The dictator Adolf Hitler became the leader of the German National Social Workers Party (NSDAP). Germany in this period was also called Nazi Germany. Nazism is also called national socialism (German). Believers in Nazism are called Nazis. Nazism has been banned in contemporary Germany, although there are still a few remnants in Germany and other countries, that is, neo-Nazism. Some historical revisionists still spread propaganda that denies and downplays the Holocaust and other Nazi acts, and strive to beautify the policies and actions of the Nazi regime.
Hitler's Nazism is an extremely reactionary trend of thought, which is the product of the specific historical conditions during the German capitalist crisis in the 1920s and 1930s.
Nazism is not inherent in Hitler's mind, nor is it his original creation, but a patchwork of various thoughts in German history, especially the reactionary thoughts since the second half of the19th century, which Nazism confessed. 1on February 24th, 938, Nazism explicitly claimed at a gathering of Nazi party "veterans": "Many things we accepted, or many things I preached in this hall (Rauhaus Beer Hall in Munich) 18 years ago, had existed for a long time before this." (3) In the process of the formation of Nazism, Hitler and Nazi thinkers, in addition to tampering, distorting and quoting Kant, Fichte, Hegel and Heldring, essentially absorbed all thoughts that were hostile to progress, opposed to democracy, opposed to humanity and irrationality during the formation of Prussia-Germany and the German Empire. Among them, some important ideas of Nietzsche have also been absorbed and utilized. This left a clear mark on the standard theoretical work Mein Kampf of Nazism and the second book dictated by Hitler. Comparing the important ideas put forward by Hitler in these two books with some related ideas of Nietzsche, we can see that there is a certain connection between them.
(A) advocating the Germanic theory of racial superiority
Hitler wrote in his book Mein Kampf: Aryans, that is, contemporary Germans, are the race endowed with "ruling power" by God and the best race on earth. As long as they continue to maintain their master attitude mercilessly, they will certainly become "world champions" and "get the support of all countries" in the near future. (4)
Although Hitler's theory of German racial superiority mainly originated from the reactionary racist theory advocated by racist and anti-Semitic elements Gopinau and Horton Stuart Chamberlain, it was also influenced by Nietzsche's theory of German superiority. Nietzsche put forward that the German nation is a "noble" nation and has the historical mission of ruling other races in Zarathustra and Headless Idol without Brothers published in 1883- 1885. He believes that the characteristics of Germanic culture are formed through arguments with Christianity. However, in the struggle with Christianity in the Middle Ages, Germanic culture was buried. He proposed "re-evaluating all values", replacing Christian culture with German culture, and then developing into a world culture (5).
Hitler's Germans refer to Nietzsche's Germans. It's just that Hitler preached the Germanic theory of racial superiority naked, while Nietzsche preached the German theory of national superiority obliquely, which was put forward from the perspective of opposing Christianity and European-controlled culture based on Christianity. Nietzsche opposed Christianity, not advocating atheism, as some people say, but knocking down the "idol" of Christianity and establishing a new "idol" of German culture. It can be seen that the similarities between the two are obvious. Therefore, some people think that the statement that racism in Nazism has nothing to do with Nietzsche is not entirely true.
(2) Talking about struggle for existence
Hitler wrote in his book Mein Kampf: All life is in an eternal struggle. This world is just a jungle where the fittest survive and the strong rule, a world where the law of the jungle prevails over the law of the jungle. "Only the weak who have no life will think this is cruel ... those who want to survive must struggle, and those who don't want to struggle don't deserve to live in this world of eternal struggle. Even if it is cruel, it is an objective reality. " (6)
Besides social Darwinism, "geopolitics" and other reactionary theories, Hitler's thought traces back to its roots and is also related to Nietzsche's "will to power".
The concept of "will to power" has double meanings, namely "strong will" and "will to power". This point is often ignored intentionally or unintentionally. At first, Nietzsche thought that "the will to power" was a "strong will" to pursue survival. He wrote: in nature, "competition, big or small, is everywhere, all for superiority, for survival and expansion, for strength, following the will to strive for strength." (7) Later, Nietzsche clearly pointed out that this concept is the "will to power" that pursues power and demands rule. He said, "All kinds of organic functions in life can be summed up as a fundamental will and a power will ... The power will can be divided into the will to pursue food, the will to pursue property, the will to pursue tools, and the will to pursue slaves (followers) and masters: this is taking the body as an example ... the strong will commands the weak will." (13)19 After the 1980s, Nietzsche interpreted "will to power" as the origin of all cultures, sciences, philosophy, religion, morality and art in the world, and proposed that "will to power" should replace moral concepts and advocate violence and cruelty. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the dual meaning of "will to power" and its ultimate meaning. It is not only one-sided, but also untenable to simply interpret "will to power" as "strong will" while ignoring the political side of power and denying that it has anything to do with Nazism.
