Nietzsches weerklank in Nazi-Duitsland

By Jaap Hagen

Subjects: National socialism and philosophy, Influence

Description: If Nietzsche's contemporary popularity implies that his political values inadvertently creep in, then it is relevant to trace his revaluation historically: to provide insight into the problematic sides of his ideas. After all, inspiration by Nietzsche has its daunting parallel in history and his 'influence' in nazi Germany has never been seriously debated. What happened at that time is generally in advance considered as abuse. The question was firstly what passages in Nietzsche's work the nazi's referred to, and secondly how his impact was interpreted by others. To establish whether the assertions are justified an account is given of the main interpretations that, from different perspectives, relate Nietzsche to nazism. Causality assumes necessity, as the only possible thing, which in the strict sense of the term cannot be proven in the history of ideas. So it is essential to distinguish between tendentious and teleological interpretation. The latter assumes an explanation with a purpose it serves, but its target does not exclude other approaches.