Vom Einsiedler Constantin Brunner

Résumé du livre

Pt. 1 (p. 5-53) is an autobiography, "Mein Leben und Schaffen". Pt. 2 (p. 55-76) deals with the importance of scholarship, in particular philosophy, in his development. Pt. 3 (p. 77-151), "Das Ungl|ck unsres deutschen Volkes und unsre 'V̲lkischen'", examines the "V̲lkisch" and Nazi movements in Germany, denouncing them as insane. Contends that instead of uniting the German nation, these nationalist movements divide it and prevent it from becoming an advanced nation. The "V̲lkisch" movement incites insanity by exaggerating the number of Jews in Germany, who are actually few, and then spreading fear of a "Jewish danger". States that German antisemitism harms the Germans as well as the Jews, since the Germans imbibe the same poison that the Jews supposedly exude. Analyzes the "V̲lkisch" youth movement's anti-Jewish guidelines, which aim to exclude the Jews from Germany, and argues that the movement's alleged idealism is nothing but bestiality. As for the reasons for antisemitism, argues that the Jews are not its source, only the "occasional cause" of its manifestations. Believes that nothing can be done to eradicate antisemitism, since it is an expression of refusal to view the human being as a whole entity with innumerable facets. The Jews can or should not stop being Jews; in holding on to their identity, they defend the right to be different.