ABSTRACT
German archaeology has basically two roots that are related to the development of nationalistic and even racist ideology: on the one hand, national romantic Vaterländische Altertumskunde patriotic antiquarianism. It has developed out of German philology by extending its focus from written sources to antiquities, whereas prehistoric anthropology on the other hand was influenced by race ideology. The concept of national heritage and conservation was a by-product of the societies' enthusiasm for the remote past, expressing their 'monument consciousness'. Placing the Indo-German origin in the North implied the global mission of the Nordic race and supported German nationalism. Wirth presented in many apparently fascinating public lectures all over the country and thus reached a considerable degree of popularity with an audience interested in prehistory. After nationalistic and racist concepts had become immensely popular after the turn of the century, a romantic view of national prehistory soothed the human desire for identity, community and nature that was threatened by modern developments.
