By all accounts, Nietzsche’s philosophical ideas were integral to the formation and success of the Nazi Party and helped to justify the Holocaust. This even though Nietzsche despised anti-Semitism and would probably have hated Nazis,23 advising that people should “eject the anti-Semitic ranters from the country.”24 Having served as a medic in the Franco-Prussian War, Nietzsche had seen his fair share of brutality, and it affected him deeply. He was no fan of violence. He certainly rejected the kind of state-sponsored violence that jingoistic political movements like the Nazis employed. Even
...more
