Germanophile
A Germanophile or Teutophile[1] is a person who is fond of German culture, German people, and Germany in general,[2] or even exhibits German nationalism – so to speak – in spite of not being an ethnic German or a German citizen. This love of the German way, called "Germanophilia" or "Teutonophilia", is opposite to Germanophobia.
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History[edit]
The term was especially in use in the 19th to 20th centuries after the creation of the German nation state and the rise of the German Empire, it is used not only politically but also culturally; for example Slavoj Žižek refers to the geographical triad of Europe as being England (utilitarian pragmatism), France (revolutionary hastiness) and Germany (reflective thoroughness).[3]
In 19th century British romanticism, the term's antonym was Scandophile, expressing a dichotomy of associating Anglo-Saxon culture either with continental West Germanic culture, or with North Germanic (Scandinavian) culture (the "Viking revival"). The term was also used in opposition to Hellenophile, an affinity to "Teutonic" or Germanic culture and worldview as opposed to a predilection for Classical Antiquity.
In 19th century continental Europe, the dichotomy was rather between Germany and France, the main political players of the period, and a Germanophile would choose to side with Germany, against French or "Romance" interests taken to heart by a Francophile. The corresponding term relating to England is Anglophile, an affinity that was in turn often observed in early 20th century Germans choosing to side against France.
This term was also popularly used in the 20th century to refer to the German educational system formed by Wilhelm von Humboldt, which was leading at that time, and served as a model for many elite universities around the world from Oslo to Harvard.
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- Peter Watson: The German Genius: Europe's Third Renaissance, the Second Scientific Revolution, and the Twentieth Century, Harper Perennial, ISBN 978-0060760236
- Walter John Morris: John Quincy Adams, Germanophile, Pennsylvania State University, 1963
- Arthur Coleman Danto, Jean-Marie Schaeffer and Steven Rendall: Art of the Modern Age: Philosophy of Art from Kant to Heidegger, Princeton University, 2000
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.alphadictionary.com/articles/philias.html
- ^ "germanophile in AHD."
- ^ "Hegel was among the first to interpret the geographic triad of Germany-France-England as expressing three different existential attitudes: German reflective thoroughness, French revolutionary hastiness, English moderate utilitarian pragmatism. In terms of political stance, this triad can be read as German conservatism, French revolutionary radicalism and English moderate liberalism; in terms of the predominance of one of the spheres of social life, it is German metaphysics and poetry versus French politics and English economy." Slavoj Žižek, How to Read Lacan.
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