Heinrich did not dare to laugh at the implications of the question - that he should appear to be a nihilist, simply for mentioning Friedrich Nietzsche's treatises among those he had read and been influenced by! he, a nihilist! quite the reverse! - as he was perfectly aware that to laugh at this point in time would be most distressingly suicidal. Instead, Heinrich stiffened his back a little and stood up taller.
"Nein, Herr Kommissar! I merely mentioned his works as being relevant to me because they offer such radical criticism of socialism; I reasoned that it would be best to analyze all positions on the philosophy I was contemplating adopting as my own rather than make an unwise decision. Nietzsche, in his own words, (the Rheinlander prayed he recalled the quote correctly) hated "the socialist rabble, the chandala apostles... most among the rabble of today."
Heinrich wisely chose not to criticize long-winded or overblown. After all, at times, he feared it was all too true.
