Vertigo - The Rise and Fall of Weimar Germany. Chapter 12: Evening Over Potsdam – the End of a Community of Communication

以下是该段文字的中文翻译： 本章描绘了一幅阴郁的画面，展现了德国在纳粹夺权前几年逐渐陷入社会分裂状态，以及有意义的沟通的瓦解。本章以洛塔·拉扎斯坦因的画作《波茨坦之上之夜》为中心，这幅画被描绘成那个时代精神萎靡的象征。该画捕捉到了一群资产阶级知识分子在晚宴后疲惫不堪、彼此疏离的状态，突出了凝聚力的崩溃以及社会濒临崩溃边缘的孤立个人主义的兴起。 本章论证说，德国已经背离了理性资产阶级公共领域的理想。尽管社团、酒吧和餐馆中仍然存在沟通的表象，但深刻的分歧和沉默撕裂了社会。人们越来越退缩到回音室里，只与意见相似的人交往，并对其他人抱有轻蔑的态度。当时普遍的情绪是对团结的渴望，但只有两条可行的道路：强迫沉默或野蛮暴力。 魏玛共和国未能培养建设性辩论的文化受到了强调。威廉皇帝的家长式体制压制了独立思考，而1918年革命带来的突然自由让大多数公民毫无准备。在皇帝统治下最初是附属机构的政党，在承担责任方面举步维艰，经常将派系利益置于妥协之上，进一步侵蚀了公众的信任。媒体非但没有促进知情讨论，反而变得越来越党派化，助长了现有的偏见并加剧了不和谐。 本章还强调了有影响力的人物在沟通衰落中所起的作用。兴登堡总统使用紧急法令削弱了帝国议会，将辩论变成了在很大程度上是象征性的活动。 左翼杂志《世界舞台》虽然具有进步的理想，但其居高临下的语气也助长了这个问题，疏远了那些不在其知识圈之外的人。 相反，本章探讨了右翼出版物（如《行动》）的兴起，该出版物利用了公众对团结和强有力的领导者的渴望。它通过提供一个浪漫化的“民族共同体”的愿景，吸引了幻灭的中产阶级和知识分子元素，这是一种在独裁统治下的左右翼的融合。虽然《行动》批判了纳粹党的极端主义，但它通过抹黑民主和浪漫化专制主义，为国家社会主义铺平了道路。 本章详细描述了在社会崩溃面前，国家社会主义工人党所承诺的新的社区感和归属感的诱惑力，即使对于那些从逻辑上讲可能会害怕其政策的人也是如此。虽然看似矛盾，但街头流氓和学者都在该党中找到了共同点，被其秩序和方向的承诺所吸引。国家社会主义工人党巧妙地将非理性和浪漫的理想与一种更结构化的民族主义结合起来，创造了一种强大但具有破坏性的力量，并将自己标榜为团结的政党。对暴行和残酷行为的不断夸大，对许多寻求结束他们认为正在削弱和无能的政府的人来说，具有奇怪的吸引力。 本章最后考察了那些拥护审查制度和言论自由终结的知识分子，即使他们自己的生计依赖于此。他们天真地认为他们可以控制这场运动，却未能理解其力量和残酷程度。本章表明，对团结的渴望，加上对辩论的根深蒂固的反感和缺乏同情心，最终导致异议被压制和一个极权主义政权的崛起。

This chapter paints a grim picture of Germany's decline into a state of societal fragmentation and the erosion of meaningful communication in the years leading up to the Nazi takeover. It centers around Lotta Lazashtain's painting, "Evening Over Potstom," which is depicted as a symbolic representation of the era's malaise. The painting captures a group of bourgeois intellectuals, exhausted and disconnected after a dinner party, highlighting the breakdown of cohesion and the rise of isolated individualism within a society on the brink. The chapter argues that Germany had moved away from the ideal of a rational bourgeois public sphere. While outward appearances of communication persisted in associations, pubs, and bars, deep divisions and silences fractured society. People increasingly retreated into echo chambers, associating only with those of similar opinions and holding others in contempt. The prevailing sentiment was a yearning for unity, but with only two available paths: forced silence or brutal violence. The failure of the Weimar Republic to cultivate a culture of constructive debate is emphasized. The Kaiser's patriarchal system had suppressed independent thought, and the sudden freedom granted by the 1918 revolution found most citizens unprepared. Political parties, initially subsidiary under the Kaiser, struggled to assume responsibility, often prioritizing factional interests over compromise, further eroding public trust. The press, instead of fostering informed discourse, became increasingly partisan, feeding into existing biases and amplifying discord. The chapter also highlights the role of influential figures in the decline of communication. President Hindenburg's use of emergency decrees weakened the Reichstag, turning debates into largely symbolic exercises. The left-wing magazine "Die Weltbühne," despite its progressive ideals, contributed to the problem with its condescending tone, alienating those outside its intellectual circle. Conversely, the chapter explores the rise of right-wing publications like "Die Tat," which capitalized on the public's longing for unity and a strong leader. It attracted disillusioned middle-class and intellectual elements by offering a vision of a romanticized "folk community," a synthesis of right and left under a dictatorship. While critical of the NSDAP's extremism, “Die Tat” helped pave the way for National Socialism by discrediting democracy and romanticizing authoritarianism. The chapter details the seductive allure of a new sense of community and belonging promised by the NSDAP in the face of societal breakdown, even for some who might logically fear its policies. While seemingly contradictory, both street thugs and academics found common ground in the party, drawn to its promise of order and direction. The NSDAP cleverly united the irrational and romantic ideals with a more structured nationalism, creating a powerful, albeit destructive, force that presented itself as the party of unity. The constant rhetoric of brutality and ruthlessness was strangely appealing to many seeking an end to what they perceived as a weakening and ineffectual government. The chapter concludes with an examination of intellectuals who embraced the call for censorship and the end of free speech, even though their own livelihoods depended on it. They naively believed that they could control the movement, failing to comprehend the extent of its power and brutality. The chapter demonstrates how the desire for unity, combined with a deep-seated aversion to debate and a lack of empathy, ultimately led to the silencing of dissent and the rise of a totalitarian regime.