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Protean Masculinity, Hegemonic Masculinity: Soldiers in the Third Reich

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2018

Thomas Kühne
Thomas Kühne*
Affiliation:
Clark University
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Abstract

Hegemonic masculinity in Nazi Germany, as well as in many militarized societies around the globe, meant physical, emotional, and moral “hardness.” The ideal man, embodied by the soldier, was tough and aggressive, in control of his body, mind, and psyche. He did not hesitate to sacrifice life and limb on behalf of the Fatherland, or to subordinate his individuality under the command of a conformist group of comrades. Whereas many scholars have already stressed these features of hegemonic masculinity, this article argues that the act of soldiering provided men with a male identity that was ultimately not defined by the repudiation, but rather integration, of what was (and is) often coded as feminine. In the social practice of male interaction, diversity and flexibility were needed, thus allowing for the display of femininely coded behavior like affection, tenderness, empathy, caring, and tolerance toward emotional breakdowns and moments of weakness in their midst. Thanks to its inclusive nature, such “protean” masculinity enabled different types of soldier-men to establish male identities; it also allowed them to switch among different emotional and moral states without losing their manliness. Yet, this was true only if the predominance of hardness was respected. Eventually, protean masculinity integrated diverse men and diverse emotional and moral conditions into a fighting unit, and, in the case of the Third Reich, into a genocidal society.

Hegemoniale Männlichkeit stand im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland—wie auch in vielen militaristischen Gesellschaften weltweit—für physische, emotionale und moralische „Härte“. Der Soldat als Verkörperung des idealen Mannes war abgehärtet und aggressiv, und er hatte seinen Körper, seinen Geist und seine Psyche unter Kontrolle. Er war allzeit bereit, Leib und Leben für sein Vaterland zu opfern und seine Individualität der Zwangsgemeinschaft seiner Kameraden unterzuordnen. Während die Forschung diese Seiten hegemonialer Männlichkeit vielfach hervorgehoben hat, zeigt dieser Aufsatz, dass die soldatische Identität als Mann letztlich nicht in der Abwehr, sondern vielmehr in der Integration bestimmter Gefühle und Verhaltensweisen kulminierte, die gemeinhin als weiblich kodiert waren (und auch heute noch sind). In der sozialen Praxis männlicher Interaktion waren Vielfalt und Flexibilität nötig. Daher konnten auch in einer exklusiv männlichen Gruppe Zuneigung, Zärtlichkeit, Empathie, Fürsorge und Verständnis für emotionale Zusammenbrüche und Momente der Schwäche geäußert und demonstriert werden. Diese inklusive, proteische Männlichkeit ermöglichte es sehr verschiedenartigen militärischen Persönlichkeitstypen, sich als vollwertige Männer zu verstehen. Ebenso erlaubte diese proteische Männlichkeit es ihnen, zwischen verschiedenen emotionalen und moralischen Zuständen zu wechseln, ohne als unmännlich zu erscheinen. Allerdings galt dies nur insoweit, als das Primat der Härte gewahrt blieb. In diesem Sinne wirkte proteische Männlichkeit als dynamisches soziales Schmiermittel, das verschiedenartige Männer und widersprüchliche emotionale und moralische Verfassungen in Kampfeinheiten zusammenfügte und letztlich die genozidale Gesellschaft des Dritten Reiches zusammenhielt.

Type
Article
Information
Central European History , Volume 51 , Special Issue 3: Masculinity and the Third Reich , September 2018 , pp. 390 - 418
Copyright
Copyright © Central European History Society of the American Historical Association 2018 

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82 See the letters to Annemarie of Jan. 24, 1943, and July 19, 1944, in Böll, Briefe aus dem Krieg, 1:592, 2:1091.

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