast and solemn, rise from stone. Until moss nevermore is thickly grown.”

32 This dialogue was led by Haushofer on one side and Carlo Avarna di Gualtieri on the other, and came about through mutual reviews, quotes, and exchanges of publications.

33 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, March 10–Apr. 14, 1937; IfZArch, MA 618, Haushofer's Report, Apr. 15, 1937. During his days in Rome, Haushofer took part in a couple of lunches with Gentile, Gabetti, Roberto Almagià, Prassitele Piccinini, and Avarna. In addition, he spent some time with members of the German community in Rome.

34 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, May 1–10 and Oct. 27–Nov. 14, 1937, and March 21–Apr. 24, 1938; Karl Haushofer, “Geopolitik um Neapel und sizilischen Frühling,” ZfG 15, no. 6 (1938): 425–27.

35 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, March 15, 1938. On Dresler, see: Hoffend, Zwischen Kultur-Achse und Kulturkampf, 137–38, 278.

36 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 49, letter from Carnevale-Braida to Haushofer, Aug. 27, 1938. ACS, PCM 1937–39, B2524, f2279 Norimberga congressi del partito Nazionalsocialista tedesco, sf2 Anno 1938, list of invited personalities, Sept. 5, 1938; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Sept. 7, 1938; Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 1, 369.

37 “Discorso di S. E. Francesco Orestano,” in L'Africa: Atti del convegno di scienze morali e storiche, vol. 1 (Roma: Reale Accademia d'Italia, 1939), 38–50.

38 “Discorso di S.E. Orestano,” 47–48; Haushofer, Karl, “Eurafrika? Die ‘Afrika’-Tagung des Convegno Volta der K. Akademie von Italien in Rom, 3.-12.X.38,” ZfG 15, no. 11 (1938): 888Google Scholar.

39 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 147/1, letter from Orestano to Haushofer, Feb. 13, 1938, letter from Haushofer to Orestano, May 5, 1938, and letter from Orestano to Haushofer, Sept. 14, 1938; Karl Haushofer, “Fernwirkung des indo-pazifischen Wanderdrucks auf Afrika. Inder Frage,” in L'Africa, vol. 2, 1027–39; “Discorso di S. E. Francesco Orestano,” 48.

40 PA AA, RAV Rom, Nr. 1325b, letter from Woermann to the German Embassy in Rome, Oct. 4, 1938, and note from the German Embassy in Rome, Oct. 6, 1938; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Oct. 6, 1938.

41 Haushofer, Karl, “Geopolitische Züge in Italiens Kolonialschrifttum,” ZfG 19, no. 11 (1942): 519Google Scholar. BArch Koblenz, N1413, 2, Interrogation Division Summary, Oct. 5, 1945; Haushofer, Karl, “Bericht über den indopazifischen Raum,” ZfG 16, no. 1 (1939): 46–54Google Scholar; Haushofer, Karl, “Indien im Britischen Reich?,” ZfG 19, no. 11 (1942): 517–18Google Scholar; Haushofer, Karl, “Zwei Jahrzehnte Geopolitik,” ZfG 20, no. 6 (1943): 183–84Google Scholar. During the Volta Congress, Haushofer met both Giuseppe Bottai and Italo Balbo. BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Oct. 9–10, 1938.

42 BArch Koblenz, N1413, 2, Final Interrogation Report. See also, Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 1, 343.

43 Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 2, 360.

44 Gambi, Lucio, Una geografia per la storia (Turin: Einaudi, 1973), 29Google Scholar; Antonsich, “La rivista ‘Geopolitica’,” 274–75; Petersen, Jens, “Die neue Attraktivität der Geopolitik in Italien,” in Geopolitik. Grenzgänge im Zeitgeist, ed. Diekmann, Irene, Krüger, Peter, and Schoeps, Julius H. (Potsdam: Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg, 2000)Google Scholar.

45 Bauerkämper, Der Faschismus in Europa, 176; Atkinson, Geopolitics, 118–20; Fioravanzo, “Die Europakonzeptionen,” 513–15.

