Erich Kern, (born Erich Knud Kernmayr on 27 February 1906 – died 13 September 1991) was a far-right Austrian journalist, war-time propagandist, and a post-war Nazi activist. He became a writer of revisionist books that sought to glorify the activities of the German soldiers during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
.
Early years
Kernmayer was born in
Graz. As a youth he was briefly affiliated to the youth wing of the
Social Democratic Party of Austria, before moving to the right, initially with the radical ''Sturmvolk'' movement before joining the
Austrian Nazi Party
Austrian Nazism or Austrian National Socialism was a pan-German
Pan-Germanism (german: Pangermanismus or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify all the ...
.
Philip Rees
Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right.
Works
*''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...
, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890
The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890.
It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...
'', 1990, p. 208 As the party was illegal he was imprisoned for a while in 1934.
His first experience as a journalist came on the ''Essener National-Zeitung'', a local newspaper owned by
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
.
He subsequently served as press-chief to Gauleiter
Josef Bürckel, effectively controlling the press in both
Ostmark
Ostmark is a German term meaning either Eastern march when applied to territories or Eastern Mark when applied to currencies.
Ostmark may refer to:
*the medieval March of Austria and its predecessors ''Bavarian Eastern March'' and ''March of Pann ...
and
Saarland
The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
.
By 1940 he was the chief of the Pressestelle of Gauleiters.
He saw active service during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
with the
Waffen SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands.
The grew from th ...
, holding the rank of
Obersturmbannführer
__NOTOC__
''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...
.
Taken prisoner after the war, he was held in internment in Austria for two and a half years before being released in 1948.
Writing
During the Second World War, he had served with the 4th Battalion of the
SS Division Leibstandarte
The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH, (german: 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler") began as Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, responsible for guarding ...
around the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
and wrote about his experiences in his 1948 book ''Der Grosse Rausch'', which was republished in English as ''Dance of Death'' in 1951. In the book he bemoaned the failure of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
, arguing that a German victory would have brought culture to the supposedly uncivilized Russian people. The book was published only a few months after his release, despite one of the conditions being that he was banned from any publishing.
Kern moved to
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
in 1949 where he became known as a novelist.
As an author on military history his works were largely published by the ''Verlag Welsermühl'', a far-right revisionist publishing house that sought to portray a pro-German version of Second World War history.
Another book, ''Menschen im Netz'' (1957) formed the basis for the
Franz Peter Wirth
Franz Peter Wirth (22 September 1919 in Munich – 17 October 1999 in Berg, Upper Bavaria) was a German film director and screenwriter. His film '' Helden'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1958.
Selected fi ...
-directed film ''
People in the Net
''People in the Net'' (german: Menschen im Netz), also known as ''Unwilling Agent'', is a 1959 West German Cold War spy film directed by Franz Peter Wirth and starring Hansjörg Felmy, Johanna von Koczian and Hannes Messemer.Bock & Bergfelder p. ...
'' (1959). He was also press chief of the
HIAG
HIAG (german: Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS, lit=Mutual aid association of former Waffen-SS members) was a lobby group and a denialist veterans' organisation founded by former high-ranking Waff ...
and editor of ''Der Freiwillige'', their monthly journal.
In this capacity he became noted for his defences of the actions of the
SS and his celebrations of that movement.
He also edited the radical nationalist journals ''
Deutsche Soldaten-Zeitung'', ''Deutsche Wochenzeitung'' and ''Riechsruf'', also contributing regularly to ''
Nation Europa
''Nation Europa'' (also called ''Nation und Europa'') was a far-right monthly magazine, published in Germany. It was founded in 1951 and was based in Coburg until its closure in 2009. It is also the name of the publishing house that developed th ...
'' - a journal for which he set on a five-man board of associate editors.
[G. Macklin, ''Very Deeply Dyed in Black'', London, 2007, p. 180] His work for these journals focused mainly on the exoneration of the SS and Nazi Germany and attacks on the Allies and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Neo-Nazi activism
Kern was a supporter of the
pan-European nationalism
European nationalism (sometimes called pan-European nationalism) is a form of nationalism based on a pan-European identity. It is considered minor since the National Party of Europe disintegrated in the 1970s.
History
The former British Union ...
that became important in post-war far right politics and was a regular contributor to ''Europe-Action'', a journal devoted to this ideal controlled by the ''
Fédération des étudiants nationalistes'' of
Dominique Venner
Dominique Venner (; 16 April 1935 – 21 May 2013) was a French historian, journalist and essayist. Venner was a member of the Organisation armée secrète and later became a European nationalist, founding '' Europe-Action'', before w ...
. Active in far-right German politics, he served as a member of the neo-Nazi
Socialist Reich Party
The Socialist Reich Party (german: Sozialistische Reichspartei Deutschlands) was a West German political party founded in the aftermath of World War II in 1949 as an openly neo-Nazi-oriented splinter from the national conservative German Right ...
, the
National Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany.
The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Part ...
and the
German People's Union
The German People's Union (german: Deutsche Volksunion, DVU, also ''Liste D'') was a political party in Germany. It was founded by publisher Gerhard Frey as an informal association in 1971 and established as a party in 1987. Financially, it was l ...
. As an NPD member he was active in ultimately failed attempts to unite the German far right during the early 1970s.
He was also active in the ''Deutsches Kulturwerk Europäischen Geistes'', a German cultural organisation founded by
Herbert Böhme.
In the 1950s, Kern joined
HIAG
HIAG (german: Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS, lit=Mutual aid association of former Waffen-SS members) was a lobby group and a denialist veterans' organisation founded by former high-ranking Waff ...
