Otto Hflers Characterisation of the Germanic Peoples

Otto Hfler (19011987) was an Austrian Germanist and Scandinavist. His research on Germanic culture, in particular on Germanic Mnnerbnde (mens bands), was controversial and remains a topic of academic debate. In modern discourse, Hflers theories are often fundamentally rejected on account of his involvement in the National Socialist movement and his contribution to the research initiatives of the SS Ahnenerbe, or they are adopted by scholars who ignore his problematic methodologies and the ideological and political elements of his work. The present study takes a comprehensive approach to Hflers research on Germanic culture and analyses his characterisation of the Germanic peoples, contextualising his research in the backdrop of German philological studies of the early twentieth century and highlighting elements of his theories that are still the topic of modern academic discourse. A thorough analysis of his main research theses, focusing on his Mnnerbund-research, reveals that his concept of Germanic culture is underscored by a belief in the deep-seated religiosity of the Germanic peoples formed through sacred-daemonic forces.