Why did Germany and other European countries hate Jews?

Answer 1

As a general rule people who hate a particular race, religion or creed do so because of fear or ignorance. It is also encouraged by people with an agenda against that group, using Propaganda, half truths and lies. Hatred also underlies much violence in the world. If people stopped exerting so much energy toward hating people who are different, they might just have the energy to rebuild this world to be a happier place.

As specifically concerns the Europeans, for the longest period of time, Jews were the only "other" in European society and thus received the brunt of the us vs. them dialogue. Some important forms of Anti-Semitism in Europe are:

• Religious Anti-Semitism: The Jewish rejection of Christ and the Church, not to mention the allegations that Jews were Christ-killers was one of the most important causes of Anti-Semitism prior to the 19th century.
• Economic Anti-Semitism: Jews were forced by edict to work in very few fields and principal among them was banking. Therefore, Jews were often accused of being greedy and usurious because they made lemonade out of the lemons handed to them.
• Racial and Pseudo-Scientific Anti-Semitism: Jews, especially in the later modern period, were believed to be a weaker, inferior race than the true ethnic Christian and this could be "verified" through scientific observations.
• Ideological Anti-Semitism: By the power of the odds, Jews would be associated with radical or liberal movements in a minor fashion, however, rather than targeting those from the majority who were Communists of Anarchists, Jews who did these acts were labelled traitors.
• Cultural Anti-Semitism: Many Europeans thought Jews were "diseased" and would impact the social and moral fabric of society. This is similar to the accusations currently leveled at the Gay Community with just as much truth.
• Islamic Anti-Semitism: After World War II, many Muslims immigrated to Europe and brought ingrained Anti-Semitic beliefs with them, equating Jews to monkeys and pigs. While there are certainly European Muslim leaders (such as Tariq Ramadan) who argue that such things are un-Islamic, they persist.

Answer 2

Short answer: Because Europeans were Christians and had been taught that "the Jews killed Jesus" for about 1,500 years (even though Jesus himself was a Jew).

Long answer: Anti-Semitism took on many different forms in Europe throughout the ages. Countless pogroms, crusades and inquisitions were launched against the Jews of Europe since the days of ancient Rome and ultimately culminated in the Holocaust in Nazi Germany during WWII.

In Roman times the Jews were persecuted because they wouldn't bow down before the Roman Emperor and worship him like a God. The Romans were generally very tolerant of foreign religions... with one exception... they had to pay homage to the Emperor. Due to the very fundamentals of Judaism, the Jews could not and would not do that and rebelled against the Empire a number of times. Finally, during the reign of the infamous Emperor Nero, the Jewish rebellion was crushed and the Jews were either enslaved or exiled from the land of Israel. The Romans renamed the region Palestine and so it remained for about 2,000 years, until the modern State of Israel was born in the 20th century.

By the time the Roman Empire began to collapse, Western Europe had been partially Christianized and was fully Christianized in the Middle Ages that followed. At this time in history, the Jewish diaspora was complete after the destruction of their homeland and many had settled in Europe. They were largely viewed as outsiders and wanderers by the medieval townspeople of the villages and cities that they settled in and were often accused of practicing witchcraft and wizardry. The Catholic Church enacted different laws that forbade Jews from entering the military which led many of them to take up commerce and trade. At the same time, the Vatican also enacted laws that proclaimed that Christians could not lend money which in turn led to Jews taking up jobs in the banking and credit professions (and is where many of the Jewish stereotypes about money come from). The "special privilege" granted to Jews in regards to money-lending was one of the roots that led to some of the most virulent anti-Semitic movements in the Western World.

Not only were Jews viewed as outsiders at this point but many of them were also becoming wealthy thru their business dealings. This led to many instances of confiscation and flat out robbery. Jews were also blamed for whatever tragic event befell the population at the time. For example, during the "Black Death" epidemic, Jews were accused of poisoning the water supplies which led to massacres all over Europe.

During the very beginning of the Middle Ages, Southern Spain fell to the Muslim Caliphate which had claimed a good portion of the former Roman Empire (i.e. North Africa, Arabia, Palestine, Turkey, etc...). Christian Spaniards in the North accused the Jews of treason and aiding the Caliphate in their conquest. More massacres ensued. After the "Reconquista" of Spain by the Christians, the Spanish Inquisition was set in motion which led to the persecution, torture, conversions or murder of thousands of Jews and non-Catholics throughout Spain.

In response to the Muslim conquest, the Europeans launched the Crusades to recapture the Holy Land. Entire cities were put to the sword; Muslims, Jews, Eastern Christians and pagans alike. The Crusaders burned a trail of death and destruction on their way to the Holy Land and didn't let up when they got there. The Muslims had been tolerant of all religions while ruling Jerusalem but after it's capture by the Europeans, the entire population of the city was massacred indiscriminately. After the Europeans were eventually defeated and driven out of the Holy Land, the Christian population of Europe blamed the Jews yet again for their downfall... as European nations would do for countless wars and conflicts in the future.

Anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany in the late 1920's/early 1930's. Once again the Jews were accused of treason and "working for the enemy" after Germany's defeat in WWI. Hitler seized upon this idea and started equating Judaism with communism, which were both unpopular in Germany at the time. The average German couldn't understand how they had lost the war since all of the fronts of battle were on foreign soil. They blamed Jewish businessmen for getting them into the war, accusing them of war profiteering, and blamed the perceived "Judeo-Bolshevik Conspiracy" for losing the war. At the time, most of the world was held in the grip of the "Great Depression" and Germany was hit particularly hard due to the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty. The Nazis accused the wealthy Jews of Germany of "trying to destroy the German race" and went on to boycott Jewish businesses. Eventually, Jewish businesses were smashed and looted, Synagogues burned, Rabbis beaten in the streets, families forced to wear the Star of David and were ultimately captured and sent to an unimaginably grisly fate behind the barb-wired fences of death camps such as Auschwitz, Dachau and Bergen-Belsen. The Nazis took women, children, the elderly... everyone. 6 million Jews were exterminated by the Nazis in the worst case of genocide known to man. Who's to say it wouldn't have happened earlier had the Spanish Inquisitioners or the Crusaders had access to modern weaponry?

The urban legend that Hitler was part Jewish is a lie. It's just more anti-Semitism in the same light as "the Jews killed Jesus". By claiming that Hitler was a Jew, people are trying to pass the Holocaust itself back on the Jews, as if one of their own was somehow responsible for it. Hitler was by no means a Jew nor were any of his ministers (as far as we know). Sadly, the destruction Hitler and the Nazis wrought upon the Jewry of Europe was by no means an isolated incident. It was an epoch in a dark history of persecution against the Jews and non-Christians. Hopefully, as we move into the modern age (with memories of the Holocaust in the front of our mind) we will not repeat the crimes of our ancestors.

Answer 3

All European countries were Catholic and it is clear and well known that popes always blamed the Jew people for killing Jesus.

Even Freud said that he coun't understand why they had this way.

When the WW2 started Germany started killing jews and Catholic church made nothing to stop it. some Priest did but not in Church service.

All other countries don't had worries about it.

Answer 4

Feelings towards the Jews in Europe varied from relative indifference to (indeed) hate. The reason was a combination of factors. Religion was one: the Jews as "killers of our Lord Jesus" was an argument often used, and the Biblical quote "His blood be on our heads" was seen as a good reason to see or condone that Jewish blood was indeed spilt. The fact that European Jews often kept to themselves sometimes created undeserved resentment - the word 'ghetto' derives from the name of a village near Venetia where Jews (quite voluntarily) had decided to live together.

The fact that a (very modest) number were involved in banking and other 'financial' activities created an image of 'power behind the screens' that Adolf Hitler for one was quick to exploit. The feelings towards Jews were not exclusive to Europe, though; until the Sixties Jews were looked down upon by many in the USA as well, and few if any Wall Street firms, WASP law firms or country clubs would ever consider a Jewish fellow citizen as a partner or a member.

The level of hate in Europe varied per country: Eastern European countries have had a history of progroms and mass murder; Spain once chased them out of the country and England long - until the 17th century - banned their presence. Medieval Germany knew several violent progroms, spurred on by Crusade fervor; but by the 19th century German Jews were well-assimilated, feeling German before they felt Jewish; the Dutch Republic even was considered especially friendly to Jews.

Answer 5

Historians have listed six explanations as to why some people hate the Jews:
1) Economic: Some people hate Jews because "they possess too much wealth and power."
2) Chosen People: Some hate the Jews because Jews claim that they are the chosen people (Exodus ch.19 and other passages).
3) Scapegoat: Jews seem to be a convenient group to single out and blame for the troubles of society.
4) Deicide: Some hate the Jews "because they killed Jesus."
5) Outsiders: Some hate the Jews "because they are different than us." (Xenophobia.)
6) Racial Theory: Some hate the Jews "because they are an inferior race."

As we examine the explanations, we must ask: Are they causes for anti-Semitism or excuses for it? The difference being, that if one takes away the cause, then anti-Semitism should no longer exist. If one can show a contradiction to the explanation, it demonstrates that the "cause" is not a reason, it is just an excuse.Let's look at some of the contradictions:

Economic -- The Jews of 17th- 19th century Poland and Russia were dirt poor and had no influence, and yet they were hated.

Chosen People -- a) In the late 19th century, most Jews of Germany denied "Chosenness;" and they assimilated. Yet the Holocaust started there.

b) Christians and Moslems also profess to being the "Chosen people," but the world and the anti-Semites tolerate them.

Scapegoat -- Any group must already be hated to be an effective scapegoat. The Scapegoat theory does not cause anti-Semitism. Rather, anti-Semitism is what makes the Jews a convenient target. Hitler's ranting and ravings would not be taken seriously if he said, "It's the bicycle riders and the midgets who are destroying our society."

Deicide -- a) the Christian Bible says the Romans killed Jesus, with Jews mentioned as accomplices. (The claims that Jews directly killed Jesus came several hundred years later). Why are the alleged accomplices persecuted, but there hasn't been an anti-Roman movement through history?

b) Jesus himself said, "Forgive them [i.e., the Jews], for they know not what they do." And the Second Vatican Council in 1963 officially exonerated the Jews as the killers of Jesus. Neither of these events lessened anti-Semitism.

Outsiders -- With the Enlightenment in the late 18th century, many Jews rushed to assimilate. Anti-Semitism should have stopped. Instead, for example, the Nazis proclaimed in essence: We hate you, not because you're different, but because you're trying to become like us! We cannot allow you to "infect" the Aryan race with your "inferior genes."

Racial Theory -- The overriding problem with this theory is that it is self-contradictory: Jews are not a race. Anyone can become a Jew - and members of every race, creed and color in the world have done so at one time or another.

Answer 6

Because Hitler needed some one to blame for losing the war and he also disliked any one that was different then him even though he was part Jew himself