Kant and German Antisemitism

Submitted by PLRose (United States), Aug 27, 2010 at 21:04

Antisemitism remained ingrained in German culture through the 19th century, but the rise of the constitutional state led to an official - but not social - disavowal of antisemitic policies. The defeat in 1918, however, uncorked the bottle and allowed extreme antisemitism - including fantasies of extermination - to emerge into public debate. Of course, many Jews were relived between 1914-18 to find well-behaved Austrian and German troops entering Polish cities where previously Russian antisemitic generals had governed and carried out pogroms during the war. But again the defeat of 1918 left a vacuum in Poland which was filled by antisemitic attacks carried out by various forces, including the Poles at Lwow in 1918. (Kaiser Wilhelm II, always socially antisemitic, became a political antisemite after 1918, blaming German's defeat and calling for the gassing of the Jews - seee J. Rohl' s books). PLR

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