(3) Promote living space and war.
Hitler trumpeted this argument in Mein Kampf and the second book, clamoring that "a healthy nation, in order to obtain a place to live, will inevitably demand the living space of the land in order to implement the policy of plundering the land." The struggle for living space can only be carried out through war. "He nonsense, the German nation is a" lack of living space "nation, frantically clamoring to expand abroad and launch a war of aggression. (9)
Hitler's above viewpoint was inspired by Nietzsche's praise of war, in addition to absorbing Hegel's and Xi von Tressick's praise of war. Nietzsche believes that the world will eventually form a whole from the obvious tendency of productivity development in the period when imperialism began to form, and from the colonial policy and imperialist world policy that have already begun to appear. In the world, there will inevitably be a war for world dominance in the 20th century, and the question "Who will be the master of the earth" is raised. (10) Nietzsche believes that war is the essence of existence and a necessary means to cultivate the will to power. He shouted: I advise you not to work, but to fight. I advise you not to be peaceful, but to win ... only war can sanctify all undertakings. War and courage have made great achievements, far exceeding compassion. "( 1 1)
(D) praise the elite rule
Hitler advocated the rule of social elites and leaders, and regarded the cruel violence of social hierarchy and upper ruling groups against working people as sacred. He strongly advocated the selection of inherent elites from the Germanic peoples, so that they gradually gained a dominant position. (12) Hitler clearly defined the principles of "elite" leaders of the Nazi Party and the Third Reich.
In this respect, Nietzsche's "superman" thought and leader's viewpoint particularly attracted Hitler. The concept of "superman" also has a double meaning. Nietzsche initially set out from opposing Christianity's suppression and destruction of human personality, and proposed that "Superman" is a perfect individual, which is a type of opposition to nihilists such as "modern man", "good man" and Christianity. (13) Nietzsche later explained Superman many times. With obvious political color, it is proposed that "Superman" is a powerful figure in the world for hegemony. He said: "Superman" has a special mission, and should learn to become the highest goal in human history, become the "world spirit", and be prepared to sacrifice the goodwill of countless people. A higher class is necessary ... to declare war on the masses. (14) He also said that the significance of history lies in the birth of "Superman" and the establishment of a completely new and special person-the world's "Superman". (15) "Superman and the elites around him should be the masters of the earth." Nietzsche's "superman" philosophy, which should be advocated, is the reactionary "hero" historical view of the bourgeoisie. It can be seen that it is one-sided and untenable to interpret Superman as a sound individual and obliterate his political side, thus obliterating his connection with Nazism.
(5) Oppose parliamentary democracy and revolution.
In Mein Kampf, Hitler lashed out at Weimar's parliamentary democracy and the fact that political parties owned the government at that time, cursing that democracy was stupid rule, and Weimar's parliamentary democracy "has become the bane of the German nation" (16), claiming that "Western democracy today is the pioneer of Marxism, (65438+).
Nietzsche claimed that "democracy is a sign of distrust of great men and the upper class" because it is "a means to make the beasts of Ukrainian society become masters". (19) He proposed that parliamentary democracy and legal equality must be eradicated, "human rights" and "universal morality" should be abolished, and violence and dictatorship should be advocated. Nietzsche's words against democracy are often quoted directly by fascists.
Hitler and Nietzsche's hat of opposing parliamentary democracy is not against the capitalist system, but that parliamentary democracy is too weak to completely monopolize the tasks of capital extreme reactionaries to suppress at home, oppose Marxism, expand abroad and dominate the world. Therefore, they strongly advocate replacing parliamentary democracy with the dictatorship of the big bourgeoisie.
From the above comparative discussion, it is obvious that Nazism and Nietzsche's thoughts are very similar on the main issues. Nietzsche's main ideas caused a strong buzz in Hitler's chaotic mind. Hitler inherited many useful ideas from Nietzsche's works. These things became a part of Hitler's patchwork. Hitler not only took away Nietzsche's main ideas, but also took Nietzsche's arrogance, his habit of not being afraid of exaggeration, and even his wording as his own. "Master of the Earth" is a common phrase in Mein Kampf and the second book. Hitler finally thought he was the "superman" predicted by Nietzsche.
