Heidegger refused to disavow Nazism because he saw easy repudiations as loathsome

Evidence

A few people did just that, however. One was his former student Herbert Marcuse, formerly an impassioned Heideggerian and now a Marxist. He made the journey in April 1947, hoping to get an explanation and an apology from Heidegger for his Nazi involvement. He did not get either. In August, he wrote asking Heidegger again why he would not make a clear disavowal of the Nazi ideology, when so many people were waiting for just a few words from him. ‘Is this really the way you would like to be remembered in the history of ideas?’ he asked. But Heidegger refused to oblige. He wrote on 20 January 1948 to thank Marcuse for a package he had sent, presumably of much-needed supplies, adding that he had distributed its contents only ‘to former students who were neither in the Party nor had any other connections to National Socialism’. He then turned to Marcuse’s questions, adding, ‘Your letter shows me precisely how difficult it is to converse with persons who have not been in Germany since 1933.’ He explained that he did not want to issue a facile statement of repudiation, because so many real Nazis had rushed to do just that in 1945, announcing their change of belief ‘in the most loathsome way’ without really meaning what they said. Heidegger did not want to join his voice to theirs. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 604

Categorization

• XREF: Heidegger’s refusal to disavow connects to the existentialist theme of authenticity and choosing one’s own stance even when silence is costly — a dark counterpoint to Sartre’s engaged responsibility. — connects to: Heidegger retained Nazi sympathies well after his rectorate resignation — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 298; Heidegger’s core concepts could as easily justify anti-Nazi resistance as submission — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 294; Heidegger embraced Nazism out of conviction, not convenience or coercion. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 269 (+6 more)
• QUESTION: Was Heidegger’s stated reasoning genuine self-respect, or a rationalization for refusing accountability? Interesting to hold against his actual wartime record.

Broader Connections

• Heidegger’s Nazi past and obscure late prose drove away former admirers #complicates (0.80) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 603
• Heidegger appeared to lack character rather than possess bad character #qualifies (0.75) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 307
• Arendt excused Heidegger’s Nazism with the Thales metaphor of an unworldly thinker #responds-to (0.70) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 950