Post-1945 German Conservatism Conference
International Conference
12th April 2019
Budapest, Hungary
Research Centre for the Humanities of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Institute of Philosophy
4. Tóth Kálmán st., Budapest, 1097
7th Floor, Trapéz Room
Organizers
- Research Institute of Politics and Government, József Eötvös Research Centre, National University of Public Service
- Institute of Philosophy of the Research Centre of the Humanities of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Conference director
- Ferenc Hörcher,
- director, Research Institute of Politics and Government, József Eötvös Research Centre, National University of Public Service,
- senior researcher, Institute of Philosophy of the Research Centre of the Humanities of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Conference assistants
- Kálmán Tóth, junior researcher, Research Institute of Politics and Government, József Eötvös Research Centre, National University of Public Service
- Ádám Smrcz, postgraduate researcher, Research Institute of Politics and Government, József Eötvös Research Centre, National University of Public Service
German conservatism has not been „comme il faut” for some time in the 20th century. In particular, after World War II, it became unacceptable in public discourse in Germany. This was partly due to the debate on the political and moral responsibility for the war and the Holocaust, and partly it was a consequence of a general shift in Europe towards the left in the post-war situation.
This statement is true both about the political credit and the intellectual prestige of conservatism: both of them were regarded as discredited in the Nazi period. In this situation Christian democracy was the ideological wing which could take over the role of traditionalism and conservatism in the German speaking world, and arguably German intellectual conservatism also declined in the second half of the century.
After the fall of the iron curtain and the „unification” of Germany and Europe, and the rise of a world of new challenges in the 21. century, conservatism itself might be envisaged to be in need of an intellectual rejuvenation. After all, it might have its benevolent role and function to balance the ideological scene both in Germany and Europe, in a world of harsh populist and nationalist criticisms of globalisation. In order to make that possible, there is a need to reconstruct the post-war fate of German conservatism, political and intellectual.
This workshop, organised by the Institute of Philosophy of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Research Institute for Politics and Government of the National University of Public Service, aims to uncover the underground and grass root currents of the non-Nazi German conservatism in the post-war political and intellectual milieu. Its aim is to bridge the gap between classical early 20th century German conservatism, and late-20th century, early 21. century conservative ideas and political visions. Participants of the conference will include historians of political thought, legal scholars, historians and philosophers, all of them joining a lively discussion which aims to uncover a mostly hidden intellectual trajectory within German political and intellectual life. It hopes to raise interesting and contestable questions about key players in post-war German conservatism in politics and in the intellectual field.