Why did Hitler absorb some important ideas of Nietzsche? To sum up, there are two main reasons:
First, it has its background.
From the social and economic basis, both Nazism and Nietzsche's thoughts reflect the demands of German monopoly capital to invade abroad, carve up the world again and wage war in the imperialist era. This reflects the consistency of their class essence and is the premise for Nazism to absorb Nietzsche's thought.
Nazism is the product of German capitalist crisis in the imperialist era in the early 20th century. At the end of World War I, Germany was defeated and signed the humiliating Treaty of Versailles. Under the influence of the great October socialist revolution, the November Revolution broke out in Germany, overthrew the William Dynasty and established the Weimar Republic. Due to the rise of the workers' movement and the inherent contradiction of the capitalist system, a serious political and economic crisis has occurred in Germany, and extreme reactionaries in German monopoly capital are trying to get rid of the crisis by waging war. In foreign policy, they strongly opposed the Treaty of Versailles, actively advocated foreign aggression and clamored for a new war. On the internal policy, they strongly incited reactionary nationalism, opposed parliamentary democracy, madly opposed the workers' movement, and waited for an opportunity to establish autocratic rule. Nazism came into being under this background. His reactionary ideas and propositions are most suitable for German imperialism to restart the world war.
Nietzsche's philosophy came into being in the 1970s and 1980s. At that time, around the world, liberal capitalism began to turn to monopoly capital, that is, the imperial era. Although German capitalism started slowly, after Bismarck's "Iron Blood" policy was unified in 187 1, Germany jumped to the ranks of world powers in a short time, and then began to transition to the era of monopoly capital-imperialism. At this time, the world sales market, raw material supply areas and colonies have basically been carved up. The German junker bourgeoisie is particularly aggressive. They feel that they have too few colonies. (20) Strongly advocating the requirement of "living space" and determined to resort to force to carry out the war of repartitioning the world. In order to achieve this goal, the emerging monopoly bourgeoisie ideologically clashed with the bourgeoisie in the era of free capitalism. In the rising period, the bourgeoisie put forward the progressive theory of German classical philosophy in order to oppose feudal autocracy. However, at the turning point of the times, the progressive thought in the period of free capitalism can no longer adapt to the new changing situation. Therefore, the emerging German monopoly bourgeoisie urgently needs a new theoretical thought that abandons all progressive thoughts and adapts to the needs of the imperialist era.
By studying the society, thought and culture at that time, Nietzsche gained insight into the turning point of the times. With his special third sense, he foresaw the urgent need for free capitalism to turn into monopoly capital in the imperialist era, mercilessly mocked and sharply criticized the previous philosophy, and put forward extraordinary philosophical thoughts: breaking the traditional values of kindness, justice and humanity in the era of free capitalism, proposing to re-evaluate all values and filling the value vacuum with German culture. (2 1) This provides an ideological and spiritual basis for the German monopoly bourgeoisie to adapt to the new situation in the coming imperialist era, and provides a theoretical premise for the emerging German imperialism to wage war and dominate the world. Nietzsche became one of the earliest and most outstanding theorists of the emerging monopoly bourgeoisie.
Second, there are internal ideological reasons.
It is no accident that Hitler absorbed some ideas of Nietzsche. Hitler's Nazism is not a general reactionary thought. Essentially, it is an extremely reactionary, chauvinistic and aggressive imperialist thought. After that, its official name widely absorbed all similar reactionary thoughts in German history and at the same time. As mentioned earlier, Nietzsche directly expressed the thoughts and intentions of the emerging monopoly bourgeoisie in his works. Nietzsche's main ideas do contain elements that are false and useful to Hitler, such as opposing democracy and Marxism, advocating Germany's theory of national superiority and advocating war. These aspects have the same world outlook "principles" and the same methods of defending imperialism, so they are completely suitable for Hitler's tastes and needs. After Hitler came to power, the first issue of National Socialism Monthly, a magazine published by himself and edited by Rosemburg, clearly stated that the political movement of national socialism and Nietzsche's philosophy had the same world outlook. The new heroic morality advocated by Nietzsche in the era of liberalism is exactly what we have. " (22)
Through what channels did Hitler accept the influence of Nietzsche's thought? This is a problem to be studied.
From 1889, Nietzsche's thought was first explained and popularized by Danish scholar George brandeis and Swedish scholar Otto Hansen, and then by the first generation of German scholars such as Ai von Haartman and Le Stein, and was widely publicized by the most combative Pan-German Association in Germany, which spread rapidly and instantly swept Germany and the world. Before the First World War, Nietzsche's thoughts were widely publicized and used by the criminals of the German Empire to defend his launching of the world war.
