This is an important new study examines the controversial topic of anti-Semitism over the past three thousand years, from ancient times right through to the twentieth century inter-war period and the Nazi Holocaust. Albert Lindemann examines all countries where anti-Semitism manifested itself including Russia, the US, Poland, England, Germany, South Africa and Holland.

Books in this Seminar Studies in History series bridge the gap between textbook and specialist survey and consists of a brief "Introduction" and/or "Background" to the subject, valuable in bringing the reader up-to-speed on the area being examined, followed by a substantial and authoritative section of "Analysis" focusing on the main themes and issues. There is a succinct "Assessment" of the subject, a generous selection of "Documents" and a detailed bibliography.

An important new study on a complex and highly controversial topic. Albert Lindemann provides a clear and balanced guide to anti-Semitism from ancient times right through to the twentieth-century inter-war period and the Nazi Holocaust. He looks at all countries where anti-Semitism manifested itself at different times and in different ways xxx; in Russia, the US, Poland, England, Germany, South Africa, and Holland. Throughout he asks difficult and unfamiliar questions to challenge long held and misguided beliefs. An important new study which fills a gap in current literature.

Esau's Tears explores the rise of modern racial-political anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States. Previous histories have been more concerned with description than analysis and most have lacked balance. The evidence presented in this volume suggests that anti-Semitism in these years was more ambiguous than usually presented, less pervasive and central to the lives of both Jews and non-Jews, and by no means clearly pointed to a rising hatred of Jews everywhere, even less to the likelihood of mass murder. Hatred of Jews was not as mysterious or incomprehensible as often presented, but may be related to the differing perceptions of the rise of the Jews in modern times.

Antisemitism: A History offers a readable overview of a daunting topic, describing and analyzing the hatred that Jews have faced from ancient times to the present. The essays contained in this volume provide an ideal introduction to the history and nature of antisemitism, stressing readability, balance, and thematic coherence, while trying to gain some distance from the polemics and apologetics that so often cloud the subject. Chapters have been written by leading scholars in the field and take into account the most important new developments in their areas of expertise. Collectively, the chapters cover the whole history of antisemitism, from the ancient Mediterranean and the pre-Christian era, through the Medieval and Early Modern periods, to the Enlightenment and beyond. The later chapters focus on the history of antisemitism by region, looking at France, the English-speaking world, Russia and the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Nazi Germany, with contributions too on the phenomenon in the Arab world, both before and after the foundation of Israel.
Contributors grapple with the use and abuse of the term 'antisemitism', which was first coined in the mid-nineteenth century but which has since gathered a range of obscure connotations and confusingly different definitions, often applied retrospectively to historically distant periods and vastly dissimilar phenomena. Of course, as this book shows, hostility to Jews dates to biblical periods, but the nature of that hostility and the many purposes to which it has been put have varied over time and often been mixed with admiration - a situation which continues in the twenty-first century.

Three Jews--Alfred Dreyfus, Mendel Beilis, and Leo Frank--were charged with heinous crimes in the generation before World War I--Dreyfus of treason in France, Beilis of ritual murder in Russia, and Frank of the murder of a young girl in the United States. The affairs that developed out of their trials pulled hundreds of thousands of people into passionate confrontation. Quite aside from the lurid details and sensational charges, larger issues emerged, among them the power of modern anti-Semitism, the sometimes tragic conflict between the freedom of the press and the protection of individual rights, the unpredictable reactions of individuals when subjected to extreme situations, and the inevitable ambiguities of campaigns for truth and justice when political advantage is to be gained from them. This study explores the nature of modern anti-Semitism and the ways that politicians in the generation before World War I attempted to use hatred of Jews as a political device to mobilize the masses. The anti-Semitism surrounding the affairs is presented as an elusive intermingling of real conflict between Jews and non-Jews, on the one hand, and, on the other, fantasies about Jews derived from powerful myths deeply rooted in Western civilization. In attempting to untangle myth and reality and to offer a fresh look at the main personalities in the affairs many surprises emerge; heroes appear less heroic and villains less villainous, while real factors appear more important than most accounts of the affairs have recognized.

Three Jews--Alfred Dreyfus, Mendel Beilis, and Leo Frank--were charged with heinous crimes in the generation before World War I--Dreyfus of treason in France, Beilis of ritual murder in Russia, and Frank of the murder of a young girl in the United States. The affairs that developed out of their trials pulled hundreds of thousands of people into passionate confrontation. Quite aside from the lurid details and sensational charges, larger issues emerged, among them the power of modern anti-Semitism, the sometimes tragic conflict between the freedom of the press and the protection of individual rights, the unpredictable reactions of individuals when subjected to extreme situations, and the inevitable ambiguities of campaigns for truth and justice when political advantage is to be gained from them. This study explores the nature of modern anti-Semitism and the ways that politicians in the generation before World War I attempted to use hatred of Jews as a political device to mobilize the masses. The anti-Semitism surrounding the affairs is presented as an elusive intermingling of real conflict between Jews and non-Jews, on the one hand, and, on the other, fantasies about Jews derived from powerful myths deeply rooted in Western civilization. In attempting to untangle myth and reality and to offer a fresh look at the main personalities in the affairs many surprises emerge; heroes appear less heroic and villains less villainous, while real factors appear more important than most accounts of the affairs have recognized.

Esau's Tears explores the rise of modern racial-political anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States. Previous histories have been more concerned with description than analysis and most have lacked balance. The evidence presented in this volume suggests that anti-Semitism in these years was more ambiguous than usually presented, less pervasive and central to the lives of both Jews and non-Jews, and by no means clearly pointed to a rising hatred of Jews everywhere, even less to the likelihood of mass murder. Hatred of Jews was not as mysterious or incomprehensible as often presented, but may be related to the differing perceptions of the rise of the Jews in modern times.

Antisemitism: A History offers a readable overview of a daunting topic, describing and analyzing the hatred that Jews have faced from ancient times to the present. The essays contained in this volume provide an ideal introduction to the history and nature of antisemitism, stressing readability, balance, and thematic coherence, while trying to gain some distance from the polemics and apologetics that so often cloud the subject. Chapters have been written by leading scholars in the field and take into account the most important new developments in their areas of expertise. Collectively, the chapters cover the whole history of antisemitism, from the ancient Mediterranean and the pre-Christian era, through the Medieval and Early Modern periods, to the Enlightenment and beyond. The later chapters focus on the history of antisemitism by region, looking at France, the English-speaking world, Russia and the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Nazi Germany, with contributions too on the phenomenon in the Arab world, both before and after the foundation of Israel.
Contributors grapple with the use and abuse of the term 'antisemitism', which was first coined in the mid-nineteenth century but which has since gathered a range of obscure connotations and confusingly different definitions, often applied retrospectively to historically distant periods and vastly dissimilar phenomena. Of course, as this book shows, hostility to Jews dates to biblical periods, but the nature of that hostility and the many purposes to which it has been put have varied over time and often been mixed with admiration - a situation which continues in the twenty-first century.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1974.