Hitler's Favorite Jew: The Enigma of Otto Weininger

by Allan Janik

Otto Weininger (1880-1903) is the most controversial figure to emerge from fin de siècle Vienna. The son of a Jewish goldsmith, he studied philosophy and psychology at the University of Vienna and spoke six languages by the time he was 21. After receiving his Ph.D. in 1902, he converted to Christianity and, in 1903, he published his book Sex and Character—a groundbreaking and highly provocative study that would come to influence Adolf Hitler, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and James Joyce, among others. As troubled as he was brilliant, Weininger took his own life on October 3, 1903, leaving behind a small number of works, an array of challenging ideas, and many unanswered questions.

In Hitler’s Favorite Jew, Professor Allan Janik draws upon a half-century of research to explore the life and legacy of Otto Weininger, and to illuminate his outsized impact on some of the greatest thinkers and the greatest monster of the twentieth century. Janik explains how Weininger came to write his bizarre book featuring outrageous claims about women and Jews, and argues that, contrary to the received wisdom, Weininger’s true goal was progressive and humanistic.

With its deep insights into both Weininger the man and Viennese intellectual life at the turn of the century, Hitler’s Favorite Jew offers a rich and multifaceted portrait that challenges our ideas about sexuality, the nature of anti-Semitism, and the puzzle of human identity.

“Essential reading for all those interested in the philosophy, the culture and the arts of fin de siècle Vienna. Finally a comprehensive volume on Otto Weininger that dissolves the enigma and sheds light on why, despite his infamous reputation and deeply disturbing views, he made sense to people as diverse as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Elias Canetti, and Hermann Broch.” — Carla Carmona Escalera, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Universidad de Sevilla

Genres: Biography

191 pages, Paperback

Published July 16, 2021

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title here is somewhat misleading, chosen presumably to attract attention. Which indeed it does and may well encourage people to pick the book up. But although there is some evidence that Hitler knew of Otto Weininger, there is nothing to suggest that he had actually read him or that he was in any way influenced by his writings – although the fact that Weininger seemed to be anti-Semitic would obviously have appealed. More interesting is the fact that James Joyce and Wittgenstein read and related to Weininger’s thinking – in fact James Joyce gets more of a mention in the book than Hitler. Be that as it may, Otto Weininger (1880-1903) was a controversial thinker and philosopher, a prominent figure in fin-de-siècle Vienna, and is now remembered for his extreme views on women and Jews. He is accused of being a self-hating Jew and his 1903 book Sex and Character became a cause celebre. His ideas were taken seriously by heavy-weight thinkers and writers and Janik argues that we should look afresh and without bias at what he actually proposed. He does an excellent job in this fairly short exploration of explaining Weininger's world-view and is, up to a point, an apologist for him. Nevertheless some of Weininger’s views are certainly problematic – for example that Jews should stop breeding and thus in one generation the Jewish “problem” would be solved. Janik makes his case well and I found this a fascinating examination of a deeply troubling and troubled thinker and agree that in spite of his negative reputation it is indeed worth looking at him objectively rather than with a knee-jerk reaction. I learnt a lot from this accessible and clearly written volume and it certainly deserves more reviews than it has so far garnered. (Feb 2022)

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the crap ideas dominating us were invented, but still intellectually serious.

Weininger was a confronting and deeply serious thinker. There’s a lot of nonsense that made sense at the time, but the underlying objects of his curiosity remain as elusive today as they did one hundreds years ago. He was determined to address the items in the “too difficult box.”

His apparently anti-female and anti-Semitic chapters really aren’t. Unfortunately Hitler didn’t appreciate this, and made the fateful comment that relegated Weininger to the trash heap of history. His concerns thus remain unaddressed.

Janie’s effort at the resurrection of Weininger is laudable.