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Nietzsche in German Politics and Society, 1890-1918
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June 7, 2015
In the seventh chapter of book three of
Thus Spoke Zarathustra,
"On Passing By," Nietzsche shows what Zarathustra did upon hearing the manner in which "Zarathustra's Ape" borrowed from the treasure of his wisdom: Zarathustra interrupted his ape—at that moment characterized as a "frothing fool"—and held his mouth shut. What Nietzsche could do for his Zarathustra, Nietzsche could not do for himself, for he was unable to shut the mouths of the many frothing fools who borrowed from his treasure of wisdom. Nietzsche's reputation has suffered immeasurably as a result. Fortunately, we have books like Richard Thomas' Nietzsche in German Politics and Society, 1890-1918, which can help us to dispel the illusions and misapprehensions of Nietzsche's legacy, even if only retrospectively. After World War II, when Nietzsche's reputation was perhaps at its very worst, the assumption was then made that Nietzsche was preeminently responsible for the German nationalism that led up to even the First World War. Thomas' book sets out to investigate that assumption, and it very persuasively shows just how unwarranted that assumption was. By examining the role that Nietzsche's work actually did have in German politics in the decades after his collapse, we can more clearly see just which political movements were attracted most to his thought, and it turns out that the apes of Nietzsche were from all quarters, socialist, anarchist, feminist and others–and so importantly we can also see just how little the worst elements in German politics were actually involved. Richard Thomas' meticulous research has done a very great service to Nietzsche scholarship, and it is an indispensable book in the difficult task of recovering Nietzsche's reputation.
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