Mussolini read Nietzsche's works and wrote many articles about Nietzsche. He worshipped Nietzsche and claimed to be Nietzsche's "most loyal student" at the age of 20. (23) Did Hitler read Nietzsche's works directly like Mussolini? No specific answer can be given at present. Generally speaking, Hitler and Nazi thinkers did absorb other people's ideas, and later claimed to be their own ideas, without particularly emphasizing their own sources of thought. (24) Therefore, this has caused certain difficulties in discussing this issue. But what is certain is that during his wandering in Vienna, during his settlement in Munich and before and after the First World War, Hitler extensively dabbled in all kinds of anti-Semitism, chauvinism and racism, and read all kinds of publications that directly or indirectly promoted Nietzsche's thought. Hitler confirmed in his book Mein Kampf that when I settled in Naina, I was very concerned about all current events in Germany, whether political or cultural. On the one hand, I diligently read newspapers such as Le Monde, New Freedom, Vienna Daily and German National, and at the same time, I bought some pamphlets promoting nationalism and anti-Semitism. (25) In addition, Hitler also learned some thoughts about Nietzsche from his poet friend eckart, college student Hess and the so-called philosopher Rosemburg. In a word, Nietzsche's thought really caught Hitler's attention and inspired him.
two
Before and after the establishment of the Third Reich, Nazi thinkers began to study some thinkers in the19th century, including the interpretation and research of Nietzsche and his thoughts, in order to find a theoretical pillar for Nazism and give it a layer of "sacred" light. Nietzsche's theory became an important factor in the spirit and political life of the fascist empire. Everyone living in the Third Reich at that time felt Nietzsche's influence on the Third Reich.
193365438+1on October 30th, Hitler took office, and he appointed Rosemburg as "the representative of the head of the training department of people's socialist spirit and world outlook". Under the personal leadership of Rosemburg, some thinkers of the Nazi Party strengthened their research on Nietzsche's thought, trying to prove that Nietzsche was one of the pioneers and prophets of Nazism. The "Millennium Empire"-the Third Reich marks the beginning of Nietzsche's will. Books and newspapers are flooded with monographs, pamphlets, annotated texts and picture books about Nietzsche.
During this period, Alfred Baumler and Rosemburg's secretary Henrich Gilte Le explained Nietzsche's thoughts, which became the acceptance and standard for the Third Reich to evaluate Nietzsche. They explain and apply Nietzsche's thoughts from the following points:
(1) praised Nietzsche's anti-Christian spirit of valuing morality. 193 1 year, Alfred Baumler published Nietzsche, Philosopher and Politician, explaining that Nietzsche's philosophy has a style of "heroic realism" and "German doctrine", and Nietzsche put forward a kind of values that led to the Northern War. He emphasized that Nietzsche's criticism of the Germans was to oppose the influence of Roman-Christian spirit on them. This kind of criticism will eventually help to achieve this goal, let the Germans mature again, complete our race's "past mission and become the leader of Europe!" " " (26)
(2) Advocating the "will to power", Baumler believes that the basic principle of Nietzsche's "will to power" is a concept of "life" in which struggle and war will never stop. Nietzsche's ... irrational and relatively calm state of existence refers to the end of the denial of realistic ideas in endless history. He turned from opposing the philosophy of will to ... opposing morality and responsibility. (27)
(3) Explain that Superman is Hitler's fascist. Baumler interpreted Nietzsche as a politician. In his view, Nietzsche started from a "Germanic" spirit and opposed Christianity, freedom, democracy and socialism, the culture and country he lived in, "western upbringing" and the Germans in Bismarck Empire at that time. Baumler explained that Nietzsche's last words "May Europe … become a great politician at an early date …" could only be Hitler. (28)
(4) Misinterpret Nietzsche's spirit of opposing Christianity as anti-Semitism. In Nietzsche and People's Socialism, published by 1937, Henrik Gilte Le praised Nietzsche's hatred of Christianity, his anti-freedom and anti-democracy thoughts, and his attacks on Marxism and socialism. (29) He emphasized that Nietzsche's great achievement lies in revealing the origin of Christianity and the spread of Jews through Christianity and the decline of all modern "ideas". He claimed: "We thank Nietzsche for his understanding of the Jews who came from the North Germanic cultural field and threatened the value of life." (30) Nietzsche's philosophy of history regards world history as a history of value struggle, a history of struggle between "noble morality" and "slave morality" (3 1). Behind these struggles, it is bound to herald "the great drama of history": "the world struggle of the northern race against the Jewish rival race" (32)
