The Rudolf Steiner Archive

33. On the Anthroposophical Congress: An Interview with Rudolf Steiner in the “Wiener Morgenzeitung”

From a conversation with Dr. Rudolf Steiner.

[ 1 ] In a conversation, the spiritual founder and leader of the anthroposophists expressed his views on various contemporary issues essentially as follows:

[ 2 ] In anthroposophical spiritual science, it is not so much the individual’s attitude toward particular things that is taken into account as his or her entire worldview. Humanity needs to recognize that its cultural tasks and the rebuilding of society, as well as mutual understanding, are only possible if the spiritual and psychological are recognized as primary. Without mutual psychological understanding and mutual trust, there can be no understanding between individuals and peoples. These are also the prerequisites for a proper understanding of—and the initiation of solutions to—national, religious, and social issues, and especially the Jewish problem.

[ 3 ] Dr. Steiner states, in response to other claims, that he is not Jewish, but that he does not pride himself on this fact. He attributes the anti-Semitism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries primarily to national chauvinism, but also to the fact that a sick society seeks someone to blame. Judaism, as a representative of monotheism and a mediator between Western and Eastern cultures, still has a historical mission. Zionism, with its quest for an emigration center in Palestine for those Jews who must or wish to emigrate, is not at odds with this, for the colonization of Palestine does not exhaust the full scope of the Jewish renaissance and resolves only part of the Jewish question.

[ 4 ] Contributing to the problem of understanding between the East and the West is, however, also a major task for all of Central Europe, just as it was once a historic mission of Austria-Hungary. Its individual peoples and states share so many common cultural and economic interests that sooner or later—whether they want to or not—they will be compelled to form an economic union. The sooner they grasp this necessity and identify the appropriate means for its realization, the better it will be for them and for Europe as a whole. Willingness and mutual understanding are also crucial when it comes to social issues. Development is leading more and more toward democracy, which has the task of realizing the equal rights of all citizens. Without personal autonomy, without emancipation from state authority in cultural and economic terms, there can be no true democracy; the individual remains a slave to the state.

[ 5 ] Enough social theories have already emerged. But for anthroposophists, the goal cannot be to add to them. What is necessary will grow out of life itself; the decision regarding the future economic order rests with the associations of all producers that are yet to be formed. But it must be emphasized again and again that the renewal of social life depends on the renewal of culture as a whole, on the education of the new human being. That is why Dr. Steiner places special emphasis on the education of young people. “I do not feel old,” he says, “but rather younger than a large portion of the youth.” The premature aging of a large portion of the youth can only be averted through a scientific foundation for pedagogy, based on a comprehensive understanding of the developing human being.

[ 6 ] Finally, when asked what could and must be done to put the views outlined here into practice, Dr. Steiner referred above all to conferences, such as the one that had just taken place, where the participation of people from a wide variety of nations demonstrated the possibility of spiritual and psychological internationalism.

[ 7 ] But even a calm and objective conversation between two people—such as the one that has just taken place between the two of us—would, if it were to occur on a widespread basis, bring people closer to one another and to their shared cultural goals. H. K.

[ 8 ] The evening before last marked the conclusion of the congress; that morning, Dr. Karl Heyer and Dr. Karl Schubert had spoken—the former on the development of law in light of the new worldview, and the latter on the threefold stream of historical becoming— in the afternoon, the final performance of the art of eurythmy had taken place at the Volksoper, and in the evening, the enthusiastic crowd that had regularly attended Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s lectures gathered once more to listen for three hours to the speeches—some of which served as expressions of gratitude delivered by representatives of various nations—an American, an Englishman, a Swede, a Dutchman, and a man from Prague— and by representatives of the German and Austrian student bodies; in part as closing remarks, such as the remarks by Ludwig Polzer-Hoditz; and in part to introduce the magnificent domed building of the Goetheanum in Dornach and its wondrous sculptures, as the slide presentation by Dr. Rudolf Steiner did. In beautiful words, the speaker addressed the Viennese and his homeland, to which he wholeheartedly wished a rise above its present hardships and to which he expressed his deepest gratitude for the warm welcome extended to the congress; the anthroposophical worldview, which must and will continue to develop, could foster understanding among peoples, just as during the construction of the Goetheanum in Dornach during the war, members of the most diverse enemy nations who were involved in the construction worked together in friendship and in the closest fellowship. Austria, with its charming people, would once again take its place at the table of history.