[FRA:] Hitler's Body and the Body Politic

[Richard Koenigsberg, Ph.D.]

"Hitler aspired to defeat death by embracing the idea of a body politic =
that
could live forever. Hitler was unable however to separate the imaginary =
body
from his real body. In spite of his struggle to create a perfectly =
healthy
nation, Hitler's death instinct continually returned in the form of his
belief that Germany was disintegrating."=20

	-Richard Koenigsberg

 =20
	HITLER'S BODY AND THE BODY POLITIC
	__________________________________

I study ideology as if manifest content of a dream, seeking to =
comprehend
the ideology's latent content or unconscious meaning. I observe =
recurring
images and metaphors within ideological productions. Through systematic
analysis of these recurring images and metaphors, it is possible to =
reveal
the deep structure of an ideology.

Ideologies are social constructions. However, why do they exist? What is =
the
nature of the psychic work that they perform? I suggest that ideologies
constitute vehicles for working through deep-rooted psychological =
issues.
Hitler's ideology, for example, represented the medium through which =
Hitler
attempted to come to terms with the problem of death.

Hitler's project was to create a people so closely united-fused
together--that they could think, feel and act as a single organism. Such =
a
body politic would be indestructible, not only in the present but in the
future as well. Hitler and the Nazis devoted their lives toward creating =
an
organism that would be different from all other organisms. They aspired =
to
fashion a body (politic) that was so healthy and powerful that it would =
not
succumb to death.

The Jew in Hitler's ideology was a force working to destroy Germany.
National Socialism was the attempt to come to terms with this =
destructive
force. The "Final Solution"--concluding phase of Hitler's struggle =
against
death-represented a form of radical surgery whose purpose was to =
"remove"
Germany's death instinct, quash the process of disintegration.
       =20
  ___________________________________________________________________

  The complete paper by Richard A. Koenigsberg is available for the=20
  first time as an on-line publication.

  To read HITLER'S BODY AND THE BODY POLITIC, please visit:

  http://home.earthlink.net/~libraryofsocialscience/online_pubs.htm

  ___________________________________________________________________

Hitler had projected the struggle of "life against death" into the =
political
arena and waged a furious battle to "maintain the body of the people."
Hitler aspired to defeat death by embracing the idea of a body politic =
that
could live forever. However, in spite of his efforts, Hitler could not =
rid
himself of "anxiety of being destroyed from within."

The "Jew" represented Hitler's experience and perception of his own =
death
instinct, recognition or realization that all bodies die. In spite of =
Hitler
struggle to deny death, he could not entirely repress the voice of =
truth.
Yet Hitler refused to heed this inner voice declaring that all bodies =
die.
Rather, Hitler became infuriated, enraged. To embrace the truth, Hitler
would have had to acknowledge that his Nazi project had been in vain; =
that
he had devoted his life to an illusion.

Therefore, in a climactic act of manic determination, Hitler initiated =
the
Final Solution, a struggle to destroy death-the Jew-once and for all. =
Hitler
insisted that Germany would not die, that the body politic could live on
forever. He redoubled his efforts, threw more wood into the flames. =
Genocide
represented Hitler's final attempt to solve the problem of death.
=20
  =20
--

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