"Er zog sich die 'neue Sprache' des 'Dritten Reiches' über wie ein Kleidungsstück": Communities of Practice and Performativity in National Socialist Discourse

Abstract

This article aims to provide new insights into the characteristics and use of National Socialist discourse. It discusses the methodological problems underlying the analysis of the topic and shows how previous research has resulted in a falsely polarised portrayal of the discourse and its creators and recipients. Applying the concepts of the 'community of practice' and 'performativity', taken from the study of language and gender, the article argues that discourse was not created by National Socialist ideologues and imposed upon the population, but instead was co-created and shaped by members of formal and informal groupings (communities of practice). Participation in these communities of practice enabled or coerced individuals to 'perform' their National Socialist identity to varying degrees and resulted in a discourse which was stylistically and communicatively adaptable and malleable.