Is there such a thing as a civilizing influence of
cultures
by reorientation which brings about post-heroic values?
Sloterdijk-Post-War
.
1
1 Europe,post-historical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Heiner Mu? hlmann's Maximal-Stress- Cooperation-Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Europe after Napoleon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4 Italy 1918: Falsification of the results of war,
politics in a big way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5 France 1945: The double falsification. . . . . . . . . . . 21
6 Germany1945:Metanoia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7 France 2007: Imperial temptation and the
implosion of the left-wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
8 Germany 2007: The idiot of the European family
in the phase of normalization - the Walser Affair . . . 36
9 Happy disassociation: Polemological prospects
with Rene? Girard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Foreword
Klaus-Dieter Mu? ller
Following defeat in battle every culture receives the opportu- nity to re-evaluate its normative basic attitudes or as Sloterdijk puts it 'its moral grammar'. Procedures of this kind either end in a process assuming energies of revenge or the decision is made to transform the cultural rules ascertained as detrimental to behavioural patterns of a less harmful form.
Is there such a thing as a civilizing influence of cultures by reorientation which brings about post-heroic values? Peter Sloterdijk uses the term 'metanoia' to describe this process. He does not mean by this Christian repentance but pragmatic relearning in order to in- crease civilisational viability (see p. 14). Sloterdijk calls the victor's post-stressory work of evaluation 'affirmation'.
In his, in reference to 'metanoia' and 'affirmation', exemplary "excursion into the jubilee culture" of Franco-German rela- tions Sloterdijk awards the Germans a "process which at no time complicated but also at no time threatened the metanoeth- ical tranformation process of the vanquished German people", which in its extreme forms consisted of triumphant self-hate and aggression towards each and every national tradition. This is reflected in the biographies of many Germans. In my case it was the same as in many other families, quarrels arose as to guilt and responsibility.
While German criticism spoke to a population which despite all antagonistic tendencies could not deny being guilty of the accusations made, French criticism was directed at a society acquitted and in need of elucidation as to their dro^le de libe? ra- tion. "This may well be the reason why the intellectual Ger-
1
many is the only place in the world where an old-fashioned correspondence theory of truth still dominates. Here defeat is called defeat (and a crime a crime) - and the remaining words are also gauged to this semantic primal scale. It is only here that the religion of the objective referee holds sway. The intel- lectual France prefers the politically more elegant and rhetori- cally more attractive position where words and things belong to separate systems. " (see p. 26).
Despite disparate post-war processes, in Germany 'metanoia' and in France 'affirmation' of the imaginary victor, both na- tions have come a long way together. It is a common belief that nothing will work in Europe unless France and Germany are in agreement. Franco-German relations, Franco-German affairs, Franco-German friendship: What next? The Franco-German methods of dealing with each other are often described as be- ing exemplary; it has almost become a legend. Peter Sloterdijk calls this legend into question by turning the political credo upside down.
He talks about Franco-German relations, regardless of the fact that "there is nothing new that can be said on this theme which could not come from audiotape" (see p. 10), Sloterdijk offers a preliminary rehearsal for philosophical commentary on the Franco-German day of commemoration taking place on 8th July 2012 marking the fiftieth anniversary of Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer attending the historical service of reconcilia- tion in the coronation cathedral in Reims. He calls the arrange- ment made by the French President and the German Chancel- lor "the healing disentanglement of the two nations" (see p. 45) According to Sloterdijk this represented the termination of a fatally closeknit relationship which reached back to the era of the Napoleonic wars at least. For a long time the Germans and the French had become caught up in an endless cycle of mim-
2
icry, imitation, one-upmanship and projective empathy with each other. What de Gaulle and Adenauer pledged each other was an everlasting non-attachment and in some ways even a permanent state of indifference. The good relationship, or at least functional relationship, which has existed since then rest on the solid foundations of the non-attachment which has been finally achieved - diplomatically described as friendship be- tween the two nations.
The post-war period began with a French policy of occupation, which was strongly characterized by 'improvisation'1. Neverthe- less in the spirit of 'affirmation' the objective was unanimously clear: to restore France to its former national greatness. Only as a late occupying power was France able to participate in the post-war policies concerning Germany by means of the conces- sions made by the other allies - or as Sloterdijk puts it "the re-interpretation of the results of the war". France was certainly not in a position to prepare for this role in advance. However, there had been considerations on the side of the French in the resistance groups in Algier and London before the end of the war in reference to a re-educational programme for Germany emanating from France2.
