Roots of Hate: Anti-Semitism in Europe before the Holocaust

Description

How did the levels of anti-Semitism in the 1930s compare to those of earlier decades? Did anti-Semitism vary in content and intensity across societies? In other words, were Germans more anti-Semitic than their European neighbors, and, if so, why? How does anti-Semitism differ from other forms of religious, racial, and ethnic prejudice? William I. Brustein offers the first truly systematic comparative and empirical examination of anti-Semitism within Europe before the Holocaust. Brustein proposes that European anti-Semitism flowed from religious, racial, economic, and political roots, which became enflamed by economic distress, rising Jewish immigration, and socialist success. To support his arguments, Brustein draws upon a careful and extensive examination of the annual volumes of the American Jewish Year Books and more than 40 years of newspaper reportage from Europe's major dailies. The findings of this informative book offer a fresh perspective on the roots of society's longest hatred.

"...[a] remarkably well-balanced study...mature scholarship, accessible to general readers and illuminating for specialists. Highly recommended." -Choice "Roots of Hate's most obvious strength is the wide scope of the comparison it offers." -Lisa Moses Leff, Southwestern University, An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies "Roots of Hate demonstrates that the Holocaust is an appropriate, indeed necessary, topic for rigorous mainstream comparative historical sociology...and that rigorous comparative historical sociology has much to add to the discourse. Roots of Hate is thus a major event for the field." -Jeffrey K. Olick, University of Virginia, American Journal of Sociology