From Jew-Hatred to Antisemitism

The age of revolutions and the formation of nation states was shaped by manifold transformations. This includes not least of all the transformation of Jew-hatred grounded in Christianity into modern antisemitism. Originally religious imagery, imaginations, and enmities underwent a process of secularization and the hitherto largely religiously connoted combination of prejudice and enmity was remodeled as a worldview with an all-encompassing explanatory potential. This seminar will explore the causes, backgrounds, and dynamics of this transformation through close readings of Detlev Claussen’s 1987 book “Vom Judenhaß zum Antisemitismus” (From Jew-Hatred to Antisemitism). Today regarded as a classic in this context, this work offers an extensive introductory essay on the genesis of modern antisemitism alongside source texts and commentaries.

Literature: Detlev Claussen, Vom Judenhaß zum Antisemitismus. Materialien einer verleugneten Geschichte, Darmstadt/Neuwied 1987.