Hanno Konopath

Hanno Konopath, also known as Friedrich (Kurt) Konopacki (24 February 1882 – 22 September 1962), was a German jurist and civil servant who gained attention as a publicist and proponent of völkisch-racist worldviews during the Weimar Republic. He was particularly active as an author of racial-ideological writings and as a contributor to journals associated with the Nordic-völkisch movement. He joined the NSDAP on 1 May 1930.[1]

Life

Hanno Konopath was born on 24 February 1882. Little is known about his early education and career. He worked at the Reichsversicherungsanstalt für Angestellte, in the Reich Ministry of Economics, and the Reich Ministry for Reconstruction.[2] He held the title of Ministerialrat and is referred to in contemporary sources as Geheimrat.[3]

On 24 February 1927, he married Marie Adelheid Prinzessin zur Lippe-Biesterfeld (1895–1993), a daughter of Rudolf Prinz zur Lippe-Biesterfeld and Luise Prinzessin von Ardeck. This was Marie Adelheid's third marriage. The marriage ended in divorce in 1936. It provided her with several important connections within the Nazi regime.[4] Konopath died on 22 September 1962 at the age of 80.

Journalistic Work

Konopath was active as a publicist in the 1920s and early 1930s within the völkisch movement. He published contributions in journals promoting a Nordic-racial worldview, including Die Sonne – Monatsschrift für nordische Weltanschauung und Lebensgestaltung, published, among others, by Alexander-Duncker-Verlag (Weimar).[5]

He served both as an author and as a programmatic ideologue. In 1926, he contributed an article to Deutscher Dom in support of a call to organize the so-called "Nordic movement". Contemporary observers such as Bartsch criticized the Deutschgläubige Gemeinschaft represented by Konopath for not adequately perceiving societal change and political developments.[6]

Ideology and Positions

In his writings, Konopath promoted a racial-ideological and völkisch worldview, based on concepts such as “Rassenkunde” and “Rassenlehre”, the “völkisch idea”, an allegedly Germanic worldview, and the renewal of a “truly German spirit”. These positions clearly place him within the ideological sphere of the völkisch movement of the interwar period, parts of which were later adopted and radicalized by National Socialism.

Major Work

His best-known work is Ist Rasse Schicksal? Grundgedanken der völkischen Bewegung (Munich: J. F. Lehmanns Verlag, 1926). The book deals with racial-historical and ideological questions from a völkisch perspective and is considered a typical example of racial-ideological literature of the 1920s.

Other Activities

Konopath was involved in designs for a European flag, together with Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, Gaetano Gambin, and Wolfram Neue.[7] This activity occurred in the context of early, ideologically diverse Pan-Europe discussions during the interwar period.

He attended the inaugural lecture of Hans F. K. Günther at University of Jena on 15 November 1930, alongside Wilhelm Frick, Hitler, Hermann Göring, and Paul Schultze-Naumburg.[8]

Reception

In historical research, Konopath is primarily seen as a marginal figure in völkisch publishing. His writings are today mostly used as sources for the intellectual history of völkisch and racist thought in the Weimar Republic.

Selected Works

  • Ist Rasse Schicksal? Grundgedanken der völkischen Bewegung. J. F. Lehmanns Verlag, München 1926 (first edition with 28 illustrations)[9]
  • Contributions in Die Sonne – Monatsschrift für nordische Weltanschauung und Lebensgestaltung (e.g., 1930)

See also

References

  1. ^ Jan Pieter Barbian: Literaturpolitik im "Dritten Reich": Institutionen, Kompetenzen, Betätigungsfelder. 2019, p. 25, mentioning that his obsession with race even Goebbels found disturbing ("dessen "Rassefimmel" selbst Goebbels noch störend auffiel").
  2. ^ DNB (German National Library)
  3. ^ cf. i.e. Illustrierter Beobachter: IB. - Band 6 - p. 686: "Geheimrat Konopath hält eine Vorlesung über „Rasse und Kultur" (at the Reichsführerschule der N.S.D.A.P. in Munich) - photo
  4. ^ Lionel Gossman, p. 65
  5. ^ Published 1924–1939 in Leipzig, the German National Library lists Ernst Lauterer as editor (DNB).
  6. ^ According to Versandantiquariat Guba, Schimberg (antiquarian link, 6 January 2026).
  7. ^ cvce.eu: Entwürfe für eine europäische Flagge von Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi, Hanno F. Konopath, Gaetano Gambin und Wolfram Neue
  8. ^ Uwe Hoßfeld: The Mär von der Rasse. Zur Geschichte der biologischen Anthropologie nach 1900 bis in die Zwischenkriegszeit, Springer, 2022, p. 244
  9. ^ The GNB is listing a 2nd and 3rd edition, both of 1931 (DNB).

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Uwe Puschner, Clemens Vollnhals: Die völkisch-religiöse Bewegung im Nationalsozialismus: Eine Beziehungs- und Konfliktgeschichte. 2012 (online)
  • Daniel Junker: Gott in uns! Die Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte völkischer Religiosität in der Weimarer Republik (Akademische Reihe). Verlag Daniel Junker, Hamburg 2002, ISBN 3-8311-3380-8
  • Sabrina Rogahn: Rassismus popularisieren: Hans F. K. Günthers »Rassenkunden« in der Rezensionsliteratur 1922–1942. 2022 (in partial view)
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