Идеологические истоки НДПГ

INTRODUCTION

The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), founded in 1964, became a significant political force in the far-right spectrum of post-war West German politics. Its creation marked the institutional consolidation of various nationalist, anti-democratic, and neoconservative currents that continued to exist in the political underground after the fall of the Third Reich.
This document examines the ideological origins of the NPD, analyzes the continuity of popular, authoritarian, and ethno-nationalist thought from the 19th century through National Socialism into the party's programmatic foundations in the 1960s. Relying on primary sources such as official party publications — Deutsche Nachrichten (DN), Lexikon für Gegenwartsfragen, and the program document Weg, Wille und Ziel, as well as on the scholarly analysis by Manfried Schreiber and Jung Ping Chen, the authors of this study reconstruct the ideological foundation of the National Democratic Party of Germany as a polymorphic yet coherent synthesis of historical nationalist doctrines. The ideological foundation of the National Democratic Party of Germany cannot be reduced to a single doctrine. It should be understood as a complex combination of romantic nationalism, anti-parliamentarism, racial ideology, and historical revisionism. Despite formal adherence to the constitutional framework of the Federal Republic of Germany, the party consistently undermines the foundations of liberal democracy, advocating an authoritarian state based on the concept of Volksgemeinschaft (national community). The glorification of the Third Reich, rejection of the post-war political order, and use of anti-Semitic and xenophobic rhetoric are not marginal elements but central components of the party's ideological identity. As Schreiber and Chen show, the NPD's worldview is deeply rooted in the Völkisch movement of the 19th century, which idealized German ethnicity, organic collectivism, and the mystical connection between blood, soil, and national destiny. These ideas were later radicalized within National Socialism.
An important feature of the ideological formation of the National Democratic Party of Germany is the presence of former Nazi functionaries in its leadership and intellectual circles. Figures such as Ernst Anrich, a member of the party's Federal Executive Committee and an active author for Deutsche Nachrichten, provided theoretical justification for the party's nationalist and racist doctrines. Although some leaders, including Hilmar Paulmann, publicly distanced themselves from Anrich's more radical views, calling them «outdated», official party publications continued to propagate ideas of racial hierarchy, biological determinism, and the need for ethnic homogeneity. In particular, Lexikon für Gegenwartsfragen served as a tool to legitimize segregation policies and justify colonial rule, reflecting the ideological continuity with racial theories that existed before 1945. This study is based on the premise that the ideology of the National Democratic Party of Germany should be seen not as an aberration but as a structural legacy of German right-wing extremism. The analysis will focus on three key aspects: the party's rejection of liberal democracy and support for an authoritarian state; its racist and ethno-nationalist doctrines; and its historical revisionism regarding the Third Reich and the Holocaust. By systematically examining these elements reflected in the official discourse of the National Democratic Party of Germany, the authors of this article aim to provide a historically grounded and analytically rigorous description of the party's ideological foundations, avoiding both polemical condemnation and apologetic relativism. The sources interpreted by Schreiber and Chen show that beneath the surface of post-war political normalization, ideological currents of German nationalism persisted, which could be adapted to new political conditions.

LIST OF LITERATURE

1. AMERIKAS KRIEGGEGAN DEUTSCHLAND (Goettingen: K.W. Schuetz Verlag, 1968).
2. Chen first interviewed Poehlmann in his law office in Munich on August 2, 1967.
3. Chen again interviewed Poehlmann in his law office in Munich on August 16, 1968, and September 3, 1970.
4. Chen interviewed Herrmannsdoerfer in his State Capitol Of- fice (Landtag) in Munich on July 15, 1967
5. Chen interviewed von Thadded at NPD headquarters in Hannover on August 21, 1968.
6. DN, 1968 and 1970 interviews
7. DN, February 20, 1970,
8. DN, June 24, 1966, p. 122.
9. Manifest der NPD" in Hans Maier, NPA STRUKTUR AND IDEOLOGIE (Munich: R. Piper & Co. , 1967), p.
10. Nationalsozialismus, LEXIKON, 1966.
11. NPD-WEG, WILLE, AND ZIEL (Hannover: DN- Verlag, 1967), p. 98
12. NPD-WEG, WILLE, AND ZIEL, p. 110. 1968
13. PARTEIPROGRAMM, p. 1; also "Wertheimer Manifest" in DN, February 20, 1970, supplement.
14. Rassenpolitik, POLITISCHES LEXIKON (Hannover: DN- Verlag), 1966.
15. Schreiber, Manfried, and Yung Ping Chen. "Ideology of the National Democratic Party of Germany." Journal of Thought, vol. 6, no. 2, Apr. 1971, pp. 88–104. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42588238.
16. The yellow pages are officially sanctioned by the Party and von Thadden.