Modern Antisemitism

...

anti-modern. Many French nationalists saw Catholicism as an essential constituent of French national identity, and therefore opposed Jews on religious grounds. They also identified them with the Republic because they were seen as a modernizing force, and were held responsible for programs such as the one that secularized French education (Patterson). Meanwhile, some outside groups condemned this anti-Semitism as reactionary and brutal, as epitomized by pogroms that were present in Russia. Anti-Semitism never found a respectable constituency in France, it was widely condemned. French Jews were encouraged to assimilate because there was little tolerance of cultural differences in France, and many Jews did indeed abandon their traditional beliefs which is why in modern society many Jews now have lost their roots and have created new ones in Israel (Patterson). Organized propaganda against the Jews continued to portray them as an alien and diverse element that was opposed to French national interests, however. The crucial factor in political antisemitism in France was the collapse of conservative ideas such as royalist, Bonapartism and Boulangist. A slogan was even created in politics that was “France for the French” which strengthen the idea of anti-Semitism being brought into politics. Mass politics continuously played a part in for antisemitism for it was a useful tool for appealing to the masses who believed the Jew could be a threat or anarchist. These ideas of the Jewish people being associated with certain ideas and groups continues in modern society as they are silenced by modern stereotypes and history.

If similarities can be distinguished in the countries discussed so far from the past into modern society then Nazi Germany stands as at the top of the list for promoting modern anti-Semitism. This was the only nation-state that made anti-Semitism a strong part of their national ideology, who held the ideology of race to be the most significant factor in all world history and later its future. An ideology is something which explains to its supporters every event in the world, and spreading racism was the Nazis main goal (The Holocaust History). Adolf Hitler laced all previous strands of racialist thought together and used antisemitism as its focal point. The ultimate enemy of the Nazi regime was the Jew, and no purification of the German race was worthwhile so long as it still stood the danger of being overthrown again by the Jews. Nazi anti-Semitism was therefore not a reactive response to meager social or economic conditions, but a proactive force which encouraged people to take action against the Jews (The Holocaust History). In this respect, the policy of the Nazi government was radically different from anything else in Europe, but explaining from when this rigor came is an argumentative and politically-charged issue. Many argue that the German society was and always had been anti-Semitic to the core, but those ideas have been shot down for lack of evidence and it being too general of a statement (The Holocaust History). Even still these ideas were seen as thoroughly anti-Semitic and convinced many people to conform, but these ideas have since been drowned out in modern society.

As stated in the slide presentation titled “Lesson 17” after WWII 2.65 million Jews still lived in eastern Europe and 1 million remained in western Europe, expresses how the Jews were forced to remain in unforgiving territory and they still were not fully welcomed back into the European society, and now they were viewed as a burden (Plocker). Even still Jews had a difficult time trying to readjust after the war, and offered help was scarce so Jews were left to rebuild their values and communities by themselves. The Jews did this to make sure that the treatment to them would never be repeated in the future.

The Jewish survivors of WWII became a displaced group and they sought out immigration into the western allies’ territories. Camps were set up for Jews awaiting their chance to leave Europe (The Holocaust Explained). This caused the United States to put restriction in place limiting the number of immigrants who could enter the United States. Then this was followed by the British limiting their Jewish immigration intake and this left the Jewish people with hardly anywhere to go (The Holocaust Explained). It was not until in 1947 the British government decided to submit this problem to the United Nations which led Palestine to be broken into two new states one for the Jews and one for the Arabs.

This new state became what is now known as Israel. This finally gave the Jews a place to belong and build a culture as a country where they would not be oppressed by opposing government ideas. This created a whole new idea of anti-Semitism for the Jewish people. Now that the Jewish people were concentrated mainly in one area they were now targeted as a whole and even targeted each other. The idea of an Orthodox Jew started to slowly fade away over time and now in modern society there are non-religious Jews who just identify as Jewish for their background.

As stated by the Anti-Historical Anti-Semitism journal “the general trend that can be seen within in all aspects of modern antisemitism is a reaction to modernization”. This idea is also seen with the creation of Israel, even Jews themselves condemn modernization because when people wanted to label themselves as non-religious or be involved in an interracial relationship there was a divide. In countries such as Austria where the Jews were largely bourgeoisie, they were particularly at risk as capitalism developed. Enemies of the idea of a modern, secular nation-state identified the Jews with it and attacked them for trying to assimilate through service in the liberal professions or as bankers loaning money to the state. The intensity of antisemitism varied both in terms of political ideas and actual action, mainly because until Hitler there was not really any anti-Semitic politician that was in a position to cause as much destruction as he was able to do (Patterson). Mass politics, was ultimately what made antisemitism so hidden and coveted until now where the term anti-Semitism holds a lot less meaning then it did when Jews were experiencing it the most. The difference now in modern society is the Jews are not affected as much by anti-Semitism they are affected by a more simplified term known as discrimination because they are not mistreated by blood, but by how they label themselves now.

Works Cited

"Modern Anti-Semitism |." The Holocaust History - A People’s and Survivor History - Remember.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2017. <http://remember.org/guide/history-root-modern>.

"Modern antisemitism." The Holocaust Explained.