Right from the very beginning the French policy of occupa- tion was typified by a comprehensive cultural policy, partly as an aspect of the security policy and partly as a demonstration of France's cultural superiority in comparison with the other
Cheval, Rene? : ? Die Bildungspolitik in der Franzo? sischen Besatzungszone" in: Hein- emann, Manfred (Hg. ): Umerziehung und Wiederaufbau. Die Bildungspolitik der Be- satzungsma? chte in Deutschland und O? sterreich, Stuttgart 1981, p. 190-200, here p. 190
Gerard, Francis: Que faire de l'Allemagne? Algier 1943, see Ruge-Schatz: ? Grund- probleme der Kulturpolitik in der franzo? sischen Besatzungszone" in: Scharf, Claus und Schro? der, H. -J. (Hgs. ): Die Deutschlandpolitik Frankreichs und die Franzo? sische Zone 1945-1949, Wiesbaden 1983, p. 91-110
? 3
Allies. This so-called 'Machtersatzpolitik'3 which arose from intellectual-cultural Messianism had well-established roots in France. Among these were the Roman legacy, the influence of the Catholic church with its universal pretensions and the very early formation of a powerful central state drawing on the Cath- olic religion for support4. In addition the French Revolution supplied the values of democracy, liberty and progress. They made the civilisatory consciousness the business of an entire people. The Federal Republic of Germany seemed to France to be a "land in need of cultural missionary work"5. Eighteen French cultural institutes were created in the first ten years after the end of the war in Germany, considerably more than in any other western European country. The Germans on their part were, in the spirit of 'metanoethical' re-orientation, ini- tially very interested in the French cultural imports.
The scale on which this re-orientation and 'self-discovery' in the framework of rebuilding the nation progressed meant that the Germans began to develop a new self-assurance. They also became more confident and independent in their Franco-Ger- man initiatives in communication - and a kind of de-fascina- tion emerged. Those actively shaping the Franco-German cul- tural exchange observed an increasing disinterest in France in general and especially in contemporary French art and culture. Many Germans cling to a specific image of French culture "as if
Clemens, Gabriele: ? Die britische Kulturpolitik in Deutschland: Musik, Theater, Film und Literatur" in: Clemens, Gabriele (Hg. ): Die Kulturpolitik im besetzten Deut- schland, Stuttgart 1994, p. 200-218, here p. 203
Salon, Albert: L'Action culturelle de la France dans le monde, Paris 1983, p. 31 ff
see Hammer (1957): ? Gemeinsamer Markt des Geistes" in: Echo der Zeit 1954, quoted from: Mo? ller, Horst und Hildebrand, Klaus (Hg. ), Die Bundesrepublik Deut- schland und Frankreich: Dokumente 1949-1963, Bd. 3: Parteien, O? ffentlichkeit,
Kultur, Mu? nchen 1997, Dok. -Nr. 339, S. 895-898, here p. 896
? 4
the German idea of French culture has simply just stood still. "6 This stagnation is confirmed in the statistics on the atrophy in Franco-German communication skills. While 1950 in a survey in Allensbach 15% of Germans claimed to be able to 'read' a text written in French, in 1997 it was 16% according to a survey in the Spiegel. Current studies assume similar results. In France the situation is no different. Since the end of the war German's status as the first foreign language has dropped from 30% to 10% and as a second foreign language French was over- taken by Spanish long ago. In his speech to the French National Assembly on 30th November 1999 Gerhard Schro? der reassured the French people that "French culture and civilisation enjoy an elevated and lasting status in Germany". Ingo Kolbohm7 ex- posed this speech as a stereotype and says: "If the Chancellor wishes to be courteous in his statements this is all very well and good, but if this is supposed to reflect the actual facts of the case then he must be contradicted. "
With normalisation as 'euphemism of estrangement' Sloterdijk applies an apparent paradox: The pragmatic way in a benevo- lent and non-violent co-existence by means of mutual disinterest and defascination. "Do it the same way that we did, don't be too interested in each other! " This could be the message that people of Germany and France have the rest of the world to offer.
Fixed rituals are no longer adequate to justify the specialness of the Franco-German relationship. They no longer suffice to en- vigorate this relationship and to capture the interest of present
Mehdorn, Margarete, 1995-2007 president of the "Deutsch-Franzo? sischen Gesells- chaft Schleswig-Holstein e. V. ", since 2005 member of the board of directors of the "Vereinigung Deutsch-Franzo? sischer Gesellschaften in Deutschland und Frankre- ich, VDFG/FAFA"
Kolbohm, Ingo: ? Pla? doyer fu? r eine neue deutsch-franzo? sische Na? he: Wider die ? Normalisierung" als Diskurs der Entfremdung". In: Dokumente. Zeitschrift fu? r den deutsch-franzo? sischen Dialog, Heft 3, Juni 2000, p. 207-214
? 5
generations. This is because the functioning of the Franco- German mechanisms seems have been put into question by the fickelness and impusiveness of the new French President. The new normality will certainly require a bit more than just stag- ing some event on 8th July 2012 where we can expect to hear further speeches "from audiotape". Peter Sloterdijk's assump- tions could prove to be a valuable contribution to this process of re-orientation.
