Chamberlain, Houston Stewart (1855-1927)

British-born publicist for neopagan religion in Germany and precursor of Nazi racial theorists. Chamberlain was born at Sothsea, England, on September 9, 1855, the son of an admiral in the British navy. His mother died while he was still an infant, and he was raised by his grandmother and an aunt who lived in Versailles, France. In 1867 he returned to England to attend boarding school. He grew to adulthood with no true sense of his English identity, and in 1870 came under the influence of a German tutor who gave him both a love of Germany and an interest in botany. His father died in 1878, and with the financial independence it gave him he soon married a German woman and settled in Geneva to pursue studies at the university. He quickly finished his basic degree but took many years (because of recurring ill health) to finish his doctorate. During these years he also became an enthusiastic fan of the music of Richard Wagner.

In the 1890s Chamberlain combined his scientific background, which included a critique of Darwinian approaches to evolution, and his increasing mastery of Wagner's ideas into a comprehensive vision: he conceived the idea of producing an epic history of humanity. The result was his most famous and important book, Foundations of the 19th Century (1899). Lacking training in history, Chamberlain used artistic license to tell the story of human history in such a way as to substantiate two basic ideas: he argues that humanity is divided into various distinct races, each of which has its own physical structure and mental and moral capacity, and that history is best understood as the struggle between these different races.

Historical epochs were marked by the coming to the fore of a dominant racial type, according to Chamberlain, and modern European civilization was built on the Germanic or Teutonic race. As to the components of modern (i.e., nineteenth century) culture, he hypothesizes six major influences: Hellenic art and philosophy; Roman law and organization; the revelation of Christ; racial chaos in the wake of the fall of the Roman Empire; the negative and destructive influence of the Jews; and the creative and regenerative mission of the Teutonic (or Aryan) race. Chamberlain's anti-Semitism led him to reject the idea of the Jewish-born Messiah of Christianity and to propose an essentially Germanic religion deriving from the symbols of the Aryan race.

The mystical/occult underpinnings of Chamberlain's beliefs had a great influence on Hitler's Nazi faith. He wrote a number of other books, but none were as influential as Foundations of the 19th Century. He died at Beyreuth, Germany, on January 9, 1927.

Sources:

Field, Geoffrey G. Evangelist of Race: The Germanic Vision of Houston Stewart Chamberlain. New York: Columbia University Press, 1981.

Ravencroft, Trevor. The Spear of Destiny. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1973.

Sklar, Dusty. Gods and Beasts: The Nazis and the Occult. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1977.

Williamson, Roger Andrew. "Houston Stewart Chamberlain: A Study of the Man and His Ideas, 1855-1927." Ph.D diss., University of California-Santa Barbara, 1973.