Festivals and politics: Hans Hahne ending his speech at the Queste Festival
- Object
- Questenberg (Ort)
- 1933 (date of exposure); ca. 1995 (date of print)
Hans Hahne had been a member of the Nazi Party since the 1920s. He propagated a nationalistic völkisch direction of folklore studies: as the »study of folkhood«, it was intended to provide proof of the continuity of »Nordic blood heritage«. He developed the Regional Office for Prehistory in Halle into a »place for cultivating German tradition and customs«. Hahne also had an impact in the sense of a völkisch renewal of German customs extending into the region. Amongst other activities, he spoke as a Patron at the Queste Festival, using it as a platform to disseminate his views. He construed the Queste Festival as a prehistoric »worship of the sun«. He regarded the Queste, a green wreath set on an oak trunk, as a »memorial« for »the eternal youth of the German soul«.