Carl Schmitt

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Carl Schmitt, a prominent German thinker of the twentieth century, is known for his influential works on concepts such as friend and enemy, legality, and political theology. His writings attract a diverse audience, from conservative theologians to radical political thinkers. However, Schmitt's personal life was marred by intense anti-Semitism, compulsive sexuality, and resentment towards bourgeois complacency. Despite rising from a modest background to the heights of academia, he never felt at ease within the academic elite. When the Nazis came to power, Schmitt was drawn to their ideology, severing ties with Jewish friends, joining the Nazi Party in May 1933, and aligning himself with Hitler, which ultimately compromised him as the 'crown jurist' of the Third Reich. After World War II, he lived a reclusive life in Sauerland, becoming a significant yet background figure in postwar German intellectual circles. Reinhard Mehring's biography offers the most comprehensive exploration of Schmitt's life and work, utilizing extensive research and new sources to present him as a Shakespearean figure at the heart of Germany's tragedy.