Nietzsche's Final Years: Mental Collapse, Sister's Editing, and the Legacy of His Last Works

In 1888, Friedrich Nietzsche authored Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and Ecce Homo. He experienced a mental breakdown in January 1889, which resulted in two hospitalizations for psychiatric care. Due to persistent headaches and digestive problems, he left his position at the University of Basel in 1879. Up until 1888, he released nearly one book each year, including Daybreak and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. His collapse in Turin, where he attempted to intervene in the whipping of a horse, was not reported until eleven years later. After receiving strange letters, his friend Franz Overbeck arranged for his treatment. Nietzsche passed away on August 25, 1900, at the age of fifty-five. His sister, Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, looked after him and compiled The Will to Power, which faced accusations of being edited to reflect her racist beliefs.