The sheer magnitude of the Holocaust has commanded our attention for the past sixty years. The extent of atrocities; however; has overshadowed the calculus Nazis used to justify their deeds. According to German wartime media; it was German citizens who were targeted for extinction by a vast international conspiracy. Leading the assault was an insidious; belligerent Jewish clique; so crafty and powerful that it managed to manipulate the actions of Roosevelt; Churchill; and Stalin. Hitler portrayed the Holocaust as a defensive act; a necessary move to destroy the Jews before they destroyed Germany. Joseph Goebbels; Minister of Propaganda; and Otto Dietrich’s Press Office translated this fanatical vision into a coherent cautionary narrative; which the Nazi propaganda machine disseminated into the recesses of everyday life. Calling on impressive archival research; Jeffrey Herf recreates the wall posters that Germans saw while waiting for the streetcar; the radio speeches they heard at home or on the street; the headlines that blared from newsstands. The Jewish Enemy is the first extensive study of how anti-Semitism pervaded and shaped Nazi propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust; and how it pulled together the diverse elements of a delusionary Nazi worldview. Here we find an original and haunting exposition of the ways in which Hitler legitimized war and genocide to his own people; as necessary to destroy an allegedly omnipotent Jewish foe. In an era when both anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories continue to influence world politics; Herf offers a timely reminder of their dangers along with a fresh interpretation of the paranoia underlying the ideology of the Third Reich.
#1848072 in Books Harvard University Press 2004-10-25 2004-08-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x .94 x 6.13l; 1.16 #File Name: 0674016068400 pages
Review
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful. 3.4 stars; Exile can be funBy pnotley@hotmail.comErich Gruen's book on the Diaspora offers a major new reinterpretation of the Jewish experiences from Alexander the Great to the Jewish rebellion of 66 CE. Historically; both Othodox and Zionist Jews view the diaspora as a curse; whose denizens are perenially threatened by anti-Semitism. Gruen argues a rather different case. Jews; the vast majority of whom lived outside of Palestine; thrived in the diaspora. While taking advantages of the symposiums and civic institutions of the Hellenic and Roman worlds; they also established a plethora of synagogues and regularly paid the half-shekel temple tax to Jerusalem. By examining certain deuterocanonical and apocryphal works of literature; Gruen finds a confident sense of humor. There was no contemporary angst and agony over the diaspora.It is important to contrast this book with Seth Schwartz's recent "Imperialism and Jewish Society;" which argued for the weakness of Judaism in Palestine. Schwartz's book was based mostly on archaeological evidence; and said little about the diaspora. Except for a discussion of the plentiful arhcaeological evidence for synagogues; much of Gruen's work is based on analysis and interpretation of texts. These consist of the limited number of comments made by Romans on the Jews; Philo's account of the pogroms in Alexandra c. 40 CE; Josephus' collection of historical materials on Jewish defense of their rights; and discusssions of books such as Esther; Judith; Tobit and other books.It is important to point out the limitations of such evidence. It tells us little about what the majority of Jews in the diaspora actually did for a living. We have mentions of the orthodoxy of Jews by Josephus and Philo; virtually the only two Jewish sources we know by name; and we have confirming mention when Romans noted Jewish customs and found them risible. But Romans and Greeks would not normally find Jewish apostasy worthy of mention; and Jewish sources might not draw attention to it. Some of Gruen's evidence is convincing. It probably is anachronistic to describe Roman society as "Anti-Semitic." To use an analogy Romans viewed Jews the way many Americans view Jehovah's Witness or the Amish; with some contempt and as fundamentally amusing; but not with malice. Gruen is also interesting on Josephus' collection of materials on Asian Jews. The frequent missives and pleas for support reflect less a constant fear of persecution; than the civil strife of first century BCE Rome; where constant shifts of power led Jews to ask the new rulers to respect their privileges. There are also interesting insights about sacral and civic institutions: Surprisingly enough; Philo was a considerable fan of the Alexandrian games.Gruen's chapters on Jewish humor are less succesful. He starts off well; with a discussion of the many comedic elements in the Book of Esther. But then Esther is not that important a book; and Purim has always been more of a holiday than a holy day. But Gruen's discussion of other books; Tobit; Judith; and II Maccabees shows a certain tendentiousness; as he clearly strains to find humor. In his discussion of Susanna; he makes much of the silences of the text to try to bring humorous ambiguity into the text. But this ignores a key element of Biblical literature; its terseness. And when Gruen seeks to find a humorous element in Sarah's rudeness towards her maid in Tobit; he may simply be ignoring the general callousness towards servants and slaves in Hellenic times. If not well known to Protestants; Judith and Tobit have been considered holy scripture for millenia. It is one thing to argue that Jews and Christians have misinterpreted scriptures because of their theological biases. It is another to argue that they can't tell the difference between a didactic tale; and humorous anecdotes. Gruen also has a tendency to argue from silences and ambiguities in the text. But the books were not written by modernist authors; indeed they may not have been written by a single author at all; but has gone through a complex series of authors and editings; while working with legendary material. This leads to a larger problem: it is not simply that Gruen's portrait of a benign disapora ends before the brutal suppresion of the Jewish revolt; and several other revolts until the 130s. There is the problem that Gruen portrays a diaspora that is suprisingly similar to the one we have today. In both times Jews are clearly and distinctively Jewish; supportive and sympathetic of Israel; but at the same time they are also loyal citizens of their countries and active members of the community. Perhaps. But there are good reasons to be suspicious of such coincidences; I don't think this is a case of deja vu all over again.
