Theodor Haecker
Encyclopedia
Theodor Haecker was a German
writer, translator and cultural critic
.
He was a translator into German of Kierkegaard and Cardinal Newman. He wrote an essay, Kierkegaard and the Philosophy of Inwardness in 1913 at a time when few had heard of Haecker and even fewer had heard of Kierkegaard. After that he translated Newman's famous Grammar of Assent and became a Roman Catholic convert in April 1921. He is known for his consistent opposition to the Nazi
regime, which took steps to silence him, and his connections with the German resistance to them, such as the White Rose
. It was during this time that he wrote his most important work, the journals known as the “Journal in the Night”. The notes in these journals are among the most impressive reflections on fascism. They are the documents of an intellectual’s inner resistance against National Socialism. Haecker’s achievement can be considered as an important foundation of Christian resistance to National Socialism. Haecker had links with the circle around the Scholl siblings
, where he read excerpts from his “Journal in the Night”.
After the bombing of Munich
in World War II
he fled Munich to live the last months of his life in the small village of Ustersbach
near Augsburg
, where he was buried after he had died on April 9, 1945. Among his papers was a manuscript possibly written in 1943 and published in English in 1950 as Kierkegaard The Cripple. Haecker questions Rikard Magnussen's claim in his two books, Soren Kierkegaard seen from the Outside and The Special Cross that Kierkegaard was a hunchback
. Haecker asks, 'What significance can be attached to an exterior, physical examination of someone whose work and achievements lie solely in the intellectual and spiritual realms of memory and of historical tradition and experience, as in the case of Kierkegaard? (...) Is there any point in trying to explain the connection between Kierkegaard's physical appearance and his inner self, the purely materially visible and spiritually non-sensual and invisible? Would not this make the inner man, the outer, and the outer man, the inner, which is precisely what Kierkegaard so passionately protested?" Yet, Haecker goes on the "to examine the thesis that Kierkegaard's psychological structure was influenced by his deformity." He tried to relate Kierkegaard's inner life to his outer appearance.
Alexander Dru about Haecker’s Journal in the Night: (1950) “This book, reminiscent in form of Pascal's Pensées, is his last testimony to the truth and a confession of faith that is a spontaneous rejoinder to a particular moment in history. It is written by a man intent, by nature, on the search for truth, and driven, by circumstance, to seek for it in anguish, in solitude, with an urgency that grips the reader. Theodor Haecker was a man of deep insight and rare intellectual integrity a Knight of Faith
.”
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
writer, translator and cultural critic
Cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
.
He was a translator into German of Kierkegaard and Cardinal Newman. He wrote an essay, Kierkegaard and the Philosophy of Inwardness in 1913 at a time when few had heard of Haecker and even fewer had heard of Kierkegaard. After that he translated Newman's famous Grammar of Assent and became a Roman Catholic convert in April 1921. He is known for his consistent opposition to the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime, which took steps to silence him, and his connections with the German resistance to them, such as the White Rose
White Rose
The White Rose was a non-violent/intellectual resistance group in Nazi Germany, consisting of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor...
. It was during this time that he wrote his most important work, the journals known as the “Journal in the Night”. The notes in these journals are among the most impressive reflections on fascism. They are the documents of an intellectual’s inner resistance against National Socialism. Haecker’s achievement can be considered as an important foundation of Christian resistance to National Socialism. Haecker had links with the circle around the Scholl siblings
Geschwister Scholl
Die Geschwister Scholl refers to brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl, who were members of the White Rose, a student group in Munich that was active in the non-violent resistance movement in Nazi Germany, especially in distributing flyers against the war and the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler...
, where he read excerpts from his “Journal in the Night”.
After the bombing of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he fled Munich to live the last months of his life in the small village of Ustersbach
Ustersbach
Ustersbach is a municipality in the district of Augsburg in Bavaria in Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km west of Augsburg-History:The village was probably founded in the 11th century and was first mentioned in 1277...
near Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, where he was buried after he had died on April 9, 1945. Among his papers was a manuscript possibly written in 1943 and published in English in 1950 as Kierkegaard The Cripple. Haecker questions Rikard Magnussen's claim in his two books, Soren Kierkegaard seen from the Outside and The Special Cross that Kierkegaard was a hunchback
Hunchback
Hunchback may refer to one of the following.*A derogatory term for a person who has severe kyphosis*The Hunchback of Notre Dame*Hunchback , an arcade and computer game from the 1980s*The Hunchback, a 1914 film featuring Lillian Gish...
. Haecker asks, 'What significance can be attached to an exterior, physical examination of someone whose work and achievements lie solely in the intellectual and spiritual realms of memory and of historical tradition and experience, as in the case of Kierkegaard? (...) Is there any point in trying to explain the connection between Kierkegaard's physical appearance and his inner self, the purely materially visible and spiritually non-sensual and invisible? Would not this make the inner man, the outer, and the outer man, the inner, which is precisely what Kierkegaard so passionately protested?" Yet, Haecker goes on the "to examine the thesis that Kierkegaard's psychological structure was influenced by his deformity." He tried to relate Kierkegaard's inner life to his outer appearance.
Alexander Dru about Haecker’s Journal in the Night: (1950) “This book, reminiscent in form of Pascal's Pensées, is his last testimony to the truth and a confession of faith that is a spontaneous rejoinder to a particular moment in history. It is written by a man intent, by nature, on the search for truth, and driven, by circumstance, to seek for it in anguish, in solitude, with an urgency that grips the reader. Theodor Haecker was a man of deep insight and rare intellectual integrity a Knight of Faith
Knight of faith
The knight of faith is an individual who has placed complete faith in himself and in God and can act freely and independently from the world. The 19th century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard vicariously discusses the knight of faith in several of his pseudonymic works, with the most in-depth...
.”
Publications in English
- Virgil, Father of the West; translated by Arthur Wesley Wheen; Sheed & Ward: London, 1934.
- Soren Kierkegaard, by Theodore Haecker, translated, and With a Biographical Note, by Alexander Dru, Oxford University Press, 1937 (The first part was given in the form of a lecture in Zurich in 1924 and the second part the epilogue to his translation of Keirkegaard's Discourses at Communion Service on Friday (1851).
- Journal in the Night; translated by Alexander Dru; With a biographical and critical introduction by the translator (Pantheon Books, 1950)
- Kierkegaard The Cripple, by Theodor Haecker, translated by C. Vasn O. Bruyn, With and Introduction by A. Dru, Published 1950 by the Philosophical Library Inc.