46 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 10, letter from Massi to Haushofer, Aug., 1933; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 9, letter from Massi to Haushofer, Dec. 24, 1934. BArch Koblenz, N1122, 125, letter from Massi to Haushofer, Feb. 28, 1938. Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 2, 331.

47 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Oct. 22, 1938; Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 2, 360.

48 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 21, letter from Haushofer to Massi, Nov. 23, 1938.

49 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 125, letter from Vowinckel to Haushofer, Nov. 30, 1938.

50 Haushofer, Karl, “Der italienischen ‘Geopolitik’ als Dank und Gruss!” Geopolitica 1, no. 1 (1939): 12–15Google Scholar.

51 Haushofer, Analogie, 13; Haushofer, Karl, Il Giappone costruisce il suo impero (Firenze: Sansoni, 1942), 141–43Google Scholar; Haushofer, Karl, Das Reich. Großdeutsches Werden im Abendland (Berlin: Habel, 1943), 7–11Google Scholar. See also Muck, Otto, “Die Schicksalslinien Europas,” ZfG 17, no. 8 (1940): 352–55Google Scholar. In Haushoferian rhetoric, Dante and his De Monarchia embodied the German-Italian community of destiny to the highest degree. Haushofer, Analogie, 11; Haushofer, Das Reich, 51–52.

52 Martin, Nazi-Fascist New Order, 172–75.

53 Renzo Sertori Salis, “Razza e nazionalità nella pace d'Europa,” Geopolitica 3, no. 1 (1941): 17.

54 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, March 29–Apr. 26, 1939; Haushofer, Karl, “Geopolitica del Patto Anticomintern,” Geopolitica 1, no. 7–8 (1939): 398–400Google Scholar.

55 Just as Hitler would have done, Hess rejected this honorary degree. IfZArch, MA 1190/1, Haushofer's report, May 4, 1939.

56 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 27, letter from Roletto to Haushofer, Jan. 21, 1939; IfZArch, MA 1423/1, letter from Magugliani to the ZfG, Sept. 24, 1942. Magugliani volunteered to draft an article about the geopolitics of the Mediterranean region for the ZfG. Moreover, in March 1940, Roletto wrote to Haushofer attaching an article by Sertori Salis and asking for the opinion of the “father” of German geopolitics. IfZArch, MA 1423/2, letter from Roletto to Haushofer, March 8, 1940. The essay of Sertori Salis was published without changes. Renzo Sertori Salis, “Considerazioni geopolitiche inattuali,” Geopolitica 2, no. 4 (1940): 162–66.

57 “Danzica e la Vistola,” Geopolitica 1, no. 9 (1939): 503; “Europa 1914–1939,” Geopolitica 1, no. 9 (1939): 475–79; Renzo Sertori Salis, “La guerra europea, il Mediterraneo orientale e l'Italia,” Geopolitica 1, no. 10 (1939): 522–26; “Sviluppi concreti della geopolitica italiana,” Geopolitica 1, no. 12 (1939): 607; Chersi, Livio, “Problemi geopolitici del Mediterraneo,” Geopolitica 2, no. 5 (1940): 214–15Google Scholar; “Panorami–Indipendenza geopolitica,” Geopolitica 2, no. 5 (1940): 195–97; Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 2, 432.

58 Haushofer was truly misled by the noteworthy launch of the monthly, perhaps envying the endorsements of Bottai and Mussolini. IfZArch, MA 1423/1, letter from Haushofer to Vowinckel, Aug. 8, 1940.

59 Contrary to the assertion of Schöller, these two questions were deeply interconnected. Schöller, Peter, “Die Rolle Karl Haushofers für Entwicklung und Ideologie nationalsozialistischer Geopolitik,” Erdkunde 36, no. 3 (1982): 165CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

60 Petersen, Jens, “Vorspiel zu ‘Stahlpakt’ und Kriegsallianz: Das deutsch-italienische Kulturabkommen vom 23. November 1938,” Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte 36, no. 1 (1988)Google Scholar; ASDMAE, MCP, B336, Atti vari–recensioni–intercettazioni, review of Probleme der Weltpolitik in Wort und Bild, Dec. 16, 1938; ASDMAE, MCP, DG Stampa estera, B425, Haushofer, Oscar Randi, review of Weltmeere and Weltmächte, Jul. 4, 1939.

