Der arische Ansatz

The “Aryan approach” was repeatedly propagated by Erich Frauwallner at the point of intersection between Indology and society, where to all appearances he was offering the results of exacting Indological research in the form of a compact and “well-established” image of India to a wider audience. Especially in the Germanspeaking world and in Japan, Frauwallner has gone down in the history of his discipline, above all in the area of Buddhist Studies, as a scholarly authority. This influential scholarly reputation has led to the identification of the India-image presented by Frauwallner as identical with India itself. Since in its basic structure this picture is “Aryanizing” racist, it also contributes to the impression of an “unholy alliance” between India and Nazi Germany. As long as the Nazi context in Frauwallner’s activity as a scholar and teacher is ignored, either by being passed in silence or made to appear harmless as has been done for decades in the Germanspeaking world, there can be no serious discussion concerning the degree to which ideology encumbers his scholarly and scholarly-political oeuvre. What, however, is being transmitted or inherited if Frauwallner is acclaimed as an authority and his philology considered exemplary scholarly work? In this book, I examine the “Aryan approach” not “only” as a repeatedly presented racist periodization of Indian philosophy, but also as the conceptual key to the scholarly and scholarly-political work, and indeed to the life of a staunch Nazi. In the process, I expose many facets of corrupt dealings with the past, both before and after 1945.