Volkstum

Volkstum (lit. "folkdom" or "folklore", though the meaning is wider than the common usage of the term folklore) is the entirety of utterances^{[citation needed]} of a Volk or of an ethnic minority over its lifetime, expressing a "Volkscharakter" which the people of such an ethnicity allegedly have in common.^[1] It was the defining idea of the Völkisch movement.

German nationalists coined the term in the context of Germany's "Freedom Wars" of 1813 to 1814, in marked and conscious opposition to ideals of the French Revolution such as universal human rights. This sense of the word is now criticised in academia, though it is still in use in the protection of ethnic minorities and is a legal standard in Austria.

^ Various definitions of Volkstum exist; see for example: Samuel, R. H.; Hinton, Thomas R. (21 August 2013) [1949]. Education and Society in Modern Germany. International Library of Sociology (reprint ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 9781136269967. Retrieved 15 August 2023. The term 'Volkstum', meaning approximately national character and tradition but particularly stressing inherited and racial characteristics [...].

[1] Various definitions of Volkstum exist; see for example: Samuel, R. H.; Hinton, Thomas R. (21 August 2013) [1949]. Education and Society in Modern Germany. International Library of Sociology (reprint ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. p. 9. ISBN 9781136269967. Retrieved 15 August 2023. The term 'Volkstum', meaning approximately national character and tradition but particularly stressing inherited and racial characteristics [...].

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