NIETZSCHE, WAGNER, AND THE "JEWISH QUESTION"

The young Friedrich Nietzsche was not immune to cultural prejudice against Jews which was part of his general outlook during the period that he came under the spell of Richard Wagner. Aspects of this cultural antisemitism can still be found in Nietzsche's tirades against Judeo-Christianity which would later influence Fascists and Nazis. However, after breaking with Wagner in 1878, Nietzsche emerged as the most anti-antisemitic of all the modern German philosophers. This essay explores the nature and reasons for Nietzsche's vehement opposition to antisemitism. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]