Nietzsche and the Nazis
Contents:
I believe that there are two reasons Nietzsche is more often than Hegel associated with Nazism. The first reason is contained within part of your question:. It is certainly true that Hegel's philosophy could be used to support Nazi ideology however dishonest of a reading you need to have. It is a matter of historical fact, however, that it wasn't. Or, at the very least, that it wasn't on as large of a scale as Nietzsche.
Nietzsche's sister became his editor after his mental collapse and she edited a lot of his manuscripts to fit her own, as well as her German nationalist husband's, ideology. As Mauro and Joseph point out in the comments to your question, her editorial influence on his writings is integral to the Nazi's appropriate of his work.
The timing for his work to be incorporated into the growing German nationalist movement coincided perfectly with his sister's ability to promote his work for her own ideology. Sure, a dishonest reading of Hegel might fit Nazi ideology just as well, but Hegel didn't have an editor publishing collections of his manuscripts whom also wanted to strengthen the German nationalist movement at that time.
The other reason, I believe, lies in their different writing styles. Nietzsche loved aphorisms and his most famous quotes are widely known, even by people who have no familiarity with his work. On the other hand, Hegel wrote incredibly dense treaties that used a lot of philosophical terminology and grandiose sentences. While Nietzsche filled his books with sentences such as:.
What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil. These apocalyptic utterances pretend to occupy the very centre and the deepest depths; they look askance at all definiteness and preciseness meaning; and they deliberately hold back from conceptual thinking and the constraining necessities of thought, as being the sort of reflection which, they say, can only feel at home in the sphere of finitude. The Nazis were infatuated with propaganda.
They wanted to refine it, in many ways similar to how one would work to refine an art form. One thing that the study of the effects of propaganda shows is that people, especially less educated people, are more effected by short and sweet phrases than by long dense works of literature.
See a Problem?
Giving people collections of slogans, aphorisms and the like works much better than giving people a three hundred page dissertation about phenomenology. At the end of the day, I feel as though Hegel's work was too inaccessible to the average German for its use as propaganda. Propaganda lies at the center of Nazi ideology and I believe they would have been drawn more towards philosophers who would help them achieve that goal. Nietzsche's proclivity towards succinct aphorisms as well as his sister's motivation to promote German nationalism is what caused the Nazis to appropriate his work on a large scale.
Hegel's work is absent of both of these factors. I'm not quite sure how to integrate this it's not an answer per se but rather an encyclopedic addition based on two things I've run across. Maybe this can be a collection of text references to people commenting on Hegel and the Nazis? Thulstrup's Kierkegaard's Relation to Hegel or - comments on the point that Hegel is too obscure for this to become likely I no longer have the page reference. The actual answer rests with the words of Adolf Hitler himself.
Hitler openly declared his hostility against Hegel, and Hitler openly declared that Nietzsche was his favorite philosopher. See Hitler's Table Talks. The quislings of Hitler followed his words to the letter. I can only provide a crude sketch to give the reader a outline of the work that would be involved in understanding this issue properly:. As Leo Strauss said it, there is no racial aspect in Hegel. No racism of any kind. The point being, everything in some sense can be made to appear anything else. For example that softness can be said to be like hardness, for the reason that they both involve the sense of solidity or touch.
But if we understand a philosopher, a philosophic work, we go beyond the semblance and the sophistic use of it. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
To ask other readers questions about Nietzsche and the Nazis , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about Nietzsche and the Nazis. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. May 02, Patrick rated it really liked it. Oct 20, Mahmoud Awad rated it did not like it Shelves: Don't waste your time. Mar 12, Mahdi rated it liked it. The book presents good and comprehensive introduction to both Nazism and Nietzsche, but fails, to some extent, to draw its conclusion. Indeed there are some similarities between Nietzsche philosophy and Nazism policies, but no clear explanation was provided to show how these philosophy have put to practice.
However, I love Stephen R. Hicks's works and lecture on Youtube for postmodernism. Mar 01, Mark Gonzalez rated it liked it Shelves: Good for finding the truth somewhere in the middle. They tried to be, and they did privatize some aspects of their economy when deemed necessary.
- Please Send Money: A Financial Survival Guide for Young Adults on Their Own;
- Professional Excel Development: The Definitive Guide to Developing Applications Using Microsoft Exce.
- The Prussian Problem (The Prussia Saga Book 1)!
- Bitter Wind.
Was Nietzsche an anti-semite? Compared to other Germans he was less. Seemed to be more as an equal opportunity hater of all religions.
