Abstract

This article offers a critical survey of the way conceptual historians have portrayed the relationship between the concept and traditions of humanist Bildung in Germany and the phenomenon of National Socialism. Contrary to the views held by Reinhart Koselleck and other leading figures of the German conceptual- historical guild, research carried out over the last four decades has documented that there were several links to Nazism from institutions, individuals and groups that identified with the humanist ideal. In his conclusive remarks, the author evaluates the significance of these historical findings and argues that they cast into doubt at least some central features of the concept of Bildung.