The ''Tatkreis'', or "''Action Circle''", was a
Völkisch movement
The ''Völkisch'' movement (german: Völkische Bewegung; alternative en, Folkist Movement) was a German ethno-nationalist movement active from the late 19th century through to the Nazi era, with remnants in the Federal Republic of Germany af ...
which existed during the era of the
Weimar Republic. They followed the beliefs of most
Völkisch movement
The ''Völkisch'' movement (german: Völkische Bewegung; alternative en, Folkist Movement) was a German ethno-nationalist movement active from the late 19th century through to the Nazi era, with remnants in the Federal Republic of Germany af ...
s but claimed the current republic "''corrupt and sterile beyond repair''" and called for "''freedom and rebirth''" in
Germany. The Tatkreis used a combination of
nationalism and revolutionary
Right-wing populism
Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establi ...
to generate passion within their ranks in a fashion that pre-dated
National Socialism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
and was no doubt an influence.
The Tatkreis called for an end to
capitalism and promoted a
neomercantilist ideology, a system which encourages exports and discourages imports, with a high level of state manipulation of the economy introducing high tariffs, and called for German self-sufficiency. This idea was easily received by the citizens of Germany, who lived in a time of
depression after
World War I. The middle-class craftsmen and shopkeepers were a majority in Germany and thus a key demographic.
At the end of the 1920s the Tatkreis was formed around the publication ''
Die Tat'' ("''Action''"). ''Die Tat,'' edited by
Hans Zehrer, produced a circulation of over 25,000 in 1933. After the rise to power of the
National Socialist German Workers Party the Tatkreis was dissolved, as were other political parties under Hitler's rule. Even before this, the way the NSDAP undermined the Tatkreis was by drawing from their membership, as both parties targeted the same types of followers.
See also
*
Conservative Revolutionary movement
Conservative Revolutionary movement
Organizations based in the Weimar Republic
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