Heidegger's One Good Deed

Recently I wrote a review of Sarah Bakewell's At The Existentialist Cafe about the circle of writers and thinkers who gave rise to Existentialism.  A central figure in the book was, of course, Martin Heidegger, whose 1928 Sein und Zeit is considered the first major work of existentialist philosophy. In her book, Bakewell describes Heidegger's deplorable treatment of his Jewish mentor (Husserl), colleagues and students following the 1933 Nazi seizure of power.  After Germany's defeat and even after the horrors of the Holocaust were revealed to the world Heidegger refused to answer for his unforgivable behavior.  He always maintained that he was "misunderstood."

"He did not let his resentments put him off his work, which continued to lead him down the mountain pathways of his thoughts in his late years.  He spent as much time as possible at Todtnauberg, receiving visits from pilgrims and sometimes from more critical visitors.  One such encounter was with the Jewish post and concentration camp survivor Paul Celan, who gave a reading in Freiburg in July 1967 while on temporary release from a psychiatric clinic.  The venue was the same auditorium where Heidegger had given his Nazi rectorial address.

Heidegger, who admired Celan's work, tried to make him feel welcome in Freiburg. He even asked a book-dealer friend to go around all the bookshops in the city making sure they put Celan titles in their windows so the poet would see them as he walked through town. This is a touching story, especially as it is the single documented example I have come across of Heidegger actually doing something nice."

Concerning the meeting itself between the poet and the philosopher, Celan memorialized his visit with a poem: Todtnauberg.  The poem - like many of Celan's poems - is difficult to interpret, but I believe there are clues here that indicate that the poet left Freiburg as frustrated with Heidegger as many of the other visitors.  What started out as hope for hearing a "thinker's word to come in the heart" ("einer Hoffnung , heute, auf eines Denkenden kommendes Wort im Herzen") ends with something "crude" ("Krudes"), the hike in the mountain seems to have been abruptly interrupted {"die halb-beschrittenen Knüppelpfade im Hochmoor"). 

Evidently Heidegger's kind deed did not go far enough:  he was incapable of uttering that "coming" heartfelt word that Celan was longing to hear.

 

TODTNAUBERG

Arnika, Augentrost, der
Trunk aus dem Brunnen mit dem
Sternwürfel drauf,

in der
Hütte,

die in das Buch
— wessen Namen nahms auf
vor dem meinen? —
die in dies Buch
geschriebene Zeile von
einer Hoffnung, heute,
auf eines Denkenden
kommendes
Wort
im Herzen,

Waldwasen, uneingeebnet,
Orchis und Orchis, einzeln,

Krudes, später, im Fahren,
deutlich,

der uns fährt, der Mensch,
der’s mit anhört,

die halb-
beschrittenen Knüppel-
pfade im Hochmoor,

Feuchtes,
viel.

 

Comments

[sol1]

Newly published letters to his brother show a Heidegger falling for the kind of conspiracy theories that today are found on the websites of the lunatic fringe:

/// Das rechte Minderheitskabinett unter Reichskanzler Franz von Papen, das mithilfe von Reichspräsident Hindenburg zwischen Juni und Dezember 1932 regierte, wird von Heidegger als jüdische Verschwörung kommentiert. Er beklagt, wie sich die Juden "allmählich aus der Panikstimmung befreiten, in die sie geraten waren. Dass den Juden ein solches Manöver wie die Papenepisode gelungen ist, zeigt eben, wie schwer es auf jeden Fall sein wird, gegen alles, was Großkapital und dergleichen Groß- ist, anzukommen." ///

http://www.zeit.de/kultur/literatur/2016-10/martin-heidegger-briefe-antisemitismus/komplettansicht

[David]

Yes, after the release of the 'Schwarze Hefte" in 2014 there can be no illusions about the philosopher.

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/214226/heidegger-was-really-a-real-nazi