The Nationalization of the Masses: Political Symbolism and Mass Movements in Germany from the Napoleonic Wars through the Third Reich was published by Howard Fertig in 1975, and it introduced a concept that has become central to the study of modern politics: the idea that mass political movements create their own liturgy — a system of symbols, rituals, and aesthetic experiences that functions like a secular religion.
Mosse examines the development of this political liturgy in Germany from the early nineteenth century: the national monuments (Valhalla, the Hermannsdenkmal), the gymnastic festivals, the choral societies, the political pageants, and the architectural projects that together created a visual and experiential vocabulary for German nationalism. Each element served to transform abstract political ideas into concrete sensory experiences — to make the nation visible, audible, and physically present to its members.
The culmination of this process, Mosse argues, was the Nazi aesthetic: the Nuremberg rallies, the torch-lit processions, the monumental architecture, the choreographed masses — all drawing on a century of development in the aestheticization of politics. Hitler did not invent this tradition; he perfected it, creating political spectacles of unprecedented intensity that overwhelmed rational judgment through sheer aesthetic power.
Collecting The Nationalization of the Masses
First edition (Howard Fertig, New York, 1975): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $30–$80
- Without jacket: $8–$20