Home >> The Modern Language Review, Volume 98, Number 2

‘Fighting a Philosophy’: The Figure of Nietzsche in British Propaganda of the First World War

Author: Martin N.

Source: The Modern Language Review, Volume 98, Number 2, 1 April 2003 , pp. 367-380(14)

Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association

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Abstract:

The article describes how Nietzsche's name became a focus for the expression of anti-German sentiment in writings by British opinion-formers and propagandists at the time of the First World War. Drawing on a range of sources, this essay counters the view that Nietzsche's impact on British public opinon in 1914 was negligible. It is argued that the singular view of Nietzsche which emerged in Britain at this time was due not only to the demands of wartime propaganda but also to the malleability of Nietzsche's texts. The article emphasizes the irony of this exploitation, given Nietzsche's hostility to nationalism and ‘Germanness’.

Keywords: Nietzsche's; anti-German sentiment; the First World War; wartime propaganda; nationalism

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: University of St Andrews

Publication date: 2003-04-01

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  • The Modern Language Review, the flagship journal of the Association, is available to all individual members as part of their subscription. MLR is one of the oldest journals in its field, maintaining an unbroken publication record since its foundation in 1905, and publishing more than 3,000 articles and 20,000 book reviews.

    Each volume consists of four issues, published in January, April, July and October of each year. Its 1000+ annual pages are divided roughly equally between articles, predominantly on medieval and modern literature in the languages of Europe, and over 500 reviews of books in these areas. All contributions are in English, and each section is edited by a noted scholar in the field, under the overall supervision of the General Editor. Articles are chosen not only for their scholarly worth and originality but also, as far as possible, for their potential interest to a wider readership in other disciplines.
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