Roots of Hate: Anti-Semitism in Europe before the Holocaust

by William I. Brustein

• ISBN13: 9780521774789
• ISBN10: 0521774780
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

How did the levels of anti-Semitism in the 1930s compare to those of earlier decades? Did anti-Semitism vary in content and intensity across societies? In other words, were Germans more anti-Semitic than their European neighbors, and, if so, why? How does anti-Semitism differ from other forms of religious, racial, and ethnic prejudice? William I. Brustein offers the first truly systematic comparative and empirical examination of anti-Semitism within Europe before the Holocaust. Brustein proposes that European anti-Semitism flowed from religious, racial, economic, and political roots, which became enflamed by economic distress, rising Jewish immigration, and socialist success. To support his arguments, Brustein draws upon a careful and extensive examination of the annual volumes of the American Jewish Year Books and more than 40 years of newspaper reportage from Europe's major dailies. The findings of this informative book offer a fresh perspective on the roots of society's longest hatred.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables	viii
Preface	xi
1 Introduction: Anti-Semitism in Europe before the Holocaust	1	(48)
2 The Religious Root	49	(46)
3 The Racial Root	95	(82)
4 The Economic Root	177	(88)
5 The Political Root	265	(72)
6 Conclusion	337	(18)
Appendix: Coding Instrument - Anti-Semitic Questionnaire for European Press (1899-1939)	355	(6)
Bibliography	361	(16)
Index	377