D O C . 1 5 1
32. “In Support of Georg Nicolai”
[26 January
1920][1]
In recent days a systematic hate campaign has flared up in newspapers against the
pacifist writer and courageous fighter for his convictions, Professor Nicolai, who is
well known here and abroad. Before that, “Alldeutsche Students,” with their rowdy
riots at the university, already had made it impossible for him to deliver his lec-
tures.[2]
The undersigned academic
teachers[3]
consider it their duty to express how
deeply they deplore these events, which, in their opinion, are a symptom of narrow-
minded intolerance and can only damage the reputation of Berlin University.
We who know Nicolai’s work and actions deny quite emphatically that he did
anything to harm
Germany.[4]
To the contrary, his actions only helped to raise sym-
pathies for Germany.
But even if one has a different opinion about the effects of Nicolai’s actions, one
should not oppose him with blatant untruths and
slander.[5]
Translator’s Note
{1} The Pan-German League (i.e., “Alldeutscher Verband”) was founded in 1891 by Al-
fred Hugenberg (1865–1951) because he felt the British-German exchange of the
islands of Heligoland for Zanzibar short-changed Germany. A strong supporter of
the League was the constantly scheming Friedrich von Holstein (1837–1909), an of-
ficial in the German Foreign Office and an intimate friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II
(1859–1888 [coronation]–1941). The student faction of the League (i.e., “All-
deutsche Studenten”) can only be characterized as chauvinistic fanatics with very
muddled ideas about foreign policy. In July 1929 Hugenberg formed an alliance
with Adolf Hitler to torpedo the Young Plan by a
plebiscite, which failed.
{1}