Despite all the attention to detail and interest in the intellectual highlights the brilliant philosopher does not lose sight of the triangular relationships which transcend the bipolar Franco- German system. And he does not lose sight of global influences either, for somewhere in the world there is always a post-war period - there should be a theory of post-war periods. And hardly a conflict in the world remains unnoticed. Sloterdijk quite rightly points out that great affective military mobilisa- tions of recent decades could only be implemented by the mass media in the form of coverage and sensationalism - and that these media, as a "vehicle of the dangerous mimesis" are today even more effective than before (see p. 48).
Sloterdijk refers to Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)8 and postulates: Anybody wishing to get to the bottom of ex- tremism gone global cannot avoid combining the mimetological analysis with the mediological. The medium is the news - the terror is news and medium at the same time. Terrorism in a media driven society turns media into a plaything and into a tool and thus into potential abettor of terror. The terrorists are dependent on the media because they want to trigger off a psy- chological effect on the greatest number of people possible and
see Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: ? McLuhan wird wiederentdeckt", 21. 02. 2007, Nr. 44, S. N 3 and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: ? Mosaiksteinchen", 19. 04. 2006, Nr. 91, S. N 3
? 6
add authority to their demands. Seen analytically we are deal- ing with a functional symbiosis between media and terrorism9.
The media driven battle of the cultures which is taking place beyond the borders of the European peace became the new boundary long ago running through all Europe's territorial or- der. A new type of stress has arisen which is however fed to the majority of people from virtual space. Its tripping device a im- ages taken from executions and torture or pictures of destruc- tion of towers of power considered to symbolize hubris10.
The flow of stress-images will not run dry. The spread of 'max- imal-stress-cooperation' (MSC) against terror has been real- ity for a long time now. Its unfolding is undifferentiated and paranoid. It seeks and finds its enemies and turns Huntington's ? clash of civilisations" into self fulfilling prophecy.
Sloterdijk's Freiburg lecture, available here in the form of a book, is a milestone. He presents to the world a philosophy which is simultaneously German and French. At the same time he presents a new type of 'consulting philosophy'. A political rhetoric has been developed by means of a new kind of cultural theoretical approach which is capable of having lasting effects.
*
Prof Dr Klaus-Dieter Mu? ller, born 1951 in Neumu? nster, Ger- many, is honorary professor at the Film & Television Academy (HFF) "Konrad Wolf" and head of the IBF "Institut Berufsfor- schung und Unternehmensplanung Medien e. V. " in Potsdam- Babelsberg.
Weichert, Stephan A. : ? Der inszenierte Terrorist". In: cover-Medienmagazin, 3, 2002, p. 74-75
see Neverla, Irene in: Michael Beuthner u. a. : Bilder des Terrors - Terror der Bilder? , Ko? ln 2003, p. 158
? 7
Theory of the Post-War Periods
Observations on Franco-German relations since 1945
1 Europe, post-historical
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If one were to attempt to summarize in one sentence the shift in consciousness of Europeans in the period after 1945 from a German point of view, then this would have to summarize the following facts. The inhabitants of this continent, exhausted by the excesses and the pressures of the era from 1914 to 1945, turned their backs on historical passion and developed a post- historical modus vivendi in its stead. By historical I understand ad hoc the unity resulting from the tragedy enacted and written, as well as the unity resulting from the epic both enacted and written. Conceived in this sense 'history' for Europeans is a discarded option. By entering the shadow of catastrophe they have decided against an existence in tragic and epic style. They have chosen a form of coexistence in which a civilising force re- places tragedy and negotiation replaces the epic. From another perspective one would say that Europeans have ceased to pre- pare for war and have become much more concerned with the economic situation and having renounced the gods of warfare converted from heroism to consumerism.
It becomes apparent with this very abstract assumption, as in the appearance of the words 'post-war periods' of the title, that there is a shift in the meaning as compared to its everyday usage. Indeed, I would like to emphasize and demonstrate the function of the post-war period for the self-regulation of cultures and, on what scale the interpretation of the outcome of wars, by those
8
waging them, becomes a decisive factor for the way in which they conceive themselves. What must above all be emphasized, is the extent to which the victors and those defeated by them tend to attach importance to the fact of their being victorious or being defeated and, how this influences their languages and ways of life subsequently. In the case of this observation the somewhat generalized initial assumptions will disintegrate in more specific information on local post-war cultures. Then, it will be possible to focus clearly on German and French phenomena and then to discuss the so-called relationship existing between them, if such a thing exists - I am already giving a hint as to what my final the- sis is, and it is: that, due to strongly disparate post-war processes characterising these two countries, there can be no relations be- tween them and that their relationship which is officially set out in a treaty of friendship is, at best, what could be described as benevolent mutual disregard or benign estrangement as can be observed sometimes between two former partners in love - and why not also then between two former partners in hate.
