He believed, correctly I think, that people had lost real faith and fear of God; consequently, God was dead as a form of control of antisocial influences. He was so sure of this he predicted the early 20th century would provide a plethora of ruthless leaders who would wage indiscriminate, catastrophic wars. Well, we got Stalin, Mao and Hitler. Exactly. You are very astute.
I always found it interesting that Frederick spent that last years of his life insane.
In the following few days, Nietzsche sent short writings — known as the "Wahnbriefe" ("Madness Letters") — to a number of friends (including Cosima Wagner and Jacob Burckhardt). To his former colleague Burckhardt, Nietzsche wrote: "I have had Caiaphas put in fetters. Also, last year I was crucified by the German doctors in a very drawn-out manner. Wilhelm, Bismarck, and all anti-Semites abolished."[13] Additionally, he commanded the German emperor to go to Rome in order to be shot and summoned the European powers to take military action against Germany.[14]
and summoned the European powers to take military action against Germany.[14]
Interesting that he wrote that in 1889. I used to wonder whether he was possessed.
He probably had central nervous system lues (Syphilis). At least that is what one doctor diagnosed early in his illness. He required almost constant care and supervision during the last 10 years of his life--his proto-Nazi sister and his mother were the caregivers.
He wrote nothing in this time although the sister pulled notes together and then wrote Will to Power. Academic philosophers discount much of what was written by his sister as being really Nietzsche's. In any case, notes are not the same as a reflected upon essay or book.
While he had two relationships with women--they were not sexual. One with a woman named Salome was a real disaster since he pursued her across Europe.
Best guess in recent years is that Nietzsche acquired Syphilis when he frequented male brothels in Sicily. Very sketchy evidence of that. Nietzsche never talked much about his personal life.
In many ways his writings, while brilliant, are so antagonistic to Christendom and Biblically based morals they seem to be based on his resentment of the Biblical rejection of homosexual acts.