The article examines how the Nazi regime appropriated Cornelius Tacitus's ethnographic work, Germania, as a tool for cultural legitimacy. It outlines how, following World War I, the Nazis sought to transform Germany into the Third Reich, invoking historical references to establish their ideology. The piece highlights the formation of the Militant League for German Culture by the National Socialists in 1928, which aimed to consolidate cultural control. Additionally, it recounts the tragic fate of theater actor Hans Otto as an early victim of the regime's oppressive policies on the arts.
According to Christopher Whitton, a professor of Classics at Cambridge, the Nazis culturally appropriated Tacitus's writings to claim legitimacy for a revitalized Germany.
The National Socialists established a Militant League for German Culture in 1928, which facilitated their cultural hegemony after seizing power in 1933.
A chief early victim of Nazism, Hans Otto, discovered the deadly reach of the regime when he was not allowed to renew his theater contract.
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