Postwar Weimar spiritual movements grew from metaphysical suffering rather than political chaos.

Evidence

Kracauer was one of Those Who Wait'. In an article with this title published in the Frankfurter Zeitung in 1922, the style of which was inspired by Nietzsche, he sketched out some of the paths along which many people at that time believed they had found a new spiritual home, not so much (he believed) in reaction to the chaos of the present time’ as in reaction to a `metaphysical suffering from the lack of deep meaning in the world’. Examples were the anthroposophical teaching of Rudolf Steiner, the messianic communism of Ernst Bloch and others, the belief in structure held by the George circle, and the renewed sense of community, not only in the Protestant and Catholic churches, but also in Judaism. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 273

Categorization

• XREF: The catalogue of Weimar-era spiritual responses (Steiner, Bloch, George circle, religious communities) echoes Weber’s disenchantment theme in the reader’s broader critical-theory reference base. — connects to: Europe’s 1930s political chaos formed the backdrop for existentialism’s rise — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 399; Postwar German spiritual seeking responded to metaphysical emptiness, not present chaos

Broader Connections

• Europe’s 1930s political chaos formed the backdrop for existentialism’s rise #contradicts (0.85) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 399