Nietzsche and the Nazis
Nazis were a populist movement. There are connections to be made, but he also thought Germans Good for finding the truth somewhere in the middle. There are connections to be made, but he also thought Germans were weak. Nazis promulgated his philosophy simply because he was German. Easy to bastardize his work, but he wrote much more. Then, you will most likely find that he wasn't all that impressive at least not seriously impressive enough to be the impetus for a world war.
Jun 06, Evan Micheals rated it really liked it. As in the title this short book juxtaposes the Philosophy of Fredrick Neitzche and the Philosophy of National Socialism. Where they parallel I can see why these philosophies appeal so much, and why they became so popular. I agree with aspects of both Philosophies. Hicks show that Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler were great admirers of Neitzche, and how elements of his philosophy are clearly reflected in Nazi Party policy.
Hicks also shows how selective the Nazis were in adopting the philosophy of Neitzche. According to Hicks contemporary Christianity maintains what Neitzche made our species weaker.
Nietzsche and the Nazis () - IMDb
How do you reconcile what you hide, with what you reveal in a healthy way? Anyway, I think it is incumbent on each individual to make themselves as strong, resilient, and brave as they can possibly be. Regarding being a Nazi, I have greater understanding of exactly what that is and how to identify that Nationalism, Patriotism, is a step towards being a Nazi. I still find something admirable about doing something for a cause you see as bigger than yourself. It can just as easily lead one towards both good or evil.
Nietzsche's ideas were used by the Nazi's to justify their atrocities, but did Nietzsche actually support Fascism?. Friedrich Nietzsche's influence and reception varied widely and may be roughly divided into . The wide popularity of Nietzsche among Nazis stemmed in part from the endeavors of his sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, the editor of.
I think caution should be considered, before stepping towards transcendence. Jun 24, Steven rated it really liked it. I'm nearly done listening to this. Stephen Hicks says that the nazi eugenics program was rolled out at the time that it was in part as a means to ease people into the idea of mass extermination Jan 21, Marco den Ouden rated it it was amazing. This is a short and highly readable account of Friedrich Nietzsche's influence on the Nazis. Like Nietzsche scholar Walter Kaufmann, Hicks acknowledges Nietzsche's great appeal and agrees that in some ways, the Nazis misrepresented him.
Navigation menu
But contrary to Kaufmann, Hicks finds that there are a number of ways in which Nietzsche's philosophy is fully consistent with Nazi ideology. The book includes the complete Nazi Party platform of as an appendix, as well as a generous selection of quotes from This is a short and highly readable account of Friedrich Nietzsche's influence on the Nazis. The book includes the complete Nazi Party platform of as an appendix, as well as a generous selection of quotes from various philosophers and Nazi ideologues on aspects of that philosophy.
For a detailed review see my review at The Jolly Libertarian: Oct 31, Thomas Keller rated it it was amazing. We must keep the horrors of national socialism foremost in our mind to steer clear of the abyss. Aug 28, Michael Lowe rated it really liked it. I'm reviewing Nietzsche and the Nazis quite some time after reading but the ideas have stuck in my mind nonetheless.
I've had a fascination with Nietzsche ever since I came across a text of aphorisms. I am by no means an expert on Nietzsche. In fact, most of his ideas are so densely referenced to other philosophical texts that I can barely decipher them but one thing that compels me to him and his ideas is that every line of his writing can be turned over and interpreted over days, weeks and mon I'm reviewing Nietzsche and the Nazis quite some time after reading but the ideas have stuck in my mind nonetheless.
In fact, most of his ideas are so densely referenced to other philosophical texts that I can barely decipher them but one thing that compels me to him and his ideas is that every line of his writing can be turned over and interpreted over days, weeks and months with no firm footing. It is this unsettling quality of Nietzsche to cut right to the heart of life that excites me about his work. This is a documentary in which the camera barely pans or zooms and consists of Professor Stephen Hicks lecturing directly to the lens with varying backdrops and is intermittently spliced with historical photographs or art works from the time of the Renaissance.
It's best broken down and seen in its three parts, as it's very dense and comprehensive, they include: The first part is an excellent and thorough explanation of how a country slowly fell into a horrendous situation. In the '60's, Mazzino Montinari and Giorgio Colli rearranged and put back chronologically what was Nietzsche's final work, seemingly, and maybe Hick's argument is from this reference edition, however, the fact he fails to even mention this relationship with his sister to the Nazis renders his argument philosophically weak.
He argues in philosophical terms, so it is legitimate to henceforth critique it so; it is the Informal Fallacy of False Cause.
I will be generous on this one with six stars just 'cause the first two hours are very interesting. The third could be called highly questionable. Visit Prime Video to explore more titles. Find showtimes, watch trailers, browse photos, track your Watchlist and rate your favorite movies and TV shows on your phone or tablet! Enjoy unlimited streaming on Prime Video. There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property.