Rudolf Steiner and Friedrich Nietzsche

The offhand description of Steiner as a "disciple" of Nietzsche by Peter Staudenmaier in his article Anthroposophy and Ecofascism caused me to look into their relationship in more depth. After reading a few books on the subject (some standard Steiner biographies and a few books and articles by Steiner) I came to the conclusion that "disciple" is not the best descriptive adjective. I concluded:

So we see Rudolf Steiner as an early scholar of Nietzsche; someone who made great efforts to understand Nietzsche's thought, but at the same time someone who distanced himself from Nietzsche's conclusions, and from the bands of enthusiasts who took up the cause in Nietzsche's name.

This was but one of the many misrepresentations by Staudenmaier in his article Anthroposophy and Ecofascism.