{"id":13050,"date":"2021-06-09T06:00:50","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T06:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=13050"},"modified":"2021-06-08T11:50:47","modified_gmt":"2021-06-08T11:50:47","slug":"the-german-word-volk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-german-word-volk\/","title":{"rendered":"The German Word &#8216;Volk&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Guten Tag! We have talked before on the blog about words with loaded meanings\/stigma attached to them \u2013 such as this post, <a title=\"German Words Associated With Nazism\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-words-associated-with-nazism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">German words associated with Nazism.<\/a> Today we\u2019re going to look at another such word in more detail. It\u2019s a very small, simple word, but sometimes even these words have a surprising amount of history and meaning attached to them. The word we\u2019re going to look at today is <strong>das Volk.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Das Volk \u2013 The people<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_13051\" style=\"width: 607px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13051\" class=\"wp-image-13051\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/clem-onojeghuo-ZUE1ws2B0MY-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"volk\" width=\"597\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/clem-onojeghuo-ZUE1ws2B0MY-unsplash.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/clem-onojeghuo-ZUE1ws2B0MY-unsplash-350x202.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13051\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Volkswagen &#8211; the people&#8217;s car! Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@clemono?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Clem Onojeghuo<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/beetle?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>The word <strong>Volk<\/strong> translates to <strong>people; folk; nation; crowd; population.<\/strong> This seems pretty straight-forward from the outset, and in some contexts, it is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Der Volkswagen is \u2018the people\u2019s car\u2019<\/li>\n<li>Die Volkshochschule is an adult education centre, similar to a college<\/li>\n<li>Die Volksmusik is folk music<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But in other contexts, it is not so straight-forward. Pre-1800, <strong><em>das Volk<\/em> <\/strong>was used exclusively to mean \u2018crowd\u2019 or \u2018population\u2019. It was only with the emergence of German nationalism that the word started to take on a more sinister meaning.<\/p>\n<h2>The word in use during the Nazi era<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_13052\" style=\"width: 591px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13052\" class=\" wp-image-13052\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/davide-ragusa-gcDwzUGuUoI-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"volk\" width=\"581\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/davide-ragusa-gcDwzUGuUoI-unsplash.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/davide-ragusa-gcDwzUGuUoI-unsplash-350x232.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 581px) 100vw, 581px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13052\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@davideragusa?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">davide ragusa<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/crowd?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>This can be seen very clearly in the way the word Volk was used during World War II. A very well-known example is the oft-used political slogan, <strong>\u2018Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein F\u00fchrer\u2019<\/strong> (\u2018One people, one empire, one leader\u2019). Under Hitler\u2019s use, the word Volk started to be divisive rather than inclusive, referring only to who Hitler believed to be \u2018real Germans\u2019. Here are a few, other terms that were in use during this era:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Volksdeutsche \u2013<\/strong> A term used by Nazis to describe \u2018ethnic Germans\u2019 who were living outside of Germany. The Volksdeutsche were encouraged to register themselves onto what was known as the German Folk List (Deutsche Volksliste), which gave them access to better food, housing and supplies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Volk ohne Raum \u2013<\/strong> Literally \u2018people without space\u2019, this was a slogan used by the Nazis to justify the German invasion of other countries and territories. They believed the Germans were &#8216;without space&#8217; and needed to expand &#8216;their people&#8217; into other countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Herrenvolk \u2013<\/strong> \u2018The master race\u2019. A Nazi concept that dictated that the German race was superior to all others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Volkssturm \u2013<\/strong> A national militia that existed during the final months of World War 2 to support the regular army. It is called so because it was made up of \u2018general population\u2019 people, rather than trained soldiers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>V\u00f6lkische Beobachter \u2013<\/strong> The official newspaper of the Nazi Party. The title of the newspaper translates to \u2018People\u2019s Observer\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong>V\u00f6lkische Bewegung \u2013<\/strong> Literally \u2018People\u2019s Movement\u2019, the V\u00f6lkische Bewegung was a nationalist movement that began in the late 19th Century and continued into the Nazi era.<\/p>\n<h2>Volk vs. v\u00f6lkisch, and present day use<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_13053\" style=\"width: 604px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13053\" class=\" wp-image-13053\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/christian-lue-aZAtWQ3OZ-I-unsplash.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/christian-lue-aZAtWQ3OZ-I-unsplash.jpg 640w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/christian-lue-aZAtWQ3OZ-I-unsplash-350x234.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-13053\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@christianlue?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Christian Lue<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/mauerfall?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Today, the word Volk has lost some of its negative connotations and is used more freely. When Germans were campaigning for the Berlin Wall to come down in 1989, for example, one of the slogans they used was, <strong>\u2018Wir sind ein Volk\u2019<\/strong> \u2013 \u2018We are one people\u2019 or \u2018We are unified\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>However, the adjective <strong>v\u00f6lkisch<\/strong> still carries a lot of stigma. In fact, if you look up its translation, it will say, \u2018nationalist; populist; racist\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, the right-wing party AfD (Alternative f\u00fcr Deutschland) came under fire for wanting to bring back the word <em>v\u00f6lkisch<\/em>, arguing that it\u2019s not racist and is just the adjective for the word <em>Volk<\/em>. The word v\u00f6lkisch was used by the Nazis to separate those they saw as \u2018real Germans\u2019 from those they did not.<\/p>\n<p>**<\/p>\n<p>So there you have it! One, little word, with lots of history and meaning! I hope this post has been interesting. If there are any more words you\u2019d like broken down, be it for their meaning or their history, let me know in the comment box below.<\/p>\n<p>Bis bald (see you soon)!<br \/>\nConstanze<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"232\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/davide-ragusa-gcDwzUGuUoI-unsplash-350x232.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"volk\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/davide-ragusa-gcDwzUGuUoI-unsplash-350x232.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2021\/06\/davide-ragusa-gcDwzUGuUoI-unsplash.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>Guten Tag! We have talked before on the blog about words with loaded meanings\/stigma attached to them \u2013 such as this post, German words associated with Nazism. Today we\u2019re going to look at another such word in more detail. It\u2019s a very small, simple word, but sometimes even these words have a surprising amount of&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/the-german-word-volk\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":13052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[503854,8883,95131,358428,224233,376023,473457,11709,421737,209176,551782,1401,8882],"class_list":["post-13050","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","tag-curious-words","tag-german-history","tag-german-language","tag-german-politics","tag-hitler","tag-language","tag-language-history","tag-nazis","tag-second-world-war","tag-taboo","tag-volk","tag-words","tag-world-war-2"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/119"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13050"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13055,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13050\/revisions\/13055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}