Anti-Semitism - what is it? The causes of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism in Russia

It is very difficult to logically explain the reason why one people decides that it is better than another. The term "anti-Semitism" means intolerance and hostility towards the Jewish people. This hostility can manifest itself in everyday life, in culture, in religious fanaticism, in political views. Forms of anti-Semitism takes a variety of forms: from insults, restrictions and prohibitions to attempts at total extermination (genocide). Why is this happening? Let's try if you do not understand, then at least find out where the roots of this phenomenon originate from.

Persecution comes from paganism

Now we can confidently say that the first shoots of hatred for Judaism were cultivated already in the pagan world. And even if there was no such term as anti-Semitism, the Jews were oppressed no less because of this. The pagan world with the diversity of the gods was very hostile to monotheistic Judaism. There are literary sources dating from the third century BC, which describe the confrontation of Judaism and paganism.

An example of this confrontation is the work of the Egyptian priest Manetho. Here the first conflicts and oppression of the Jewish people are described, in fact, initial anti-Semitism. What is a monotheistic religion? This is faith in one (or one) God. As you understand, it was simply impossible to understand and accept such a religious view of the pagan world.

Evidence of persecution and violence comes to us from both ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Jews with varying degrees of success fought for their identity, observed their rites and refused to impose their views. This often led to increased hostility, especially from the peoples who submitted to the authority of Rome.

Christianity and Judaism

The emergence of Christianity in the Roman Empire greatly strengthened the persecution of the Jewish people. Now the Jews experienced the full force of religious intolerance. The reasons for anti-Semitism could be found by reading the New Testament. The Jews were directly accused of the crucifixion of Jesus, and religious fanatics of all stripes began to consider it their right to oppress and destroy this people. Christian preachers and priests constantly poured oil on the fire of hatred, cultivating the image of the enemy to rally their flock.

Under the influence of the Church, Jews were forbidden to carry out government service, own land, buy slaves (Christians), build synagogues and marry Christians. Later they were forced to baptize, began to exterminate those who disagreed with this.

Islam and Judaism

Followers of Islam also did not pay tribute to the Jews. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the 7th century AD there were clashes between the founder of Islam and the Jewish tribes, this conflict developed at that time less aggressively. The Muslim world did not show such open hatred towards the Jews as Christian.

Anti-Semitism and Enlightenment

In the 18th century, the influence of religion on public life is becoming weaker. It could be expected that anti-Semitism would also ease. What really happened? Is it easier to live the Jewish people? The change of priestly robe to professorial frock coats led to the fact that scientific theories began to fall under religious enmity. Scientists have begun to diligently prove to the world that European culture is based only on Christian morality, and Judaism is inferior to it in everything. Now thinkers tried to base the base on allegations that Jews are morally inferior, as well as their religion. They began to attribute bloody rituals, to blame for the fact that the matzah is kneaded on Christian blood, and there was an opinion that Jews are striving for complete world domination.

Racism and anti-Semitism

In the 18-19th centuries religious intolerance was replaced by a racial one. Actually the direction has changed, but the essence has remained the same. The Jews were now hated because they lived closed to the surrounding communities. Despite the fact that a lot of famous scientists, influential bankers and successful traders came out of this environment, they continued to be considered morally inferior and defective.

Nominally Jews had equal rights in the society, which allowed them to get a good education and develop their own business, but often they were offended in the back only because the minds poisoned by hatred now frankly envied commercial successes. The emancipation of the Jewish people, instead of the expected reconciliation, brought an unprecedented surge of aggression.

More and more it became clear how dangerous anti-Semitism was. What could have happened in society so that people lost their human face and allowed themselves to take part in Jewish pogroms? How can a man, in a normal state, hammer a woman and a child to death only for the fact that they are Jews? Brutal pogroms took place in Poland, Russia, Ukraine. But Germany in this matter went further than all. Entire anti-Semitic parties began to appear here, then anti-Semitism was adopted at the legislative level.

Anti-Semitism in Germany

How did German ideologists succeed in combining racism and anti-Semitism in the minds? What is their definition of racism in general? It was about political theory, the main idea of which is the division of people into different biological groups. The division was made according to external signs, that is, the color of the hair, eyes and skin, the shape of the nose and the structure of the body. Each race was attributed various mental and physical characteristics, as well as certain stereotypes of behavior.

Racists believe that it is useless to cultivate and cultivate the representatives of other racial groups, they are not able to perceive changes for the better. Germans themselves as representatives of the Aryan race elevated themselves to the very top of development, and long-suffering Jews were ranked among the lower races.

The most terrible thing in the history of mankind was a combination of fascism and anti-Semitism. Fascism itself is a severe authoritarian rule based on ideas of racial superiority. Hitler generally put forward a theory that the Aryan is the actual prototype of man in general. All the rest only wait for the Aryan race to come and establish its dominance over them.

The Holocaust

Pseudo-scholar racists claimed that physically and mentally disabled people, as well as representatives of other races, have no value and are subject to extermination.

In view of this theory, the Jews were subject to destruction, which means that the construction of closed territories (ghettos) and concentration camps began. In total during the Second World War, tens of thousands of such institutions were built. The "Jewish question" from the submission of Nazi Germany was decided as follows:

• All Jews had to be concentrated in closed ghettos;
• They must be separated from other nationalities;
• Jews were deprived of any opportunities to participate in the life of society;
• They could not have property that was confiscated or simply looted;
• The Jewish population was brought to total exhaustion and exhaustion, so that slave labor became the only opportunity to support life.

The German people supported their Fuhrer in their desire to destroy an entire nation. Mass manifestations of anti-Semitism made possible the Holocaust, during which more than 60% of the entire Jewish population of Europe was destroyed. Officially, 6 million Jews are considered victims of the Holocaust, this figure is recognized at the Nuremberg Trial. Of these, only 4 million were identified by name. This discrepancy is due to the fact that Jews were destroyed by entire communities, leaving no opportunity to report the number of victims and their names.

Anti-Semitism in Russia

Unfortunately, Russia has not escaped the manifestations of anti-Semitism. Opponents of the Jews claimed that this was a parasitic element, which was engaged in the exploitation of the indigenous population. This opinion was held by Slavophiles, Ukrainian nationalists and populists. A certain period of the history of tsarist Russia is closely connected with the anti-Semitic movement. Jews were restricted in their rights and were not allowed to serve in the public service.

Anti-Semitic statements were sinned by many famous writers, for example, Dostoevsky. The revolutionary mass also had its opponents of Jewry, for example, Bakunin. Unfortunately, anti-Semitism in Russia was of an aggressive form, because it's easier to blame all your problems on Jews.

Anti-Semitism in the USSR

Soviet power tried to combat anti-Semitic sentiments. But it was too difficult to persuade people who used to hate Jews and blame them for all their troubles. During the NEP period, these sentiments increased significantly, as the Jews conducted successful and active economic activity. Oil to the fire poured the mass presence of Jews in the ranks of party functionaries. It was believed that only they won the revolution.

After the conclusion of the treaty with Hitler, the mention of the problems of anti-Semitism came to naught, and the coverage of Jewish problems in Germany was not conducted at all.

Today, despite all the suffering of the Jewish people, anti-Semitism has not been eradicated. People somehow believe that they have the right to dictate to the whole people how to build their lives, how to conduct religious rites, what days to rest. Who gave them this right? There is no answer to this question, as there are no objective reasons to try to eliminate and destroy people with a different outlook on life.