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I recently read that Nietzsche was against anti-semitism, though I understand that that doesn't exempt him from being anti-Judaism (though, I'm not entirely sure how one would distinguish the two).
Was Hitler portraying Nietzsche's philosophy as anti-semitic when it wasn't really so, or was it altogether something else about Nietzsche that inspired Hitler's ideologies?
@P. SN Even if Nietzsche wasn't anti-semitic, other aspects of his philosophy might have appealed to Hitler and the Nazis. If Nietzsche and the Nazis had opinions on thousands of separate matters, it is quite possible that they agreed on many if not all things and there might have been enough agreement for Hitler to consider Nietzsche an inspiration. I myself, and many other people, happen to largely agree with Hitler & Nazis on a few things like vegetarianism, animal rights, and anti smoking, though I certainly won't cite Hitler as an inspiration for my opinions!
Read Genealogy of Morals. It's short, and you'll quickly understand how Nietzsche distinguished anti-semitism from anti-Judaism, but also why his work could be easily reappropriated to anti-semitic purposes. His degree of culpability as a person is a complicated and often an emotionally charged issue. He viscerally despised anti-semites, but as they say, he who fights with monsters ...
Nietzsche went insane when he was about 40. His sister took possession of his affairs. She complied his unpublished writings and edited them. She, a big fan of Hitler, published some of her brother's unreleased works and edited a bit to fit the Nazi point of view better.
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