Anti-Jewish Guilt Deflection and National Self-Victimization: Antisemitism in Germany

Abstract

The various forms of antisemitism seen in Germany's public discourse all share one common factor: an explicit or implicit deflection of guilt and denial of responsibility for National Socialism and the Shoah. In development of antisemitism, two factors played decisive roles: on the one hand was the lifting of taboos against expressing antisemitic sentiments in the public sphere, and on the other hand was their linkage with the new discourse that presented Germans as victims. This chapter analyzes this development in two steps. First, empirical data demonstrating the virulence of guilt-deflecting antisemitism in Germany is introduced, and the development of guilt deflection is discussed. Then, the relationship between antisemitic guilt deflection and the national victim mythos are described and analyzed. Keywords:antisemitism; Germany