Maier (1889–1966). He was immediately dismissed from the civil service and
arrested in 1933. In 1934, he was able to emigrate to the USA, where he became
economics professor at the New School for Social Research in New York (cf. [19],
pp. 396–397). As is generally known, the Communist and Social Democratic
Parties were branded as subversive right from the start and their members were
persecuted systematically. On the basis of what was known as the Reichstag fire
regulation of 28 February 1933, the 81 parliamentary seats held by the Communist
Party were revoked on 8 March and the assets of the party were confiscated on
26 May. With reference to the Social Democratic Party, the Reich Minister of the
Interior, Wilhelm Frick (1877–1946), called on the state governments to ban the
party’s activities on 22 June:
The Social Democrats cannot [. . .] be allowed to carry out propaganda activities of any
kind. [. . .] The assets [. . .] that have not already been confiscated in connection with the
dissolution of the free unions will be seized. It goes without saying that it is not possible for
civil servants and employees who receive salaries, wages or pensions from public funds to
continue being members of the Social Democratic Party in view of its treacherous character. (Quoted from http://library.fes.de/fulltext/bibliothek/chronik/band2/e235f1109.html)
The Reich Ministry of Justice announced in this context: “Officials who used
to be members of these parties must be required to submit a written statement
that they no longer maintain a relationship of any kind to the two parties (Social
Democratic and Communist Parties, editor’s note), their support and substitute
organisations and their representatives abroad. Their attention must be brought
to the fact that dismissal is the punishment for the provision of false information”
(quoted from [16], p. 171).
• The accusation Staudinger faced that he failed to demonstrate “sympathy for the
national cause” was based primarily on his attempts to obtain dual citizenship
during his years in Zurich, i.e. after he acquired a Swiss passport in addition to
his German one. In his letter of 10 February 1934, in which he demanded
Staudinger’s dismissal, Heidegger criticised: “In January 1917, i.e. when the
fatherland was at its time of greatest need, St. applied for Swiss citizenship
without their being any professional or other necessity for this. Implementation
of this plan was prevented by the German Consulate General. [. . .] On 9.1.1919,
i.e. directly after Germany collapsed, St. submitted his request for permission to
become a citizen of Switzerland again [. . .]. Naturalisation occurred on 23.1.20,
without German approval being obtained” (quoted from [33], p. 205). This went
hand in hand with the accusation of “pacifist sentiment” [33, p. 204]: although he
was rejected as unfit for military service at the age of 23, Staudinger was
examined again by military doctors during the First World War at the age of
34 and this time he was merely exempted from military service temporarily.
Staudinger probably applied for a Swiss passport in order to avoid being called
up, as was to be expected (cf. [33], p. 203). This interpretation is, however,
contradicted by the fact it took almost two years for Staudinger to do this; his
commitment to Switzerland can therefore be interpreted instead as the adoption
Courageous Questioning of Established Thinking: The Life and Work of Hermann. . .
111
arrested in 1933. In 1934, he was able to emigrate to the USA, where he became
economics professor at the New School for Social Research in New York (cf. [19],
pp. 396–397). As is generally known, the Communist and Social Democratic
Parties were branded as subversive right from the start and their members were
persecuted systematically. On the basis of what was known as the Reichstag fire
regulation of 28 February 1933, the 81 parliamentary seats held by the Communist
Party were revoked on 8 March and the assets of the party were confiscated on
26 May. With reference to the Social Democratic Party, the Reich Minister of the
Interior, Wilhelm Frick (1877–1946), called on the state governments to ban the
party’s activities on 22 June:
The Social Democrats cannot [. . .] be allowed to carry out propaganda activities of any
kind. [. . .] The assets [. . .] that have not already been confiscated in connection with the
dissolution of the free unions will be seized. It goes without saying that it is not possible for
civil servants and employees who receive salaries, wages or pensions from public funds to
continue being members of the Social Democratic Party in view of its treacherous character. (Quoted from http://library.fes.de/fulltext/bibliothek/chronik/band2/e235f1109.html)
The Reich Ministry of Justice announced in this context: “Officials who used
to be members of these parties must be required to submit a written statement
that they no longer maintain a relationship of any kind to the two parties (Social
Democratic and Communist Parties, editor’s note), their support and substitute
organisations and their representatives abroad. Their attention must be brought
to the fact that dismissal is the punishment for the provision of false information”
(quoted from [16], p. 171).
• The accusation Staudinger faced that he failed to demonstrate “sympathy for the
national cause” was based primarily on his attempts to obtain dual citizenship
during his years in Zurich, i.e. after he acquired a Swiss passport in addition to
his German one. In his letter of 10 February 1934, in which he demanded
Staudinger’s dismissal, Heidegger criticised: “In January 1917, i.e. when the
fatherland was at its time of greatest need, St. applied for Swiss citizenship
without their being any professional or other necessity for this. Implementation
of this plan was prevented by the German Consulate General. [. . .] On 9.1.1919,
i.e. directly after Germany collapsed, St. submitted his request for permission to
become a citizen of Switzerland again [. . .]. Naturalisation occurred on 23.1.20,
without German approval being obtained” (quoted from [33], p. 205). This went
hand in hand with the accusation of “pacifist sentiment” [33, p. 204]: although he
was rejected as unfit for military service at the age of 23, Staudinger was
examined again by military doctors during the First World War at the age of
34 and this time he was merely exempted from military service temporarily.
Staudinger probably applied for a Swiss passport in order to avoid being called
up, as was to be expected (cf. [33], p. 203). This interpretation is, however,
contradicted by the fact it took almost two years for Staudinger to do this; his
commitment to Switzerland can therefore be interpreted instead as the adoption
Courageous Questioning of Established Thinking: The Life and Work of Hermann. . .
111