Hitler's Favorite Jew

The fascinating and controversial story of the Jewish philosopher whose ideas influenced some of the twentieth century’s most influential—and destructive—figures.

In Hitler’s Favorite Jew, philosopher Allan Janik examines the extraordinary and troubling life of Otto Weininger (1880–1903), the brilliant but deeply conflicted Viennese thinker whose controversial work Sex and Character left a lasting mark on European intellectual history. Born into a Jewish family, Weininger converted to Christianity and developed theories about gender, identity, morality, and Judaism that remain among the most debated ideas of the early twentieth century.

Drawing on decades of research, Janik explores how Weininger’s writings influenced figures such as Adolf Hitler, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and James Joyce, while examining the contradictions of a thinker whose work contained both disturbing prejudices and ambitious philosophical questions about human nature. Through the lens of fin-de-siècle Vienna, Janik presents a complex portrait of intellectual ambition, cultural anxiety, and the dangerous afterlife of ideas.

• First published in 2021
• A biography and intellectual history of Otto Weininger and his controversial legacy
• Explores the connections between philosophy, antisemitism, gender theory, and modern European thought

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A compelling study of one of modern history’s most puzzling intellectual figures, Hitler’s Favorite Jew challenges readers to consider how ideas are formed, transformed, and sometimes distorted by history.

About the Author

Allan Janik is a philosopher and scholar specializing in the intellectual history of modern Europe, particularly the culture of fin-de-siècle Vienna. He is best known for his work on Ludwig Wittgenstein, Otto Weininger, and the relationship between philosophy, language, and cultural history. Janik is the co-author of Wittgenstein’s Vienna and has written extensively on the thinkers and movements that shaped twentieth-century intellectual life.