Although in class we discussed the idea that Hitler attacks anti-Semitism from a racial perspective I found that in he is much more extensive in his logical and reasoned from for using criticism against the Jews. I find the focus in Mein Kampf of utilizing race and ethnicity in targeting the Jews, not nearly secondary to his many direct attacks on the Jewish religion, customs and conspiracy to take over the world. Considering the roots of anti-Semitism as Hitler understood it and as the term was used in the time period changed my own understanding of the term and its implications. In my research I discovered that the term anti-Semitism was first directly coined in 1873 by Wilhelm Marr, was a German political activist and journalist who we discussed a little in class. The term appears in his essay ““Der Sieg des Judenthums über das Germanenthum von nicht confessionellen Standpunkt,” and predates the Holocaust by half a century. Marr’s definition of the term was divorced from the more general term Judenhass (hatred of Jews) that was used earlier. The differentiation in the new term was the characterization of the Jewish people as a race rather than a religion. This use of social Darwinism to define a group as being unchangeably outsiders from the larger population due to their bloodline rather than religion was a huge step in cementing the idea used by the Nazi party that Jews could not be converted or helped but must be eradicated in order to preserve the Aryan society.
When Hitler comments on Jews in Mein Kampf he uses a very direct rhetoric that is systematic, insisting on the comparison of the Hew to a rat or vermin who fight among themselves and only come together in the face of a common adversary. Secondly he attributes these characteristics to the image of the Jew feeding on society as a parasite, slowly devouring and finally Hitler brings in the conspiracy theory, that the Jews all over are out to take over the word that any limited territory will never be enough. Subsequently he tears down the Jewish religion discussing religious texts, moral values and even the system of education. This image of every side of Jewish life being venomous ad dangerous to society created a complete picture which could be seen not only as convincing but also completely reasonable no matter how It may appear to us today. In this text then, no matter how he may have felt in the private sphere, I find Hitler to be much more than simply a racial anti-Semite.
Hitler’s commentary of Jews in Mein Kampf is a direct rhetoric I agree. He blames Jews for everything sometimes connects them to completely irrelevant concepts. Hitler attributes all of Germany’s issues to the Jews especially the Jewish youth.
ReplyDeleteHitler also connects Marxism, Bolshevism, and Jews together. He does this through the parasite metaphor of these three groups feeding on German society.
Hitler uses terminology, which portrays his anti-Semitism even more. Terms such as “Jewification,” “Jewish Disease,” and “Jewish nonsense.” Hitler is definitely not an ‘average’ anti-Semite, he is the extreme racist. The fact that such a person could gain power is disgusting, his hatred seeps from every pore and Mein Kampf is infuriating to read.
I agree that Hitler uses direct rhetoric in his attack on the Jews as well. He certainly takes things much beyond the issues of racial purity and his invested hatred in them is very clear. However, I do not find his arguments sound. He connects Marxism and Bolshevism, as well as other aspects of the world he sees as problematic, to the Jews without much evidence or appropriate arguments. He instead makes statements of blind hatred for no other reason that it seems that he needs to find a scapegoat to blame Germany's problems on. Hitler decided on an easy scapegoat, the Jews, because he knew it was a relatively popular idea at the time. However, Hitler takes it to such an incredible extreme, and this is one reason why he is so frightening.
ReplyDeleteHitler's attack on the Jewish people was certainly filled with more than just a general anti-semetic approach. He was very thorough in making sure to really turn every aspect of Jewish culture into a venomous threat to the German people and the Aryan society. The Jews became the scapegoats for the troubles in Germany and just for that they were able to be considered outsiders. Most interestingly, the idea of removing the religious term "Jewish" and making it a race really did a lot to drive Nazism in Germany. The "Jewification" or "The Jewish Disease" had been made absolutely logical to the German people. However absurd it may look to us today, he was able to plant the seeds of nonsensical hatred in the minds of the German people. He was rhetorically effective in really making seemingly solid arguments. Typically, when something goes wrong for people they look for a reason, or something to blame the wrong on. The German people allowed Hitler to tell them that the mishaps in their lives were because of a race of people...not because they truly believe so, but because it is much easier to blame someone else than yourself.
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