While advocating and praising Nietzsche's spirit, fascist thinkers did not fully accept Nietzsche's thoughts without reservation. They also pointed out the differences between Nietzsche and German Nazism in country, people and nation. However, they believe that their inherent similarity is greater than their differences. 1933, Rosemburg, the authority of Nazi thought and theory, officially listed Nietzsche as the ancestor of German Nazism. On February 8, 65438, he published an article in the People's Observer, writing: "If socialism lists the people who are effective and related to it ... then we can propose external villains Nietzsche and Wagner, the great orator Bauer de Lagarde and the prophet houston stewart chamberlain." (33)
Hitler worshipped Nietzsche very much. Around 1933, Hitler consulted Nietzsche's files many times to express his admiration for Nietzsche. He took a photo in front of the philosopher's marble bust, and donated a huge sum of money to restore the Weimar Nietzsche Archives. During a visit, he got a knight's walking stick from Nietzsche's younger sister Elizabeth Young. Hitler was accompanied by other leaders of the Nazi Party, such as Rosemburg, Goebbels, Lotus, Frick and others. A large number of foreign fascist leaders have also visited. Celebrities of the Nazi Party headed by regional governor Sok in Thuringia frequently visit the archives. 1934, the meeting of fascist legal philosophers was held in Nietzsche's archives. In addition to Rosemburg and Frick, there are also Heidegger, Roshak, Flair and Professor Binder. (34) 1943 On Mussolini's 60th birthday, Hitler presented him with a beautifully bound Complete Works of Nietzsche (24 volumes) and inscribed it as a souvenir. (35) Nazi thinkers claimed that Nietzsche's thought was realized in fascist Germany. In 1935, Walter Spitmann clearly pointed out: "Nietzsche's legacy sowed seeds ... the shaping of the German nation conforms to Nietzsche's goal ... A nation should say to itself: I want to stand above all nations. Our national activists are familiar with war, intimidation, great pain, tension and discipline. They are fully aware that the political mission of the German people is not limited to the superficial national boundaries. " (36)
three
After World War II, there appeared an obvious tendency in western academic circles, especially in the Federal Republic of Germany, that is, to ignore or deny the relationship between Nazism and Nietzsche's thought. German historian Georg Benso pointed out in his article On Nietzsche's Non-Nazism published in 1986: "If we re-study the relationship between Nietzsche and civil socialism after the Second World War ... then, it is related to the extent to which Nietzsche's" non-Nazism "is clarified." (37) This view is quite representative in the West. Since the 1960s, the Federal Republic of Germany has obviously strengthened its research on Nietzsche's thoughts, publishing the newly revised Complete Works of Nietzsche (38), the International Yearbook of Nietzsche's Studies (39) and many books and periodicals about Nietzsche or commenting on Nietzsche's thoughts, which shows the signs of Nietzsche's revival. To sum up, there are three reasons why western bourgeois scholars deny the relationship between Nietzsche and Nazism: (1) Nietzsche's sister tampered with Nietzsche's articles and letters; (2) Nietzsche's philosophy has something opposite to fascism; (3) Emphasize understanding Nietzsche's philosophy with ontology.
Regarding the first reason, Nietzsche's sister Elizabeth Walster-Nietzsche married a lower Nazi and tampered with some of Nietzsche's articles and letters. Since 1950s, it has been confirmed by Richard Ross, Karl schleich Tower and Mazzino Montinari. This provided convenience for the Nazis to use Nietzsche's philosophy. In addition, it should be pointed out that the Weimar Nietzsche Archives led by Elizabeth Walster-Nietzsche has done a lot of work to publicize Nietzsche's thoughts for the needs of fascism. It called Mussolini and Hitler great men in Nietzsche's dream. 1On July 29th, 933, the Archives congratulated Mussolini, a disciple of Nietzsche, on his 50th birthday: "I would like to pay the highest and most heartfelt tribute to the man who revived lofty values with Nietzsche's spirit and genius-Zarathustra, the greatest and youngest in Nietzsche's dream" (40). When Hitler and Mussolini met in Venice in June 1934, the archives sent a congratulatory message: The ghost of friedrich nietzsche hovered over the dialogue between the two greatest national activists in Europe. (4 1) In short, we should acknowledge the role played by Nietzsche's sister in tampering with Nietzsche's letters and articles and propagating Nietzsche's thoughts. However, this is only one of the reasons why Nietzsche's thought was used by Hitler and Nazi. It is by no means a decisive factor, and its effect on his sister must not be exaggerated to infinity.
