Coming to Nolte's defence were the journalist Joachim Fest, the philosopher Helmut Fleischer, and the historians Klaus Hildebrand, Rainer Zitelmann, Hagen Schulze, Thomas Nipperdey and Imanuel Geiss. The last was unusual amongst Nolte's defenders as Geiss was normally identified with the left, while the rest of Nolte's supporters were seen as either on the right or holding centrist views. In response to Wehler's book, Geiss later published a book entitled "Der Hysterikerstreit. Ein unpolemischer Essay" ("The Hysterical Dispute: An Unpolemical Essay") in which he largely defended Nolte against Wehler's criticisms. Geiss wrote Nolte's critics had "taken in isolation" his statements and were guilty of being "hasty readers"