The Jew of Linz (1998) is a controversial book by Australian writer Kimberley Cornish. It alleges that Ludwig Wittgenstein, later a renowned philosopher, as a schoolboy was acquainted with and had a profound impact on Adolf Hitler, later leader of Nazi Germany, and thereby on subsequent history, and that Wittgenstein later was involved in a pro-Soviet spy ring.
The point of departure for Cornish's argument is the fact that Wittgenstein and Hitler...
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The Jew of Linz (1998) is a controversial book by Australian writer Kimberley Cornish. It alleges that Ludwig Wittgenstein, later a renowned philosopher, as a schoolboy was acquainted with and had a profound impact on Adolf Hitler, later leader of Nazi Germany, and thereby on subsequent history, and that Wittgenstein later was involved in a pro-Soviet spy ring.
The point of departure for Cornish's argument is the fact that Wittgenstein and Hitler both attended the Realschule in Linz, a school of about 300 students and were simultaneously at the school when they were 15 years old in the school year 1903-4. While Hitler was just six days older than Wittgenstein, they were two grades apart at the Realschule — Hitler was repeating a year and Wittgenstein had been advanced a year. Cornish's thesis is not only that Hitler did know the young Wittgenstein but that he hated Wittgenstein, and that Wittgenstein was specifically the "one Jewish boy" from his school days referred to in the section...
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