Martin Heidegger e Gerhard Krüger (Carteggio 1925-1963)

This study presents, for the first time, Heidegger’s letter to Gerhard Krüger, one of his most perceptive students and a close associate of Bultmann. Although Krüger has fallen into undeserved oblivion, at least compared to Gadamer and Löwith, these documents indirectly reveal his profound engagement with his philosophical mentor, ranging from the Dasein-analytic to the Kantian question of finitude. Therefore, they record a genuine Auseinandersetzung and attest to Heidegger’s sustained interest in his student’s work, while offering valuable insights into the genesis of Sein und Zeit. In the introduction, I seek to reestablish Krüger’s role as a significant interlocutor within twentieth-century hermeneutics, suggesting that his reflection on Kant’s doctrine of sensibility and freedom may have subtly influenced his mentor’s own understanding of Kant. Ultimately, the correspondence also sheds light on Heidegger’s and Krüger’s early involvement with the Nietzsche Archive.