CHAPTER THREE
Long-Term background of the Holocaust:
Antiquity through the reformation
How many races do anthropologists say there are in the world today?
-- Only 3, maybe 4.
Name them if you can.
– White, Black, and Oriental.
Or Caucasoid, Negroid, and
Mongoloid. Some scientists wonder what
to do with the Australian aborigines, as they don’t really fit with any of the
other groups. So the Jews are obviously
not a race.
Historical Context: German journalist Wilhelm Marr first coined the term antisemitism in 1879. The reader will notice that the presentation of the term is different from the more common “Anti-Semitism”. Writing as it appears denies the traditional view that the Jews were a separate race, the Semite race (descended from Noah’s son Shem). We instead imply the truth: that the Jews are a people, a religion; and hatred of such is irrational. If the Jews are “the other”, then it is a fabricated condition, because there are no inherent physiological or even outward appearing differences based on genetics.
“Jews are not hated because they have evil qualities; they are given evil qualities so they can be hated.” From the Orthodox point of view, this form of antisemitism goes back to Sinai. The Orthodox are extremely conservative in their view of the law. For them, the statement we looked at earlier that Jews became God’s Chosen People shut out the other nations in the Middle East, thus generating animosity between Israel and her neighbors. And this comes down to the present day… However, we can note that antisemitism has waxed and waned through time and place.
Rationale to Teach: Although it cannot be argued that the Holocaust proper occurred between 1933-45, it can be stated that the thorough teacher should provide students an avenue to gaining vision toward the long-term causes that eventually festered into abject hatred. The Jews were certainly targeted, scapegoated, persecuted, and eventually murdered in the period during and around World War II. But why? And how and why were these events able to be pulled off?
Major Topics:
Ancient/early Christian antisemitism:
Pre-Christian Jewish
persecutions: Economic, political, and
cultural.
Christian times -- Jews refuted: Jesus as the Messiah, the Trinity, God
became human, original sin, faith in Jesus as the only way to salvation, the
sacraments of the Church, and the divinity of the New Testament. Jews were accused of deicide.
Early Middle Ages (500-1000):
Jewish/Christian relations were civil
Charlemagne recognized the value of
the Jew as an international financier
High Middle Ages (1000-1300):
Crusades
Blood libel
Third and Fourth Lateran Councils
Papal condemnation of the Talmud
Later Middle Ages (1300-1500):
Black Death
Spanish Inquisition and racial
antisemitism
Expulsion of Jews from the West
Comment:
Through this unit students will get a feel for a statement I use repeatedly over the survey of the Shoah: The Nazis were many things, but original was not one of them. Here we see scapegoating, the badge, expulsions/deportations, propaganda, official decrees against the Jews – the whole gamut of persecution that we’ll cover from 1933-45. Students really take to the greater detail this unit provides compared to what they’ve seen in a world history class. Whether it’s teaching about slavery, Indian removal, or the Holocaust, I always find it gratifying to be the one who facilitates the removal of the veil to knowledge that some students live under. Many of them wouldn’t pick up a “heady” book on their own, but when supplied with the avenue to information in the classroom setting, they will readily embrace it.
Note: It is extremely important to issue a disclaimer against any kind of seemingly intentional Church-bashing, either of the Catholics or the Protestants. There will be times during the study of the Holocaust where Christians will have some accusatory fingers pointed their way. Take caution to avoid shutting your students down to what you’re trying to get across. You may encounter some hard feelings here in this unit, and again later when the lack of action by Pope Pius XII comes up.
Resources:
Classroom notes with lines of questioning/student interaction
Carroll, James. Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. Carroll, a former Catholic priest, takes us on a narrative ride through 2000 years of oft-animosity between the Church and the Jews. He explores the foundations of the hatred and cites numerous examples of manifest cruelty. His style is easy to read and flows from one chapter to the next. A fantastic general resource for the teacher who needs to get up on the general history of this centuries-old conflict.
I read an excerpt from one of John Chrysostum’s sermons during this discussion. See the Medieval Sourcebook, hosted by Fordham University: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/chrysostom-jews6.html.
Everyday People, http://www.lyricsxp.com/lyrics/e/everyday_people_sly.html. We have done some extensive work on diversity training of the students at my high school. This 1960’s classic fits well in a discussion on the celebration of differences, of toleration.
Grobman, Gary. The Holocaust: A Guide for Teachers – Classical and Christian Anti-Semitism © 1990. http://remember.org/guide/History.root.classical.html. Grobman describes the status of Jews as “the other” from classical times through the Middle Ages. With questions and activities suggestions.
Jewish Virtual Library. http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/anti-semitism/Luther_on_Jews.html. This article discusses Martin Luther’s diatribes against the Jews, a people he at first tolerated and even promoted good treatment for. When reading this, keep in mind a statement I make to my kids over and over: the Nazis were many things, but original was not one of them… See also the aforementioned Medieval Sourcebook.
Landau, Ronnie S. The Nazi Holocaust, Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, Inc. 1994. This is an invaluable resource for anyone teaching a survey of the Holocaust. Landau covers all the bases. Of particular interest to this unit is his long quote from one of Luther’s diatribes (found on page 46-47), as well as a narrative of the Chelmnicki massacres of 1648 (found on pages 44-45).