Make Your Point: HERRENVOLK

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pronounce HERRENVOLK:

HAIR un foke

connect this word to others:

I don't like the word Herrenvolk or the idea it expresses, but I still think we should have it at our disposal. We need toxic words for toxic ideas.

I feel the same way about the word x___ph____, meaning "showing hatred toward people from foreign countries." Could you recall that one? It most literally means "foreign-hating" or "foreign-fearing."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

"Herrenvolk" is German. Its German bits most literally mean "gentleman people" or "noble people," but its actual meaning is much nastier: "master race."

We borrowed it into English around 1940. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term "Herrenvolk" originally described the Nazi idea of select German people being superior to others.

So, when you need an evil-sounding word for the idea of a certain group of people thinking they're better than all the others, call that group of people a Herrenvolk (or the Herrenvolk).

Or, talk about their Herrenvolk attitude, or their Herrenvolk way of seeing the world: the kind that shows how this certain group of people thinks they're better than all the others.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

It can be a noun, both the countable kind ("They considered themselves a Herrenvolk") and the uncountable kind ("Only members of the Herrenvolk could vote").

More commonly, it's an adjective, as in "Herrenvolk democracies" (societies in which only the privileged race enjoy democracy) and "Herrenvolk ethics" (situations in which only the privileged race are entitled to human rights).

Other forms:

To make the word look more English, you could use a lowercase letter: "They consider themselves members of the herrenvolk."

And to make the word look more German, you could italicize it: "They consider themselves members of the Herrenvolk."

how to use it:

Whether you're talking about history, fiction, or current events, when you need to strike a serious and highly critical tone as you label some group of people that considers itself superior to others, instead of picking the more common phrase "master race," you can pick the rare, scholarly, philosophical word "Herrenvolk."

You could talk about the Herrenvolk as a group of people. But we most often turn "Herrenvolk" into an adjective and talk about Herrenvolk politics, ethics, values, principles, attitudes, arrogance, and democracies.

examples:

"Few if any of the ideas, bigoted and unusual though they were, had been Hitler's own... Key ideas in Hitler's political philosophy... [include that] The Herrenvolk must be kept racially pure, must not intermarry with inferior breeds."
— J.F. Corkery, Russell Stone, and R.C.J. Stone, Weimar Germany And The Third Reich, 1982

"The Republican Party... is now trying to create a new Jim Crow-style apartheid for 21st-century America... Unfortunately, such Herrenvolk white supremacist politics are not an outlier in American history."
— Chauncey DeVega, Salon, 31 March 2021

has this page helped you understand "Herrenvolk"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "Herrenvolk" without saying "master race" or "superior race."

try it out:

Back in 2019, the historian Richard Frankel warned that the American administration's "vision of America is a white Christian male-dominated Herrenvolk democracy."

Whether or not you agree with that claim, talk about what Frankel means by it, and what Americans could do to prevent or dismantle a Herrenvolk democracy.

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "Words On Words On Birds."

Use your knowledge of vocabulary to answer questions about the terminology describing names for birds.

Try this today:

Which of the following is an eponym?

A. Harpyia, a mythical bird of prey
B. Aura, a native Mexican name for a vulture
C. Gryphus, named for the griffon, a mythical beast
D. Cettia cetti, named for the priest Francesco Cetti

Need a hint? Highlight the hidden text: Examples of eponyms we have studied include fletcherize, galvanize, maudlin, and knolling. What do they have in common?

To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. A near opposite of HERRENVOLK is

A. BEAU MONDE: a high-society, ultra-wealthy class.
B. BILDUNGSBÜRGERTUM: an educated, cultured middle class.
C. UNTERMENSCHEN: an offensive, dehumanizing term for a lower class of people.

2. In The Racial Contract, Charles S. Mills defined "Herrenvolk ethics" as the kind that endow "rights, duties, privileges, [and] liberties" to _____.

A. no one
B. one race above others
C. everyone, regardless of race

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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