Antisemitismus in Deutschland: Zur Aktualität eines Vorurteils (review)

Abstract

194 SHOFAR Fall 1996 Vol. 15, No. 1 Antisemitismus in Deutschland: ZurAktualitit eines Vorurteils, edited by Wolfgang Benz. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1995. 235 pp. DM 19.90. This collection of 12 essays on antisemitism in contemporary Germany is without a doubt the best book on the topic to date. As Wolfgang Benz, Director of the Center for Anti-Semitism Research at the Technical University of Berlin, explains, the intent of this volume was not to provide a theoretical investigation of antisemitism, but to explore the different aspects of how this prejudice has manifested itself in the post-World War II period. The articles are based on empirical research from historical, psychoanalytical, ethnographical, sociological, and political perspectives. The first two essays in the book, "Zur politisch-kulturellen Tradition des Antisemitismus in Deutschland," by Hermann Graml, and "Das Judentum als Antithese: Zur Tradition eines kulturellen Wertungsmusters," by Christhard Hoffmann, provide incisive historical background about antisemitism in Germany. Graml points out that the "Jewish Question" in Germany always emphasized how the Jews were considered an inferior race that needed to improve and change to become German, whereas Hoffmann demonstrates that Germans sought to identifY themselves ideally by using Jews arbitrarily as negative models in diametrically opposite thinking. Thus, Jews came to represent outward appearance versus spirituality, particularism versus universalism, the God of revenge versus the God of love, superstition versus reason, diaspora versus nation, etc. This type of anti-Jewish thinking in Germany has for the most part been seriously questioned and broken in the post-1945 period. Nevertheless, there are new forms of antisemitism that have arisen,· and they have occurred not in spite of Auschwitz, but rather ironically (and sadly) because ofAuschwitz. Since Jews have a different attitude toward the Nazi past and never want to forget it, they are regarded (consciously and unconsciously) as obstacles in the German path toward the normalization of history and the German nation. In light of this development, the rest of the essays in Antisemitismus in Deutschland document the manner in which new forms of antisemitism have developed because ofAuschwitz. In "Wie antisemitisch sind die Deutschen? Meinungsfragen 19451994 ," Werner Bergmann and Rainer Erb study the different phases of antisemitism in West and East Germany and conclude that, while the majority ofGermans have become less antisemitic, there has recently been a rise of antisemitism among the young who resent Jews because of the Book Reviews 195 Holocaust and believe that they have been victimized by an event that, in their eyes, may never have happened or has been exaggerated. In "Antisemitismus in offentlichen Konflikten," Bergmann describes the various public conflicts between Germans and Jews since 1945 and concludes that there has been a collective learning process so that Germans are more aware of the Jewish viewpoint and are more inclined to punish and disapprove of antisemitic acts. Nevertheless, as Lothar Mertens demonstrates in "Antizionismus: Feindschaft gegen Israel als neue Form des Antisemitismus," one manner in which traditional antisemitism has been transformed is through anti-Zionist actions. Here all Jews are identified with Israel and thus can only be alien "Israelites" in Germany, and since Israel is allegedly aligned withJewish capitalism in America,Jews are depicted as imperialistic Zionists, who seek to expand their power. Here it should be stressed that view is limited to extreme right and left political groups in Germany. Moreover, as Juliane Wetzel in "Antisemitismus als Element rechtsextremer Ideologie und Propaganda" and Wolfgang Benz in "Realitiltsverweigerung als antisemitisches Prinzip: Die Leugnung des Volkermords" point out, the dominant antisemitic groups are on the extreme right and often collaborate with other right-wing forces in the United States, France, and England to distort history and make it seem that the Shoah was an invention ofJewish propaganda. The new forms of antisemitism, while not supported by the majority ofGermans, have led to a great deal ofviolence in Germany. In "Diffamierung mit Tradition-Friedhofsschilndungen," Marion Neiss gives an informative report on the desecration of cemeteries and other Jewish monuments in Germany. In "Der Jude als Bolschewist: Die Wiederbelebung eines Stereotyps," Daniel Gerson describes how Jews have once again been identified with communists, especially since the fall ofthe Wall, and somehow held responsible for totalitarian regimes in...