The Antichrist

Content Warning: The Antichrist and H.L. Mencken’s introduction contain multiple antisemitic phrases and idioms.

First published in America in 1918, American journalist and essayist H.L. Mencken’s translation of Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Antichrist—originally written in German and released as Der Antichrist in 1895—stood as the preeminent English version of the text for half a century. Mencken’s reprint helped the West reconcile with Nietzsche’s iconoclastic philosophies following the horrors of World War I, though it was no less controversial than it had been at the end of the 19th century. In The Antichrist, Nietzsche wields his philosophy in a full-force attack on Christianity and its effects on Western civilization, arguing for the eradication of Christian morality among the philosophical elite. This guide refers to the CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform paperback published in 2012.

Summary

In the Introduction, H.L. Mencken reexamines the implications of Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Antichrist in the interwar years. During World War I, the Allied Powers decried Nietzsche’s iconoclasm, while the German Empire selectively embraced Nietzsche’s writings in their quest for nationalistic conquest and affirmation. In Mencken’s opinion, Nietzsche was misunderstood on both counts: Nietzsche’s anti-Christian sentiment never extended to the religion itself, as the work was consumed by common people, and he ultimately viewed nationalism as a foolish prospect.