Regarding the second reason, there are indeed some factors in Nietzsche's philosophy that are opposed to Nazism. This will be mentioned later. Although Georg Benso said that Nietzsche's thought is a double-edged sword, with both advantages and disadvantages, it has two sides, (42) but these opposing factors do not harm Nazism and fascist regimes. The similarity between them is greater than the difference between them. After rejecting different elements in Nietzsche's philosophy, the Nazis can better and more widely use Nietzsche's thoughts to defend Nazism and the war of aggression.
Regarding the third reason, Nietzsche's philosophy is full of contradictions, including cosmic philosophy, political philosophy, life philosophy, existentialism, ontology and other factors. This reflects the contradiction of Nietzsche's time (43). This is a reflection of the ideological and moral contradictions in the era of monopoly capitalism and free capitalism at that time. People can't just emphasize the factors that are beneficial to them and ignore other factors. If people understand Nietzsche as a thinker, they can only emphasize the ontological factors of his philosophy first, and (44) ignore the factors of political philosophy, cosmic philosophy and prophetic philosophy with obvious brand of times and classes, thus obliterating the relationship between Nietzsche and Nazism. Various factors in Nietzsche's philosophy are often taken away by people and are one-sided. In addition to Nietzsche's gorgeous style, gripping aphorisms and poetic words, this may be the reason.
It should be clearly pointed out that at present, there are two closely related political intentions hidden behind the western academic circles' efforts to obliterate the relationship between Nazism and Nietzsche's thought;
First, it tries to separate Nazism from its social and economic foundation, from all historical and ideological roots in German history, including Nietzsche's philosophy, thus branding Nazism with abnormal historical foundation and deviating from the normal track of German history.
Second, the rise of western neoconservatives, trying to think that Nietzsche can restore his reputation and use his ideological weapon against Marxism, has little resistance. Gü nter Rolmercer clearly stated this true intention in Nietzsche and the End of Liberation: "All attempts to guide revolutionary actions with Marxism and cancel alienation have obviously failed, and Nietzsche has won practical significance." (45)
In previous Marxist studies, Nietzsche was generally regarded as the pioneer of fascism. This view reveals the ideological consistency and origin relationship between them in essence, and points out the essence of their defense for the internal and external policies of monopoly capital in the imperialist era. This is very important and should be affirmed.
But the word "pioneer" means "leading", "opening the way" and "leading". This view lacks concrete analysis, is simplistic and one-sided, overemphasizes the equality of the two and ignores the differences between them. This is why people usually think that Nietzsche is a fascist, and Nietzsche's thought is one of the important reasons for the illusion of fascist thought.
It should be pointed out that Nietzsche is not a fascist, and Nietzsche's thoughts are not equal to Nazism. The reason is that Nietzsche not only lived in the century before fascism and Nazism, but also Nietzsche's thought did not create Nazism. Otherwise, the historical role of philosophy is overemphasized. At the same time, historical practice has proved that there are important differences between reactionary and anti-humanity philosophy and bloody terrorist rule and heinous crimes. In addition, we can't ignore some factors in Nietzsche's thought that are opposite to Nazism:
(1) Nietzsche didn't mean to be racist. Nietzsche is not anti-Semitic. He refused his sister to spread anti-Semitic ideas to him. Nietzsche's view of race was not influenced by the popular anti-Semitism at that time, but only emphasized the reappearance of aristocratic characteristics in realistic German culture. The racism advocated by Hitler not only advocated that the Germanic race was the dominant race, but also regarded Jews and Slavs as inferior races.
(2) Nietzsche was not a narrow Prussian-German nationalist except in the initial stage. Nietzsche denied the principle of nationality, called it a barbaric and uncivilized country, and opposed the nationalism prevailing at that time. He was born in Germany now, but he lives in Switzerland. He left the country and lived all over Europe. Before he went crazy, he even had the idea of establishing a European Federation and a world government.
(3) Contrary to the Nazi view that the Third Reich was a continuation of Bismarck's Empire, Nietzsche made a fierce criticism of the ruling stage of his time-the German Empire, its founder and Bismarck. He called the Bismarck Empire a country without culture, and the Bismarck era was an ignorant and harmonious era. He criticized Bismarck's "mainland policy" in sharp language for being too narrow. He accused the rule of being too free and loose.