61 ASDMAE, MCP, DG Stampa estera, B425, Haushofer, Oscar Randi, review of Grenzen, Jun. 21, 1939. Randi was a Dalmatian irredentist and fiercely anti-German. The ASDMAE contains much evidence of his ruthless reviews of German and Austrian publications during the 1930s. It is quite possible that the sequestration of Grenzen was indirectly a result of a meeting between Massi and Mussolini. BArch Koblenz, N1122, 10, letter from Massi to Haushofer, March 10, 1939.

62 ASDMAE, MCP, DG Stampa estera, B425, Haushofer, letter from Alfieri to Goebbels, Jul. 4, 1939, and note for the Duce, Jul. 14, 1939; BA Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Jul. 16, 1939; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 125, letters from Vowinckel to Haushofer, Sept. 19, 1939, and May 25, 1941. IfZArch, MA 1423/1, letter from Vowinckel to Haushofer, Feb. 20, 1940. BArch Koblenz, N1122, 10, letter from Haushofer to Gabetti, Jun. 18, 1941. BArch Koblenz, N1122, 31, letter from Stiller to Haushofer, Feb. 23, 1942. IfZArch, MA 1190/1, letter from Hofmann to Vowinckel, Jun. 20, 1942; Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 1, 388; Filipuzzi, Angelo, “I confini dello Haushofer,” Geopolitica 2, no. 1 (1940): 35–36Google Scholar.

63 ASDMAE, MCP, DG Stampa estera, B425, Haushofer, letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Popular Culture, Sept. 25, 1939; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 112/2, letter from Haushofer to Hess, Jan. 9, 1940; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 21, letter from Haushofer to Machule, Jan. 30, 1941.

64 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 125, Listen deutschfreundlicher Persönlichkeiten und solcher Persönlichkeiten mit engen Beziehungen zu Deutschland, Sept. 18, 1939.

65 BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, Feb. 23–March 18, 1940, and March 4, 1941; Fondazione G. Gentile, Corrispondenza, 2-H, UA 2937, letter from Martha Haushofer to Gentile, March 18, 1940. The fulfillment of these “tasks” in 1940 can be observed in the complete correspondence between Karl and Martha Haushofer in BArch Koblenz, N1122, 14.

66 Jacobsen, Karl Haushofer, vol. 1, 398–400; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 127/2, Marthas Tagebücher, March 6–12, 1941; IfZArch, MA 1190/1, letter from Stiller to Haushofer, Jun. 26, 1942; BArch Koblenz, N1122, 31, letter from Stiller to Haushofer, Dec. 30, 1942.

67 Haushofer, Karl, Lo sviluppo dell'idea imperiale nipponica (Parma: Edizioni all'insegna del Veltro, 2004), 14, 18–22Google Scholar, 24.

68 PA AA, RZ 620–Politisches Archiv, R27060, Karl Haushofer, “Italien als wehrpolitisches Führungsproblem,” 1944.

69 Considering the personalities he met at the eighth Volta Congress and during his stay in Lerici, the list of possible confidants is wide. In those days, Haushofer met high-ranking gerarchi, military officials, and important proponents of Italian economy and culture. However, when looking at personal backgrounds and the degree of acquaintance with Haushofer, the most likely names are Gabetti, Avarna, and Ricciardi. As the German sentence uses the plural, it is possible that the warning came from two or more “friends of German-Italian collaboration.”

70 Klinkhammer, Lutz, Zwischen Bündnis und Besatzung. Das nationalsozialistische Deutschland und die Republik von Salò 1943–1945 (Tübingen: Niemeyer, 1993), 63–95Google Scholar, 554–74.

71 Bauerkämper, Der Faschismus in Europa, 176.

72 Martin, Nazi-Fascist New Order, 176–79; Hoffend, Zwischen Kultur-Achse und Kulturkampf, 401.

73 In 1937, Haushofer was the first German to speak at IsMEO, and his speech became the model for the lectures on the Tripartite Pact that Albrecht von Urach held in 1940. BArch Koblenz, N1122, 2, letter from Haushofer to Urach, Jun. 21, 1940.