Dietrich was a Ph.D. in Political Science from Freiburg University (where later Martin Heidegger was professor of philosophy). In a 1934 lecture delivered at the University of Köln, Dietrich bases National Socialist political philosophy directly upon the philosophy of Kant, Fichte, and Hegel. A key theme of the lecture is Universalism versus Individualism, where individualism is false and bad and universalism means an organic and collectivized understanding of human nature.
“Universalistic thought sets the community as the uppermost principle, just as National-Socialism treats not the „individual” (das „Individuum”) or „humanity” (die „Menschheit”) but the people (das Volk) as the only real, organically grown totality (Ganzheit).”
In explicating Kant’s influence, Dietrich makes a strong assertion:
Otto Dietrich, “The Philosophical Foundations of National-Socialism: A Call to Arms of the German Mind” (1934).
“Kant’s moral law: ‘Act in such a way that the maxim of your will is at all times applicable simultaneously as the principle of a universal legislation,’ is an almost classical formulation of National-Socialist ethics.”
Dietrich’s claim connects directly to longstanding debates over the correct way to interpret Kant. Is he an individualist, as some (usually Western, liberal-minded) interpreters say? Or are Kant’s propositions ultimately directed to the universal Noumenal Self, not the individual phenomenal self, as other (usually more collectivist and socialist-minded) interpreters say?
Related:
My book Nietzsche and the Nazis: print and e-book via Amazon, audiobook at YouTube. On intellectual developments in Germany in the two generations leading up to the Nazis.
My book Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault: print and e-book via Amazon, audiobook at YouTube. On the intellectual development of postmodernism, including Kant’s key role in the transition from Enlightenment to Counter-Enlightenment philosophy.