Although I think he makes a number of highly questionable logical leaps (and certainly overstates his case) in his attempt to tie the failure of the Allies to support the WWII German resistance to “Egalitarian Western Liberals,” this piece by Jerry Salyer on the German aristocrats who resisted Hitler or, at a minimum, did all they could to maintain their humanity is the most informative thing I’ve read in a long while.
Even if you don’t buy Salyer’s attempt to tie this to “Egalitarian Western Liberalism” (and I don’t), the piece contains plenty of food for thought on the limits of power, the value of chivalry, the hubris of nationalism, the potential value of aristocracy, and plenty else.
Haha I’ve been meaning to link to that. Vive l’ancien regime!Report
What’s amazing to me is that the reactionaries all but disappear from German political life after the demise of the Third Reich. Under the Weimar republic, the monarchists in the DNVP consistently got about 1/6 of the vote in general elections.
Apparently, aristocratic resistance wasn’t enough to vindicate them.Report