Hitler and Wagner: The leader, the master and the Jews
The almost messianic fervour with which Hitler planned the extermination of European Jewry was inspired by Richard Wagner's antisemitism. Ignored by many critics but often cited by Hitler, Wagner's ‘Prose Works’ specifically develop the idea that Judeo‐Christian morality and Jewish commerce must be eliminated so that humanity can regain oneness with Nature and true pagan love. Wagner cast himself as the saviour of the German people through art. Hitler translated Wagner's crusade into politics.