CONSERVATIVE

eason why for decades he paid close attention to
the American conservative movement, and stayed in
close contact with some of its best representatives—
people such as Russell Kirk, Henry Regnery, and Claes
Ryn. For many years Schrenck-Notzing was also a
regular attendee of the Philadelphia Society’s annual
meetings. Sometimes when he and I talked about
American conservatism, he would indicate proudly
that he was not only one of that Society’s longestserving
members but probably its only European—
and especially the only German—one.
My 2004 trip to the US did not provide
any solutions to the foundation’s problems. But
it did yield new European contacts—particularly
several people who had an interest in setting up an
organization in Europe to promote conservative
ideas. As a result, in 2005 Schrenck-Notzing and I
travelled to the Netherlands and met with officials of
the Edmund Burke Stichting to discuss the possibility
of collaborating. Although the outcome was not one
we had sought, the meeting laid the foundation for
what eventually became the Vanenburg Society—and,
later, the Center for European Renewal (CER).
What happened to Criticón, the FKBF, and the
Library of Conservatism? By 1997, at the age of 70,
Schrenck-Notzing had already handed over control of
the magazine to a former contributor, Gunnar Sohn.
Unfortunately, instead of building on the successful
tradition that had for three decades made Criticón the
most important German periodical of intellectual
conservatism, Sohn changed its focus to economic
and financial issues; and instead of maintaining the
periodical’s conservative values, he replaced them
with the liberal values of the German middle class.
This was a huge disappointment to Schrenck-
Notzing, and many former readers cancelled their
subscriptions. In response, a new bi-monthly
magazine, Secession, was set up in 2000 by the Institut
für Staatspolitik (Institute of State Politics) in Saxony-
Anhalt, an organization run by a younger generation
of conservatives. Secession intends to perpetuate
the legacy of Criticón—though its focus, as well as its
writers, readers, and editorial positions differ slightly.
Secession recently published its 66th issue, and it has
access to a wide range of intelligent authors. Thus
Schrenck-Notzing’s idea of having a “medium of
communication” among German conservatives has
been kept alive.
With regard to the management of the FKBF,
Schrenck-Notzing in 2006 turned to the editor of
the leading conservative weekly, Junge Freiheit (Young
Freedom), Dieter Stein. After some discussions, Stein
took over both the foundation and the library, which
are now located in Berlin. And since 2008 members
of its staff have been managing its growing collection
of materials. In the very beginning, it had merely been
Schrenck-Notzing’s personal library; but after some
years, it absorbed the library of his good friend, the
philosopher Günter Rohrmoser. Today the FKBF
has the biggest collection of conservative materials
FKBF
The posthumously published collection of articles and
essays by Schrenck-Notzing.
in Germany, with more than 20,000 books in various
languages. The library allows students, scientists,
journalists, and politicians to conduct research there,
and occasionally it organizes lectures and seminars on
various topics of interest.
The FKBF also has an active publications
programme, producing books and monographs of
special interest. One of the foundation’s most recent
publications, Konservative Publizistik: Texte aus den Jahren
1961 bis 2008 (Conservative Journalism: Texts from the
Years 1961 to 2008), is a tribute to Schrenck-Notzing.
It brings together some of his most important articles
from a period of nearly 50 years—and thus ensures
that his important work on behalf of conservatism
will not be forgotten.
The FKBF and library today are thriving.
Hopefully, the Vanenburg Society, which Schrenck-
Notzing also helped found, will thrive as well. In both
cases, the seeds of Schrenck-Notzing’s work certainly
seem to have been planted on fertile ground.
Harald Bergbauer is Assistant Professor of Political Theory
at the Bavarian School of Public Policy and the University
of Armed Forces, both in Munich. From 2004 to 2008, he
worked at the Foundation of Conservative Education and
Research with Caspar von Schrenck-Notzing.
The European Conservative 49