D. F. Krell points to Heidegger's own awareness of "the surreptitious predominance [in Being and Time] of certain forms of thought and language rooted in the metaphysical tradition" that he claimed to be bringing to an end, "such as the idea of 'fundamental ontology' or the readily adopted translation 'truth' for aletheia" (Martin Heidegger: Basic Writings, 33).
Though aware of the problem, Heidegger never adequately addressed it. As a consequence, there are those who find in Being and Time cover for their own metaphysical agendas.
And then there is, of course, that brief period of about 10 months or so when he allowed himself to be seduced by the excitement of National Socialism--an error, in retrospect, of ghastly proportions.
Krell notes: "That his early engagement in the Nazi cause was a monstrous error all concede; that his silence [after the war regarding Nazi atrocities committed during the war] is profoundly disturbing all agree; whether that error and the silence sprang from basic and perdurant tendencies of his thought remains a matter of bitter debate" (ibid., 28).
One can certainly find suggestive clues in Heidegger's thought that potentially point the way to his enthusiasm for Hitler's movement: a deep thread of political conservatism may be detected in some of his writings. Then again, one could interpret Heidegger as on a path parallel to Tolstoy's.
These are perennial Heideggerian frustrations that defy resolution.
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