Friedrich Nietzsche’s Influence on Hitler Essay

Friedrich Nietzsche had broached the estimate of Ubermensch (translated as Superman) as one of the core features of his philosophy. This idea which set the stage for individualism by touching on concepts of self-surpassing and self-mastery is explicitly propounded in his closely famous work, Thus Spake Zarathustra where the protagonist, Zarathustra said I teach you the superman. patch is some issue that is to be surpassed. What sustain you done to surpass man? The Superman is the meaning of the earth. Let your will say The Superman shall be the meaning of the earthI conjure you, my brethren, remain true to the earth, and believe not those who speak unto you of superearthly hopes Poisoners be thy, whether they now it or not. Despisers of life be they, decaying ones and poisoned ones themselves, of whom the earth is weary so outside with them (Nietzsche, 1999 3) This, together with another concept introduced by Nietzsche, the will to power had triggered in Hitler a narcissistic interpretation of Nietzsches philosophy where Hitler most certainly set himself, and served as his justification for his concept of racial superiority.Although Nietzsche may not have intended to influence Hitler towards anti-Semitism, it was in his language to which Hitlers distortion could be attributed. His substance abuse of the concepts whole-man and half-man as well as master morality and slave morality as means towards the achievement of a new order gave Hitler a anchor for his Anti-Semitic ideas. Nietzsche believed that noble morality, in contrast to slave morality, contributed towards the improvement of the race.Nietzsche describes the nobles as people who see themselves as creators of civilization, saviors of the all and protectors of everyone from everything contemptible (Nietzsche, 1999). Meanwhile, the slaves are those who see the nobles as oppressive and themselves, the oppressed, being incap able of production and giving rise to their resentment towards creativity. As Hitler sees them, through their inherently oppressed status, they induce in the nobles a olfactory perception of guilt and resentment towards their own superhuman status, hindering their own productivity and thus, serve as a bar against the realization of their full potential.To him, the salvation of good-will dwells only in the hands of the nobility and definitely not in the slaves. In Mein Kampf, Hitler writes A human community appears well organized only if it facilitates the labors of these notional forces in the most helpful way and applies them in a manner beneficial to all In this it must proceed from the principle that the salvation of humankind has never lain in the kittyes, but in its creative minds, which must therefore really be regarded as benefactors of the human race (Hitler, 1971 367). Compounded by Hitlers narcissistic interpretation, his identification with the Superman, and his anti-Semitic philosophy, it is not surprising that Hitler would identify himse lf with the nobles who, applying Nietzsches concept of will to power and Nietzsches affirmation of the existence of destroyers of the earth who must be eliminated Poisoners are thy, whether they now it or not. Despisers of life are they, decaying ones and poisoned ones themselves, of whom the earth is weary so away with them(Nietzsche, 1999 3) must have felt the urge to rectify the race from such impurities as the slaves who prevent the human race from reaching the zenith of civilization and whom he most likely associated with the Jews. His determination of the nobles and slaves in the real realism can be best demonstrated in Mein Kampf The most unbeautiful thing there can be in human life is and remains the duad of slavery. Or do these schwabing ? decadents view the present lot of the German people as aesthetic?Certainly we dont have to discuss these matters with the Jews, the most modern inventors of this cultural perfume. Their whole existence is an embodied protest against t he aesthetics of the lords image (Hitler, 1971 154). In Hitlers mind, this facilitation of the labor of creative forces involves mass killings to an end of racial extinction. For Nietzsche, it is the Superman who would create a new morality in order to harness the will to power and destroy slave moralities.He believes that with an increase in greatness in a man, there is a contemporaneous increase in his wickedness and terribleness. This is justified because such increase in wickedness and terribleness are the only means to bring the status of human beings to a higher state a means to surpass himself to fly the coop away from the lesser creature that he was as consistent with the purpose of the Superman. In Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche, through his protagonist said Man is something that is to be surpassed. What have you done to surpass man?All beings hitherto have created something beyond themselves and you want to be the ebb of that great tide, and would rather go back to t he brute than surpass man? What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman a laughing-stock, a thing of shame (Nietzsche, 1999 3). If it is true that Hitler was influenced by Nietzsches writings, Hitler read Nietzsches terribleness to mean the need for brutality and destruction in order to refine humanity and remove all traces of imperfection to achieve a race of Superhumans.Humanity can only be cleansed of imperfection if such lesser human beings are prevented from interbreeding, propagating their genes to allow further continuance of the slave line, To Hitler, this is the only means to which a Superman, that is, referring to himself, can rule the orb. In Mein Kampf, he says when the highest type of man has previously conquered and subjected the world to an extent that makes him the sole ruler of the earth (Hitler, 1971 288). Extermination, then, becomes an essential element for the realization of Hitlers utopia.He, in his own hands sought the application of Darwins evolution by ruthlessly eliminating his weaker and lower human beings. According to him Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal make out do not deserve to live (Hitler, 1971 289). That said, for Hitler, mass killings and the use of violence can be justified if only for the purpose of saving mankind from the slaves who are the sole source of its degeneration, that is, those who lack the motivation for self-preservation and those who impose guilt on the nobles by perpetually seeking others help.His resolve was characterized by alienating any expression of slavery by exterminating them. It cannot be gainsaid that Hitler used Nietzsches philosophy to justify his own. What Hitler had done however, cannot in any way be imputed to Nietzsche. Reading all of Nietzsches works as a whole, one cannot help but doubt whether Nietzsche truly shared whatever anti-Semitic sentiments that p revailed during their time.At most, the resultant justification that Hitler was able to get hold of from Nietzsche was merely a product of his megalomaniacal search for an intelligent bearing to support his propaganda and to further cultivate his delusions of grandeur and personal annoyance against specific races, accepting what phrases that apply to his vision and rejecting those that did not.Works Cited Hitler, A. (1924). Mein Kampf (James Murphy, Trans. ) NL Fredonia Books. (Original work published 1927-1927). Nietzsche, F. (1999). Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Thomas Common, Trans. ) New York Dover Publications. (Original Work published 1883-1885).