Nationalism & Antisemitism in Modern Europe, 1815-1945

Book excerpt: This latest volume in the Studies in Antisemitism Series looks at the interaction between nationalism and antisemitism in post-Napoleonic Europe. Using a framework of major historical events for the period 1815-1945, Shmuel Almog traces the radicalization of national ideology in these years and its relationship to the rise of political antisemitism. Nationalism in early nineteenth-century Europe developed originally as a liberal-democratic philosophy in opposition to existing political, social and economic structures. This coincided with a period of increasing integration of the Jewish minority into mainstream European life, particularly in economic spheres. By the 1870s, however, the continued growth of nationalist aspirations, increasingly allied to an imperialist, conservative and militaristic culture, led to a rise in discord between nations and a concomitant increase in the importance of national peculiarities. This was to have a profound effect on the Jewish communities in Europe, with the Jews being viewed as an alien and even dangerous force within the newly-created nation-states. The book argues that growing extremism in nationalist attitudes afforded a suitable ideological and social background for antisemitic activity, as manifested by calls for discriminatory legislation against Jews, the pogroms of Eastern Europe and, ultimately, the Nazi Holocaust. This analysis is substantiated and reinforced by a series of annotated documents and illustrations. This book is a clear account of the development of one of the key elements of antisemitic ideology in this important period of European history.