For some time it has been popular to disparage the works of the infamous German thinker, Friedrich Nietzsche, on the grounds that his thought is dangerous, that it lends itself to totalitarianism and, more specifically, to fascism. The history of Nietzsche's adoption by the forces of National Socialism in Germany has been well documented. Adolf Hitler personally approved of Nietzsche's writings, and upon coming to power he promoted one of Nietzsche's first Nazi disciples, Alfred Baumler, to professor of philosophy in Berlin. During the Nazi period Nietzsche was both widely read and celebrated in Germany. He was considered to be one of the master-thinkers of the Aryan race. After Germany lost the war, Nietzsche's thought fell into disrepute. Martin Heidegger even blamed his involvement in Nazi politics on the influence of Nietzsche. Since that time, however, Nietzsche's work has enjoyed a modest revival. Nevertheless, Nietzsche is still viewed with suspicion in many circles because of a circumstance of history that was beyond his control. Many critics continue to argue that Nietzsche's thinking is at best dangerous or, at worst, downright evil because it leads directly to fascism.
This argument, I contend, is simply untenable given a careful reading of Nietzsche's work. From an examination of his texts, skipping the "approved" Nazi interpretations, one can easily argue that Nietzsche would have certainly opposed his appropriation by National Socialism, particularly its hideous manifestation in Nazi Germany. Here I list but a few of the many arguments that support this view:
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