Among the traits of the post-tragic and post-epic ways of life which the Europeans have adopted nolens volens, is the wide- spread sentiment of living in a disassociated reality in which there are no incidents of any consequence. The only exception is the sequence of political events between 1989 and 1991, which in retrospect, could be titled 'The collapse of Communism' - yet even this eventful period which is deeply engraved into the biog- raphies of those born between 1930 and 1975 was, to a certain degree, merely a late sequel to the tragic-epic period which we discarded. This final great event is like a letter, mailed at some time in history, which then got lost in the mail and finally reached the addressee at a much later date. One cannot help thinking of Sergei Krikalev who was at that time, 1990/1991, on the space station Mir and thus took off into outer space from the Soviet Un- ion and found himself in the new Russia when he landed again.
9
As a form of compensation for the post-historic deprivation of events which can be assessed as one of the all in all positive, albeit difficult to understand, traits of the new modus vivendi, contemporary civilisation has produced a number of surrogates apparent on all levels which close the gulf between the differ- ences in higher civilization and mass culture. I will mention only two peculiarities of this tendency which are especially notice- able, firstly the omnipotence of the principle of staging contem- porary event culture, and secondly the replacement of events by commemorative events which has given rise to a flourishing jubilee industry - a haute cuisine where there are only warmed up leftovers. In order to avoid any misunderstandings I would like to add that these tendencies, including excrescences, are a part of the price which has to be paid for the emancipation from heroism and tragicism. But we pay it gladly if we consider what the historical alternatives used to look like.
I will now take the liberty of taking an excursion into the jubi- lee culture and will refer to a commemorative event which we on both sides of the Rhine are awaiting. Despite the fact that it still lies four and a half years away, but inasmuch as one feels a certain attraction for hazardous themes, and moreover that one enjoys browsing through the calendar for culture and the arts it will have become evident how it already casts a shadow, or at least the shadow of a shadow. If we speak of Franco-German relations, regardless of the fact that there is nothing new that can be said on this theme which could not come from audio- tape, then only because we are already able to think about what should be said at the approaching event instead of the previous event - and these things normally remain unsaid and relatively pressing. The 8th of July of the said year will commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the day when Frenchmen and Germans, represented by their fully justifiably termed statesmen Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer attended a service of recon-
10
ciliation in the coronation cathedral in Reims which antici- pated the signing of a treaty of friendship, the so-called Elyse? e Treaty of January 1963, which followed shortly afterwards. The solemn proceedings, which we will, when the appropriate time comes, re-enact with a contemporary cast, occurred under the highest symbolic auspices drawn from the traditions which we share. The Te Deum of Reims, commemorated in the presence of the Archbishop Franc? ois Marty, was carried out under the dais of longstanding Catholic universalism - which was used, for albeit a sentimental instant, in order to declare the chapter of historical excesses between our peoples, the era of infections and mobilisations and jealous murder and armed mass hysteria which crossed the Rhine in both directions, to be closed.
One can well imagine what the festivities in Reims, Paris, Ber- lin and other metropolises will be like around the time of the 8th July 2012. The protocol that the politicians will be required to carry out step by step will be prescribed to a T, leaving prac- tically no room for new gestures. Hardly any fantasy is required to envisage the speeches that we will have to hear given by both presidents and by other incumbent speakers from the fields of politics, culture, economics and religion. A little more fantasy is required in order to answer the question as to whether phi- losophers and cultural scientists from the two countries con- cerned should make their own contribution to this anniversary and should this be the case, what form it should assume. What I am about to suggest would serve better as a dry run for a philosophical commentary to the commemoration days which are approaching. A response as such, should in its final form, reconstruct the Franco-German rivalry which lasted a thou- sand years - from the division of the empire by Charlemagne's descendants until the disintegration of the Third Reich in the 20th century.
11
2 Heiner Mu? hlmann's Maximal-Stress- Cooperation-Theory
It therefore follows that I can but only touch on a few points of this ambitious enterprise and then only fleetingly and tenta- tively. I will firstly confine the space of time of my considera- tions to the last 200 years, or to put it more precisely the era following the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars and then narrow this down to the epoch after 1945. The term post- war period applies eminently to both time spans and that they should be understood not only chronologically but more in re- gard to the mental and psychopolitical conditions of the times.
Now that my analysis is under way the time has come where I must elucidate more clearly what I understand by 'Post-war period'. The usage of this term prior to now implies that I see reasons to not only apply it in an everyday sense but to attach additional more discriminating meanings to the term. They will become apparent as soon as we transfer the term into the con- text of a general theory on the 'Nature of Cultures'.
