Übermensch / Untermensch

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Übermensch / Untermensch

Probably you have heard that term "Uebermensch" before, and probably you relate that to Nazi ideologies. There is also the term "Untermensch" (subhuman). The Übermensch (German; English: Overman, Superman) is a concept in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche posited the Übermensch as a goal for humanity to set for itself in his 1883 book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" (German: Also Sprach Zarathustra). The book's protagonist, Zarathustra, contends that "man is something which ought to be overcome".



Conclusion: The concept of Nietzsche's "Übermensch" is to get rid off all religion in order to make space for creativity and sense for philosophy. You see that this term has no racist background. The Nazis exploited this term and created the term "Untermensch":

Untermensch (German for under man, sub-man, sub-human; plural: Untermenschen) is a term from Nazi racial ideology used to describe "inferior people", especially "the masses from the East," that is Jews, Gypsies, Poles along with other Slavic people like the Russians, Ukrainians and anyone else who was not an "Aryan" according to the contemporary Nazi race terminology. The German word "Mensch" literally means human.

More infos here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uebermensch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Untermensch