History of Anti- Semitism CHC2D
Anti-Semitism Prejudice, hatred and discrimination against Jews Many ways of expressing hatred and rage against Jews through violence and words Jews are targeted as an individual and as a group Jews consider being Jewish an ethnic group (race) and a religion Term was created in 1879 by German journalist Wilhelm Marr Anti = against Semite = Jewish people
THINK. PAIR. SHARE. Do you think that the Holocaust was a result of: A) extremist Nazis? OR B) years of resentment towards Jews (anti-semitism)? Why do you say so?
Origins This form of prejudice and discrimination towards the Jews is known as “scape- goating” Scape-goating : the practice of singling out another group as the reasons for failure in a particular situation Done to place blame on another group when something is not right/gone wrong Eg. American cotton economy Scape-goating deals with power! Who has power, and the reinforcement of powelessness on another group Anti-semitism has always existed, but...the Holocaust is its most extreme example
Myths Myths and false ideas were spread about the Jews 1) E.g. Blood Libel MYTH that Jews used the blood of Christian children for ritual purpose These myths gave ammunition for others to persecute the Jews 2) E.g. People believed that Jews were responsible for the “Black Death” ( ) A plague spread by rats and killed 1/3 of Europe’s population Jews were the easy target to blame = more violence and expulsions
Biblical Times Jews have been under persecution for over 2000 years (going back to Biblical times) In the Old Testament (Bible), there have been many records of persecution towards the Jews Eg. Being casted as slaves in Egypt Eg. Individuals were placed in jail Eg. Individuals were sought after to be hung due to their refusal of worshipping the “King” of the time Jews were passionate and faithful to their belief: Refused to worship other gods and idols Stubborn and resented the rulers of the time Did not follow kingdom’s values and beliefs (much different to theirs) They were thought to be a threat to the ruler and the ruling class (deviant)
Biblical Times However, there was a split among religious beliefs With the belief over Jesus Christ and his purpose, a new form of religion was formed (Christianity) Christians believed that Jesus was the Saviour of the world, where Jews believed that he was a prophet This caused divide between the two religions Animosity (resentment occurred) Christians believed that their Saviour was killed at the hands of the Jews (Scape-goating) The Jews did not believe that Jesus was their saviour and didn’t protest against his crucifixion Later, Christianity became the main religion throughout Europe, Jews are still not converting – they stay true to their beliefs
Christianity and Judaism Catholic leaders taught its congregation that the Jews were at fault, making the hatred more wide spread. Examples of anti-semitism by Christians in historical times: Destruction of their temples Forcing Migration Forms of punishment for their past wrongdoings and any future wrongdoings that they were going to commit Reason for anti-semitism was that Jews were not accepting Christianity as their faith (when? Year) Jews were a threat …
Medieval Period With the dominant religion being Christianity, Jews often found themselves isolated as outsiders Banned from owning land Forced into “ghettos” Could not earn money in the normal ways of the time Forced into money-lending and tax collecting by rulers = UNPOPULAR amongst society (more hate) 1215 – Jews were forced to wear a badge or hat that marked them as different Resulted in Jews being identified which allowed for attacks to be easier Pogroms were a “popular” act of Anti-semitism “Hate crime”
Expulsion of Jews Jews were expelled from their countries: 1290 – England 1306 – France 1492 – Spain
Change of life?! JEWS GIVEN RIGHTS – 19 th century Due to the rise of science and technology, previous held beliefs were being challenged Asking questions and challenging ideas (which the Jews had done before) became normal in this period Jews were able to live a “normal” life However, people held on to their beliefs of blame towards the Jews E.g. Just like today with racism Resentment towards Jews who became successful was growing Wilhelm Marr (creator) still believed that Jews were unworthy of being a part of European society – believed in Aryan race
Hitler & Anti-Semitism Hitler believed in pure-Aryan race He believed that Jews were the “reason” for Germany’s problems Jews at this time owned private banks, worked in the stock exchange, and ran nation’s newspapers This is due to the removal of banishments against the Jews formally but still were present informally in the minds of citizens and rulers This allowed for Hitler to easily place the blame on the Jewish (easy target) Hitler’s Solution? = banish/remove Jews from society
Revival of Anti-Semitism Certain aspects of anti-semitism were brought back: Jews were marked Forced to live in ghettos (isolation of one race) Unable to work and associate with “Germans”
THINK. PAIR. SHARE. Do you think that the Holocaust was a result of: A) extremist Nazis? OR B) years of resentment towards Jews (anti-semitism)? Why do you think so?
Citations: Prejudice and Anti-semitism. (2011, January 1).. Retrieved May 21, 2014, from semitism/prejudice-and-anti- semitism/#.U315OChzTbw semitism/prejudice-and-anti- semitism/#.U315OChzTbw United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “The Holocaust.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. uleId= Accessed on [May 21, 2014].