Conservatism in Germany

Conservatism in Germany (Konservatismus) has encompassed a wide range of theories and ideologies in the last three hundred years, but most historical conservative theories supported the monarchical/hierarchical political structure. During the pre-revolutionary Vormärz era, the label conservatism united a loose movement of intellectual and political forces without any party organisation comparable to the British Tories. The tradition of conservative theorists like Justus Möser (1720–1794) opposed the Enlightenment tendencies and the ideals of the French Revolution. While many of the conservative theorists are labelled "political Romantics" (most notably by Carl Schmitt, himself a conservative), at least four strains are distinguishable before 1945: Status quo ante Romantic conservatives, who wanted to restore the medieval as it was prior to the French Revolution. Notable theorists are Novalis, Friedrich Schelling, Karl Ludwig von Haller and Adam Müller. Conservative Journalism defends the status quo of Metternichs System (the Restoration) and national conservatism. Notable theorists include Friedrich von Gentz, Friedrich Schlegel and Ernst Moritz Arndt. Conservative writing in defense of the (constitutional) monarchy in Germany included theorists Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein and Friedrich Julius Stahl. The conservative revolutionary movement and pre-Nazi radicals, such as Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, Oswald Spengler (adding pessimism and cultural conservatism) and Carl Schmitt. Also included are the anti-Enlightenment Romanticism of Friedrich Nietzsche, the conservative Realpolitik and statecraft of Otto von Bismarck and the anti-republican monarchism of the German National People's Party (DNVP) during the Weimar Republic. Conservative thought developed alongside nationalism in Germany, culminating in Germany's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War, the creation of the unified German Empire in 1871 and the simultaneous rise to power of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.