Demonizing Judaism in the Soviet Union during the 1920s

Abstract

In this article, Robert Weinberg explores the visual representation of Judaism and observant Jews in the Soviet journalBezbozhnik u stanka(The atheist at the workbench), which appeared in the 1920s. In their efforts to promote atheism and undermine organized religion, the artists responsible for the images in this journal singled out the Jewish god to be depicted with inhuman, bestial, and bizarre features such as a single eye and a nose made out of a fist. This portrayal of Judaism and religious Jews drew upon the pervasive antisemitic tropes and motifs in Russian culture and society and served to demonize Judaism and its adherents.