1 Europe,post-historical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 Heiner Mu? hlmann's Maximal-Stress- Cooperation-Theory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Europe after Napoleon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4 Italy 1918: Falsification of the results of war,
politics in a big way. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5 France 1945: The double falsification. . . . . . . . . . . 21
6 Germany1945:Metanoia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7 France 2007: Imperial temptation and the
implosion of the left-wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
8 Germany 2007: The idiot of the European family
in the phase of normalization - the Walser Affair . . . 36
9 Happy disassociation: Polemological prospects
with Rene? Girard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Foreword
Klaus-Dieter Mu? ller
Following defeat in battle every culture receives the opportu- nity to re-evaluate its normative basic attitudes or as Sloterdijk puts it 'its moral grammar'. Procedures of this kind either end in a process assuming energies of revenge or the decision is made to transform the cultural rules ascertained as detrimental to behavioural patterns of a less harmful form.
Is there such a thing as a civilizing influence of cultures by reorientation which brings about post-heroic values? Peter Sloterdijk uses the term 'metanoia' to describe this process. He does not mean by this Christian repentance but pragmatic relearning in order to in- crease civilisational viability (see p. 14). Sloterdijk calls the victor's post-stressory work of evaluation 'affirmation'.
In his, in reference to 'metanoia' and 'affirmation', exemplary "excursion into the jubilee culture" of Franco-German rela- tions Sloterdijk awards the Germans a "process which at no time complicated but also at no time threatened the metanoeth- ical tranformation process of the vanquished German people", which in its extreme forms consisted of triumphant self-hate and aggression towards each and every national tradition. This is reflected in the biographies of many Germans. In my case it was the same as in many other families, quarrels arose as to guilt and responsibility.
While German criticism spoke to a population which despite all antagonistic tendencies could not deny being guilty of the accusations made, French criticism was directed at a society acquitted and in need of elucidation as to their dro^le de libe? ra- tion. "This may well be the reason why the intellectual Ger-
1
many is the only place in the world where an old-fashioned correspondence theory of truth still dominates. Here defeat is called defeat (and a crime a crime) - and the remaining words are also gauged to this semantic primal scale. It is only here that the religion of the objective referee holds sway. The intel- lectual France prefers the politically more elegant and rhetori- cally more attractive position where words and things belong to separate systems. " (see p. 26).
Despite disparate post-war processes, in Germany 'metanoia' and in France 'affirmation' of the imaginary victor, both na- tions have come a long way together. It is a common belief that nothing will work in Europe unless France and Germany are in agreement. Franco-German relations, Franco-German affairs, Franco-German friendship: What next? The Franco-German methods of dealing with each other are often described as be- ing exemplary; it has almost become a legend. Peter Sloterdijk calls this legend into question by turning the political credo upside down.
He talks about Franco-German relations, regardless of the fact that "there is nothing new that can be said on this theme which could not come from audiotape" (see p. 10), Sloterdijk offers a preliminary rehearsal for philosophical commentary on the Franco-German day of commemoration taking place on 8th July 2012 marking the fiftieth anniversary of Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer attending the historical service of reconcilia- tion in the coronation cathedral in Reims. He calls the arrange- ment made by the French President and the German Chancel- lor "the healing disentanglement of the two nations" (see p. 45) According to Sloterdijk this represented the termination of a fatally closeknit relationship which reached back to the era of the Napoleonic wars at least. For a long time the Germans and the French had become caught up in an endless cycle of mim-
2
icry, imitation, one-upmanship and projective empathy with each other. What de Gaulle and Adenauer pledged each other was an everlasting non-attachment and in some ways even a permanent state of indifference. The good relationship, or at least functional relationship, which has existed since then rest on the solid foundations of the non-attachment which has been finally achieved - diplomatically described as friendship be- tween the two nations.
The post-war period began with a French policy of occupation, which was strongly characterized by 'improvisation'1. Neverthe- less in the spirit of 'affirmation' the objective was unanimously clear: to restore France to its former national greatness. Only as a late occupying power was France able to participate in the post-war policies concerning Germany by means of the conces- sions made by the other allies - or as Sloterdijk puts it "the re-interpretation of the results of the war". France was certainly not in a position to prepare for this role in advance. However, there had been considerations on the side of the French in the resistance groups in Algier and London before the end of the war in reference to a re-educational programme for Germany emanating from France2.
