Kuno Graf Westarp (1864-1945) and the Political Culure of Conservatism from the German Empire to the National Socialism

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Martin H. Geyer
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: from 2010 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 180304251

This project deals with the jurist, Prussian civil servant, politician and publicist Kuno von Westarp (1864-1945). As a key figure of German conservatism during the period from Wilhelmine Germany up to National Socialism, he exerted significant influence on political positions and organizations at critical junctures in the history of conservatism during this time. The aim of the project is to examine Westarps impact on the political culture of conservatism. This will be done by combining a biographical approach with an analysis of grand themes of the development of conservatism. Next to his role as a Reichstag deputy and leading party politician of the German National Peoples Party, the focus is on Westarps close connections and political communication with the associations (Verbände), informal and organized groups and important political figures of the heterogeneous political Right. The extensive personal records of Westarp are an important basis of this studyThe study argues that the development of Westarps positions was quite unlike the conservative radicalization which has been proposed by recent studies with respect to the political Right during the Weimar Republic. His fundamental rejection of the republic gave way to governmental moderation. However, though one may detect some elements of Tory conservatism, it can be demonstrated that his political development does not coincide with this or any other category that has been proposed, such as Vernunftrepublikanismus. There existed remarkable continuities with respect to his positions on monarchism and his opposition against democracy which limited his ability to adapt to the republican state. At the same time his intellectual development of adaptation isolated him from the radical opposition of other conservatives and National Socialists. Thus the study will stress his peculiar civic, staatsbürgerlich accentuated national conservatism.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants