ECU Libraries Catalog

Greeks, Romans, Germans : how the Nazis usurped Europe's classical past / Johann Chapoutot ; translated by Richard R. Nybakken.

Author/creator Chapoutot, Johann author.
Other author/creatorNybakken, Richard R., translator.
Format Book and Print
Publication Info Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2016]
Copyright Notice ©2016
Description505 pages ; 24 cm.
Subject(s)
Uniform titleNational-socialisme et l'Antiquité. English
Series The Joan Palevsky imprint in classical literature
Joan Palevsky imprint in classical literature. ^A512030
Contents Origins myths : ex septentrione lux -- A Nordic Mediterranean : Greece, Rome, and the north, between German cousins -- Mens sana : antiquity, the humanities, and German youth -- From stone to flesh : the body of the new Aryan man between aesthetics and eugenics -- The racial state and totalitarian society : Plato as philosopher-king, or the Third Reich as second Sparta -- From empire to reich : the lessons of Roman rule and Classical colonialism -- History as racial struggle : the clash of civilizations between east and west in antiquity -- Volkstod or Rassenselbstmord : how civilizations die -- The choreography of the end : aesthetism, nihilism, and the choreography of the final catastrophe.
Abstract "Much has been written about the conditions that made possible Hitler's rise and the Nazi takeover of Germany, but when we tell the story of the National Socialist Party, should we not also speak of Julius Caesar and Pericles? Greeks, Romans, Germans argues that to fully understand the racist, violent end of the Nazi regime, we must examine its appropriation of the heroes and lessons of the ancient world. When Hitler told the assembled masses that they were a people with no past, he meant that they had no past following their humiliation in World War I of which to be proud. The Nazis' constant use of classical antiquity--in official speeches, film, state architecture, the press, and state-sponsored festivities--conferred on them the prestige and heritage of Greece and Rome that the modern German people so desperately needed. At the same time, the lessons of antiquity served as a warning: Greece and Rome fell because they were incapable of protecting the purity of their blood against mixing and infiltration. To regain their rightful place in the world, the Nazis had to make all-out war on Germany's enemies, within and without"--Provided by publisher.
General noteTranslated from the French.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Other edition issuedTranslation of (work): Chapoutot, Johann. National-socialisme et l'Antiquité.
Issued in other formOnline version: Chapoutot, Johann, author. Greeks, Romans, Germans Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2016] 9780520966154
Genre/formHistory.
LCCN 2016016557
ISBN9780520275720 hardcover alkaline paper
ISBN0520275721 hardcover alkaline paper
ISBN9780520292970 paperback alkaline paper
ISBN0520292979 paperback alkaline paper

Available Items

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Joyner General Stacks DD256.6 .C4313 2016 ✔ Available Place Hold