Right from the very beginning the French policy of occupa- tion was typified by a comprehensive cultural policy, partly as an aspect of the security policy and partly as a demonstration of France's cultural superiority in comparison with the other
Cheval, Rene? : ? Die Bildungspolitik in der Franzo? sischen Besatzungszone" in: Hein- emann, Manfred (Hg. ): Umerziehung und Wiederaufbau. Die Bildungspolitik der Be- satzungsma? chte in Deutschland und O? sterreich, Stuttgart 1981, p. 190-200, here p. 190
Gerard, Francis: Que faire de l'Allemagne? Algier 1943, see Ruge-Schatz: ? Grund- probleme der Kulturpolitik in der franzo? sischen Besatzungszone" in: Scharf, Claus und Schro? der, H. -J. (Hgs. ): Die Deutschlandpolitik Frankreichs und die Franzo? sische Zone 1945-1949, Wiesbaden 1983, p. 91-110
? 3
Allies. This so-called 'Machtersatzpolitik'3 which arose from intellectual-cultural Messianism had well-established roots in France. Among these were the Roman legacy, the influence of the Catholic church with its universal pretensions and the very early formation of a powerful central state drawing on the Cath- olic religion for support4. In addition the French Revolution supplied the values of democracy, liberty and progress. They made the civilisatory consciousness the business of an entire people. The Federal Republic of Germany seemed to France to be a "land in need of cultural missionary work"5. Eighteen French cultural institutes were created in the first ten years after the end of the war in Germany, considerably more than in any other western European country. The Germans on their part were, in the spirit of 'metanoethical' re-orientation, ini- tially very interested in the French cultural imports.
The scale on which this re-orientation and 'self-discovery' in the framework of rebuilding the nation progressed meant that the Germans began to develop a new self-assurance. They also became more confident and independent in their Franco-Ger- man initiatives in communication - and a kind of de-fascina- tion emerged. Those actively shaping the Franco-German cul- tural exchange observed an increasing disinterest in France in general and especially in contemporary French art and culture. Many Germans cling to a specific image of French culture "as if
Clemens, Gabriele: ? Die britische Kulturpolitik in Deutschland: Musik, Theater, Film und Literatur" in: Clemens, Gabriele (Hg. ): Die Kulturpolitik im besetzten Deut- schland, Stuttgart 1994, p. 200-218, here p. 203
Salon, Albert: L'Action culturelle de la France dans le monde, Paris 1983, p. 31 ff
see Hammer (1957): ? Gemeinsamer Markt des Geistes" in: Echo der Zeit 1954, quoted from: Mo? ller, Horst und Hildebrand, Klaus (Hg. ), Die Bundesrepublik Deut- schland und Frankreich: Dokumente 1949-1963, Bd. 3: Parteien, O? ffentlichkeit,
Kultur, Mu? nchen 1997, Dok. -Nr. 339, S. 895-898, here p. 896
? 4
the German idea of French culture has simply just stood still. "6 This stagnation is confirmed in the statistics on the atrophy in Franco-German communication skills. While 1950 in a survey in Allensbach 15% of Germans claimed to be able to 'read' a text written in French, in 1997 it was 16% according to a survey in the Spiegel. Current studies assume similar results. In France the situation is no different. Since the end of the war German's status as the first foreign language has dropped from 30% to 10% and as a second foreign language French was over- taken by Spanish long ago. In his speech to the French National Assembly on 30th November 1999 Gerhard Schro? der reassured the French people that "French culture and civilisation enjoy an elevated and lasting status in Germany". Ingo Kolbohm7 ex- posed this speech as a stereotype and says: "If the Chancellor wishes to be courteous in his statements this is all very well and good, but if this is supposed to reflect the actual facts of the case then he must be contradicted. "
With normalisation as 'euphemism of estrangement' Sloterdijk applies an apparent paradox: The pragmatic way in a benevo- lent and non-violent co-existence by means of mutual disinterest and defascination. "Do it the same way that we did, don't be too interested in each other! " This could be the message that people of Germany and France have the rest of the world to offer.
Fixed rituals are no longer adequate to justify the specialness of the Franco-German relationship. They no longer suffice to en- vigorate this relationship and to capture the interest of present
Mehdorn, Margarete, 1995-2007 president of the "Deutsch-Franzo? sischen Gesells- chaft Schleswig-Holstein e. V. ", since 2005 member of the board of directors of the "Vereinigung Deutsch-Franzo? sischer Gesellschaften in Deutschland und Frankre- ich, VDFG/FAFA"
Kolbohm, Ingo: ? Pla? doyer fu? r eine neue deutsch-franzo? sische Na? he: Wider die ? Normalisierung" als Diskurs der Entfremdung". In: Dokumente. Zeitschrift fu? r den deutsch-franzo? sischen Dialog, Heft 3, Juni 2000, p. 207-214
? 5
generations. This is because the functioning of the Franco- German mechanisms seems have been put into question by the fickelness and impusiveness of the new French President. The new normality will certainly require a bit more than just stag- ing some event on 8th July 2012 where we can expect to hear further speeches "from audiotape". Peter Sloterdijk's assump- tions could prove to be a valuable contribution to this process of re-orientation.
Despite all the attention to detail and interest in the intellectual highlights the brilliant philosopher does not lose sight of the triangular relationships which transcend the bipolar Franco- German system. And he does not lose sight of global influences either, for somewhere in the world there is always a post-war period - there should be a theory of post-war periods. And hardly a conflict in the world remains unnoticed. Sloterdijk quite rightly points out that great affective military mobilisa- tions of recent decades could only be implemented by the mass media in the form of coverage and sensationalism - and that these media, as a "vehicle of the dangerous mimesis" are today even more effective than before (see p. 48).
Sloterdijk refers to Herbert Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980)8 and postulates: Anybody wishing to get to the bottom of ex- tremism gone global cannot avoid combining the mimetological analysis with the mediological. The medium is the news - the terror is news and medium at the same time. Terrorism in a media driven society turns media into a plaything and into a tool and thus into potential abettor of terror. The terrorists are dependent on the media because they want to trigger off a psy- chological effect on the greatest number of people possible and
see Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: ? McLuhan wird wiederentdeckt", 21. 02. 2007, Nr. 44, S. N 3 and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: ? Mosaiksteinchen", 19. 04. 2006, Nr. 91, S. N 3
? 6
add authority to their demands. Seen analytically we are deal- ing with a functional symbiosis between media and terrorism9.
The media driven battle of the cultures which is taking place beyond the borders of the European peace became the new boundary long ago running through all Europe's territorial or- der. A new type of stress has arisen which is however fed to the majority of people from virtual space. Its tripping device a im- ages taken from executions and torture or pictures of destruc- tion of towers of power considered to symbolize hubris10.
The flow of stress-images will not run dry. The spread of 'max- imal-stress-cooperation' (MSC) against terror has been real- ity for a long time now. Its unfolding is undifferentiated and paranoid. It seeks and finds its enemies and turns Huntington's ? clash of civilisations" into self fulfilling prophecy.
Sloterdijk's Freiburg lecture, available here in the form of a book, is a milestone. He presents to the world a philosophy which is simultaneously German and French. At the same time he presents a new type of 'consulting philosophy'. A political rhetoric has been developed by means of a new kind of cultural theoretical approach which is capable of having lasting effects.
*
Prof Dr Klaus-Dieter Mu? ller, born 1951 in Neumu? nster, Ger- many, is honorary professor at the Film & Television Academy (HFF) "Konrad Wolf" and head of the IBF "Institut Berufsfor- schung und Unternehmensplanung Medien e. V. " in Potsdam- Babelsberg.
Weichert, Stephan A. : ? Der inszenierte Terrorist". In: cover-Medienmagazin, 3, 2002, p. 74-75
see Neverla, Irene in: Michael Beuthner u. a. : Bilder des Terrors - Terror der Bilder? , Ko? ln 2003, p. 158
? 7
Theory of the Post-War Periods
Observations on Franco-German relations since 1945
1 Europe, post-historical
Ladies and Gentlemen,
If one were to attempt to summarize in one sentence the shift in consciousness of Europeans in the period after 1945 from a German point of view, then this would have to summarize the following facts. The inhabitants of this continent, exhausted by the excesses and the pressures of the era from 1914 to 1945, turned their backs on historical passion and developed a post- historical modus vivendi in its stead. By historical I understand ad hoc the unity resulting from the tragedy enacted and written, as well as the unity resulting from the epic both enacted and written. Conceived in this sense 'history' for Europeans is a discarded option. By entering the shadow of catastrophe they have decided against an existence in tragic and epic style. They have chosen a form of coexistence in which a civilising force re- places tragedy and negotiation replaces the epic. From another perspective one would say that Europeans have ceased to pre- pare for war and have become much more concerned with the economic situation and having renounced the gods of warfare converted from heroism to consumerism.
It becomes apparent with this very abstract assumption, as in the appearance of the words 'post-war periods' of the title, that there is a shift in the meaning as compared to its everyday usage. Indeed, I would like to emphasize and demonstrate the function of the post-war period for the self-regulation of cultures and, on what scale the interpretation of the outcome of wars, by those
8
waging them, becomes a decisive factor for the way in which they conceive themselves. What must above all be emphasized, is the extent to which the victors and those defeated by them tend to attach importance to the fact of their being victorious or being defeated and, how this influences their languages and ways of life subsequently. In the case of this observation the somewhat generalized initial assumptions will disintegrate in more specific information on local post-war cultures. Then, it will be possible to focus clearly on German and French phenomena and then to discuss the so-called relationship existing between them, if such a thing exists - I am already giving a hint as to what my final the- sis is, and it is: that, due to strongly disparate post-war processes characterising these two countries, there can be no relations be- tween them and that their relationship which is officially set out in a treaty of friendship is, at best, what could be described as benevolent mutual disregard or benign estrangement as can be observed sometimes between two former partners in love - and why not also then between two former partners in hate.
