When did antisemitism start during the holocaust?

Answer 1

Answer 1

Sadly it can be traced to the New Testament. In church schools much was made of the Passion of the Christ- by his own people- which in lay terms translates to The Jews Killed Christ! Of course he had to die to fulfill his mission (the Sacrifice of the Cross), but the actual portrayal still looks horribly bad. In some cases Church schools went far beyond the Biblical narrative and came up with obviously fictionalized stories that Jewish merchants were child-killers, such (dead serious nonsense) as the so-called Blood Libel (not to be confused with the more positive concept of a Blood Oath!) The prohibitory angles of persecution even extended, heavy duty, to any attempted marriage between a Catholic and a Jew. This was treated far more severely than an attempted marriage between a Catholic and a Lutheran, or Episcopalian. Catholic-Jewish families were all but banned. A noted exception was the wedding between RCA executive David Sarnoff, Jr. and the opera singer Anna Moffo. This was not quite the Wall Of Sound!

Answer 2

Antisemitism goes well back into the history of Europe. In the early Christian Church, Jews were often considered evil for having rejected and allegedly helping to crucify Jesus. This was aggravated by the fact that Jews - due to religious proscriptions against Christians lending money to other Christians - often became moneylenders in Christian lands, and so were resented as seemingly exploitative outsiders. This became more pronounced through the 19th century, since Jews migrated into mainstream financial positions (bankers, financiers, etc.) but maintained an insular community separate from the surrounding Christians. By the time of the rise of the National Socialist party in Germany in the early 20th century, Jews were seen as a prominent minority in the capitalist class, making them easy targets for the Nazi party's appeal to the perceived Germanic heritage (Aryanism) and appeal to the putatively oppressed working class (Socialism).

Answer 3

Of course, most Jews were not bankers ... Many, especially in Eastern Europe were poor or even destitute (and had to be supported by fellow Jews).

The Nazis and others saw the Jews as "Judeo-Bolshevists", as the biological bearers of Communism, scheming for world domination.

Antisemitism as an ideology that tries to explain all the world's problems in terms of alleged Jewish conspiracies dates from the 1870s and 1880s. It really should be seen as distinct from anti-Judaism: it is a secularized successor and has almost nothing to do with religion.

See the links and related question.

Answer 4

Antisemitism began almost as soon as Judaism began, for any group that exists, there will be others who disagree with it.

Christian antisemitism, as we see in the Holocaust started within the first hundred years of Christianity. Though many of the same reasons for Nazi antisemitism existed, it was never mobilised into such extreme action as under the Nazis.
Antisemitism is a starting place for trying to understand the tragedy which would befall countless numbers of people during the Holocaust.

Answer 2

Israelites and, later, Judeans, were hated by other nations, but this type of hatred was no different than other ethno-nationalist hatreds between states and would bear no resemblance to Anti-Semitism today.

Anti-Semitism as a distinct phenomenon probably dates from the time of the Seleucid Greek Empire in 200s B.C.E., when the more religious Jews refused to accede to Hellenic culture and were branded as odd or traitorous. However, it solidified during the diaspora. The Jews lost a revolt against their Roman overlords around 70 C.E., and as punishment the Romans forced all the Jews to leave Israel. They were scattered to every point of the compass, all over Africa and Europe.

Wherever they wound up, the Jews sought to preserve their separate ethnic and religious identity. This set them apart, made them different.

In Christian countries, many considered the Jews to be "Christ killers". This was because Jesus was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin, a Jewish court which operated in Israel. The Romans typically left local institutions such as the Sanhedrin in operation, so long as they did what the Romans wanted, to help control their conquered subjects. The fact that the death of Jesus on the cross was a prerequisite for the very existence of Christianity seems not to have occurred to these Christians, nor the fact that Jesus would not have been condemned by the Sanhedrin if that was not what the Romans wanted.

In one verse of the New Testament there is an injunction against "lending money at interest". Thus, Christians could not lend money and charge interest for the use of it over time, which was a sin called usury. Thus, no one would lend money, except maybe to a relative or friend. This helped the Dark Ages to last a thousand years, because without the ability to borrow no one could undertake large scale economic activity. The Jews don't use the New Testament, they have only the Old Testament, thus, there was no religious ban on lending money at interest on the Jews. So Christians who wanted to borrow money had to go to the Jewish moneylenders. There's nobody you hate more than the guy you owe. Clever kings would allow the Jews to come into his kingdom. The king would charge the Jews a high price to let them lend money to his subjects. The king usually also forced the Jews to lend him money at little or no interest. This amounted to a kind of hidden tax, as the king collected from the Jews, who had to pass along these costs to borrowers, but the Jews were the ones who became unpopular for charging high interest, not the king for laying taxes. Then the king could expel all the Jews, so he would not have to repay them.

Answer 3

Israelites and, later, Judeans, were hated by other nations, but this type of hatred was no different than other ethno-nationalist hatreds between states and would bear no resemblance to Anti-Semitism today.

Anti-Semitism as a distinct phenomenon probably dates from the time of the Seleucid Greek Empire in 200s B.C.E., when the more religious Jews refused to accede to Hellenic culture and were branded as odd or traitorous. However, it solidified during the diaspora. The Jews lost a revolt against their Roman overlords around 70 C.E., and as punishment the Romans forced all the Jews to leave Jerusalem. They were scattered to every point of the compass, all over Africa and Europe.

Wherever they wound up, the Jews sought to preserve their separate ethnic and religious identity. This set them apart, made them different. This difference was noted and made others wary.

In Christian countries, many considered the Jews to be "Christ killers". This was because Jesus was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin, a Jewish court which operated in Israel. The Romans typically left local institutions such as the Sanhedrin in operation, so long as they did what the Romans wanted, to help control their conquered subjects. The fact that the death of Jesus on the cross was a prerequisite for the very existence of Christianity seems not to have occurred to these Christians, nor the fact that Jesus would not have been condemned by the Sanhedrin if that was not what the Romans wanted.

In one verse of the New Testament there is an injunction against "lending money at interest". Thus, Christians could not lend money and charge interest for the use of it over time, which was a sin called usury. Thus, no one would lend money, except maybe to a relative or friend. This helped the Dark Ages to last a thousand years, because without the ability to borrow no one could undertake large scale economic activity. The Jews don't use the New Testament, they have only the Old Testament, thus, there was no religious ban on lending money at interest for the Jews. So Christians who wanted to borrow money had to go to the Jewish moneylenders. There's nobody you hate more than the guy you owe. Clever kings would allow the Jews to come into his kingdom. The king would charge the Jews a high price to let them lend money to his subjects. The king usually also forced the Jews to lend him money at little or no interest. This amounted to a kind of hidden tax, as the king collected from the Jews, who had to pass along these costs to borrowers, but the Jews were the ones who became unpopular for charging high interest, not the king for laying taxes. Then the king could expel all the Jews, so he would not have to repay them.

(It is worth noting that the interest rates charged by Jews were considered reasonable and were lower than rates charged by others when others practiced moneylending, but others did not often practice moneylending.)

Answer 4

Antisemitism was around for thousands of years before the Holocaust started.