Bildungsbürgertum

Bildungsbürgertum (German: [ˈbɪldʊŋsˌbʏʁɡɐtuːm], "cultured / educated middle class") was a social class that emerged in mid-18th-century Germany as the educated social stratum of the bourgeoisie. It was a cultural elite that had received an education based on the values of idealism and classical studies and which steered public opinion in art and patterns of behaviour. The majority of its members were Protestant and employed in the upper civil service and free professions such as law, journalism and the arts. Despite its influence, the Bildungsbürgertum never exceeded more than about one percent of the population.

Wilhelm von Humboldt shaped the Bildungsbürgertum's ideal of education as a process of life-long learning that valued all-around knowledge over training for a profession. During the course of the nineteenth century, that ideal was slowly diluted as industrialisation and urbanisation increased the need for specialised scientific knowledge. "Secular religions" such as nationalism, social Darwinism, antisemitism and ideological imperialism became more prominent, and the class came to see its status more and more as an entitlement rather than an achievement.

The slaughter of World War I shattered the Bildungsbürgertum's worldview. It suffered high losses in the fighting and a significant reduction of both income and status. Many of its members saw democracy as a threat and supported a return to authoritarian rule. Under the Nazi regime, however, what remained of the Bildungsbürgertum's influence faded to insignificance.