Among the traits of the post-tragic and post-epic ways of life which the Europeans have adopted nolens volens, is the wide- spread sentiment of living in a disassociated reality in which there are no incidents of any consequence. The only exception is the sequence of political events between 1989 and 1991, which in retrospect, could be titled 'The collapse of Communism' - yet even this eventful period which is deeply engraved into the biog- raphies of those born between 1930 and 1975 was, to a certain degree, merely a late sequel to the tragic-epic period which we discarded. This final great event is like a letter, mailed at some time in history, which then got lost in the mail and finally reached the addressee at a much later date. One cannot help thinking of Sergei Krikalev who was at that time, 1990/1991, on the space station Mir and thus took off into outer space from the Soviet Un- ion and found himself in the new Russia when he landed again.
9
As a form of compensation for the post-historic deprivation of events which can be assessed as one of the all in all positive, albeit difficult to understand, traits of the new modus vivendi, contemporary civilisation has produced a number of surrogates apparent on all levels which close the gulf between the differ- ences in higher civilization and mass culture. I will mention only two peculiarities of this tendency which are especially notice- able, firstly the omnipotence of the principle of staging contem- porary event culture, and secondly the replacement of events by commemorative events which has given rise to a flourishing jubilee industry - a haute cuisine where there are only warmed up leftovers. In order to avoid any misunderstandings I would like to add that these tendencies, including excrescences, are a part of the price which has to be paid for the emancipation from heroism and tragicism. But we pay it gladly if we consider what the historical alternatives used to look like.
I will now take the liberty of taking an excursion into the jubi- lee culture and will refer to a commemorative event which we on both sides of the Rhine are awaiting. Despite the fact that it still lies four and a half years away, but inasmuch as one feels a certain attraction for hazardous themes, and moreover that one enjoys browsing through the calendar for culture and the arts it will have become evident how it already casts a shadow, or at least the shadow of a shadow. If we speak of Franco-German relations, regardless of the fact that there is nothing new that can be said on this theme which could not come from audio- tape, then only because we are already able to think about what should be said at the approaching event instead of the previous event - and these things normally remain unsaid and relatively pressing. The 8th of July of the said year will commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the day when Frenchmen and Germans, represented by their fully justifiably termed statesmen Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer attended a service of recon-
10
ciliation in the coronation cathedral in Reims which antici- pated the signing of a treaty of friendship, the so-called Elyse? e Treaty of January 1963, which followed shortly afterwards. The solemn proceedings, which we will, when the appropriate time comes, re-enact with a contemporary cast, occurred under the highest symbolic auspices drawn from the traditions which we share. The Te Deum of Reims, commemorated in the presence of the Archbishop Franc? ois Marty, was carried out under the dais of longstanding Catholic universalism - which was used, for albeit a sentimental instant, in order to declare the chapter of historical excesses between our peoples, the era of infections and mobilisations and jealous murder and armed mass hysteria which crossed the Rhine in both directions, to be closed.
One can well imagine what the festivities in Reims, Paris, Ber- lin and other metropolises will be like around the time of the 8th July 2012. The protocol that the politicians will be required to carry out step by step will be prescribed to a T, leaving prac- tically no room for new gestures. Hardly any fantasy is required to envisage the speeches that we will have to hear given by both presidents and by other incumbent speakers from the fields of politics, culture, economics and religion. A little more fantasy is required in order to answer the question as to whether phi- losophers and cultural scientists from the two countries con- cerned should make their own contribution to this anniversary and should this be the case, what form it should assume. What I am about to suggest would serve better as a dry run for a philosophical commentary to the commemoration days which are approaching. A response as such, should in its final form, reconstruct the Franco-German rivalry which lasted a thou- sand years - from the division of the empire by Charlemagne's descendants until the disintegration of the Third Reich in the 20th century.
11
2 Heiner Mu? hlmann's Maximal-Stress- Cooperation-Theory
It therefore follows that I can but only touch on a few points of this ambitious enterprise and then only fleetingly and tenta- tively. I will firstly confine the space of time of my considera- tions to the last 200 years, or to put it more precisely the era following the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars and then narrow this down to the epoch after 1945. The term post- war period applies eminently to both time spans and that they should be understood not only chronologically but more in re- gard to the mental and psychopolitical conditions of the times.
Now that my analysis is under way the time has come where I must elucidate more clearly what I understand by 'Post-war period'. The usage of this term prior to now implies that I see reasons to not only apply it in an everyday sense but to attach additional more discriminating meanings to the term. They will become apparent as soon as we transfer the term into the con- text of a general theory on the 'Nature of Cultures'.