, a post-war
historical negationist lobby group for former
Waffen-SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
men. He first became active within HIAG in 1955, and then joined as a full-time employee in 1959. Kern became the organisation's key employee responsible for its publishing arm. According to the historian
Jonathan Petropoulos, Kern remained an "unrepentant and unreconstructed Nazi" up to his death in 1991.
Death
Kern died in Kammer am Attersee.
Publications
Kern was a prolific author and despite his Nazi pedigree, was able to achieve a certain amount of literary success. His works include:
* ''Der Marsch ins Nichts'', Novel. Paul Zsolnay Verlag, Berlin 1938
* ''Der Tag unseres Lebens'', Roman eines österreichischen Arbeiters. Paul Zsolnay Verlag, Berlin 1938
* ''Steirische Novellen''. Paul Zsolnay Verlag, Berlin 1939
* ''Fahne im Sturm''. Erzählungen. Deutscher Verl. für Jugend u. Volk, Wien 1940
* ''Das goldene Tor''. Novellen aus Metz. Buchgewerbehaus, Saarbrücken 1941
* ''Der verratene Berg''. Steirische Novellen. Wiener Verl., Wien 1943.
* ''Feuer im Westen''. Novellen vom Rhein und von der Mosel. Westmark-Verl., Ludwigshafen am Rhein 1943.
* ''Der große Rausch''. Rußlandfeldzug 1941-1945. Thomas-Verl, Zürich 1948.
* ''Das andere Lidice''. Die Tragödie der Sudetendeutschen. Verl. Welsermühl, Wels 1950.
* ''Insel der Tapferen''. Roman. Verl. Welsermühl, Wels 1951.
* ''Buch der Tapferkeit''. Druffel-Verlag, Leoni 1953.
* ''Die Uhr blieb stehen''. Verlag Welsermühl, Wels 1953.
* ''Der Dorn im Fleische''. Roman der Fremdenlegion. Verl. Welsermühl, Wels 1955.
* ''Das goldene Feld''. Roman aus der Ukraine. Schild-Verlag, München 1957.
* ''Menschen im Netz''. Roman. Verlag Welsermühl, München 1957.
* ''Stadt ohne Gnade''. Ein Roman um Berlin. Verlag Welsermühl, München 1959.
* ''Das große Kesseltreiben''. Bleibt der deutsche Soldat vogelfrei? 2. Auflage. Plesse-Verlag, Göttingen 1960.
* ''Der Tag des Gerichts''. Türmer-Verlag, München 1961.
* ''Von Versailles zu Adolf Hitler. Der schreckliche Friede''. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1961.
* ''Opfergang eines Volkes. Der totale Krieg''. 2. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1963.
* ''General Von Pannwitz und seine Kosaken''. 3. Auflage. , Neckargemünd 1963.
* ''Deutschland im Abgrund. Das falsche Gericht''. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1963.
* ''Verbrechen am deutschen Volk. Dokumente alliierter Grausamkeiten 1939 - 1949''. 6. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1964.
* ''Weder Frieden noch Freiheit. Deutsches Schicksal unserer Zeit''. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1965
* ''Der Sieg der Soldaten''. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1969.
* ''Von Versailles nach Nürnberg. Der Opfergang des deutschen Volkes''. 3. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1971.
* ''Meineid gegen Deutschland. Eine Dokumentation über den politischen Betrug''. 2. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Göttingen 1971.
* ''Adolf Hitler und seine Bewegung. Der Parteiführer.'' 2. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1970.
* ''Adolf Hitler und der Krieg, Der Feldherr''. 3. Auflage. PK.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1978, .
* ''Adolf Hitler und das Dritte Reich. Der Staatsmann''. 3. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1983, .
* ''Willy Brandt - Schein und Wirklichkeit. Eine Dokumentation''. National-Verlag, Rosenheim 1973, .
* ''So wurde Deutschland verraten. Eine Dokumentation über den Verrat im 2. Weltkrieg''. 2. Auflage. Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, Rosenheim 1974, .
* ''Verrat an Deutschland, Spione und Saboteure gegen das eigene Vaterland''. 4. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1976.
* ''SPD - ohne Maske. Eine politische Dokumentation''. 7. Auflage. Deutsche Verlagsgesellschaft, Rosenheim 1976, .
* ''Die Tragödie der Juden. Schicksal zwischen Propaganda und Wahrheit''. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1979, .
* ''Alliierte Verbrechen an Deutschen. Die verschwiegenen Opfer''. (Mit Karl Balzer) K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1980, .
* ''Verbrechen am deutschen Volk. Eine Dokumentation alliierter Grausamkeit''. 8. Auflage. K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1983. .
* ''Die letzte Schlacht. Kampf in der Puszta zwischen Budapest und Plattensee Ungarn 1944 - 45''. 3. Auflage, K.W.Schütz-Verlag, Preußisch Oldendorf 1985, .
* ''Generalfeldmarschall Ferdinand Schörner. Ein deutsches Soldatenschicksal''. Deutsche Verlags-Gesellschaft, Rosenheim 1994, .
* ''Verheimlichte Dokumente. Was Deutschen verschwiegen wird''. 2. Auflage. FZ-Verlag, München 1999, .
References
External links
Contemporaneous reviewof Kern's book ''The Dance of Death'' by French historian
Léon Poliakov
Léon Poliakov (russian: Лев Поляков; 25 November 1910, Saint Petersburg – 8 December 1997, Orsay) was a French historian who wrote extensively on the Holocaust and antisemitism and wrote ''The Aryan Myth''.
Born into a Russian Jewi ...
, in
Commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kern, Erich
1906 births
1991 deaths
Writers from Graz
SS-Sturmbannführer
Austrian Nazis
Socialist Reich Party politicians
National Democratic Party of Germany politicians
German People's Union politicians
Austrian expatriates in Germany
German neo-Nazis
German nationalists
Waffen-SS personnel
German male writers
Members of HIAG