Houston Stewart Chamberlain
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Houston Stewart Chamberlain (September 9, 1855 - January 9, 1927) was a British author noted for his works concerning the Aryan race.
He was born in Southsea, England. At age 14 he suffered from seriously poor health and travelled to various spas around Europe, always accompanied by his Prussian tutor who taught him German and interested him with German culture and history.
In 1899 he wrote his most important work, Die Grundlagen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts (The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century). The work focuses on the controversial notion that Western civilization is deeply marked by the influence of the "Germanic" race. Chamberlain's thoughts were influenced by the writings of Arthur de Gobineau. He was also an early supporter of the Welteislehre, the theory that most bodies in our solar system are covered with ice.
During his lifetime, Chamberlain's works became wildly popular around Europe, especially in Germany. He was invited to stay at the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II. His works would later have a marked effect upon German nationalist movements, such as Adolf Hitler's National Socialism.
During World War I, he wrote several propaganda texts against his country of origin, and later became a citizen of Germany.
Adolf Hitler was a student of his works, and praised him as "The Prophet of the Third Reich". He married Eva Wagner, the daughter of the composer.
External links
- http://www.hschamberlain.net (http://www.hschamberlain.net/)