Antisemitism Background and History

Toward the end of 2011 Phyllis Goldstein published A Convenient Hatred: the history of antisemitism.  Ms. Goldstein writes about her motive for writing the book.

My hope is that this book will spark more insights, further conversation, and additional learning. Only by facing history and ourselves can we begin to meet the challenges of the present and build a more just and tolerant future.

Foreword by Sir Harold Evans

Antisemitism is a very peculiar pathology that recognizes no national borders. It is a mental condition conducive to paranoia and impervious to truth. . . . Once an emotional stereotype has been created—of the Jews, of blacks, of Catholics, of Muslims—it is readily absorbed in the bones
like strontium 90, an enduring poison that distorts the perceptions of the victims.

The book is also available in Kindle edition from Amazon.

Phyllis Goldstein is the senior writer for Facing History and Ourselves. Facing History and Ourselves is an international education organization that links history to the moral questions of our time. They claim over 150 staff members across the United States.

From the Wikipedia article on the history of antisemitism:

The history of antisemitism – defined as hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group – goes back many centuries; antisemitism has been called "the longest hatred."^[1] Jerome Chanes identifies six stages in the historical development of antisemitism:

1. Pre-Christian anti-Judaism in ancient Greece and Rome which was primarily ethnic in nature
2. Christian anti-semitism in antiquity and the Middle Ages which was religious in nature and has extended into modern times
3. Traditional Muslim antisemitism which was—at least in its classical form—nuanced, in that Jews were a protected class
4. Political, social and economic antisemitism of Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment Europe which laid the groundwork for racial antisemitism
5. Racial antisemitism that arose in the 19th century and culminated in Nazism
6. Contemporary antisemitism which has been labeled by some as the New Antisemitism^[2]

In writing about contemporary antisemitism, which has been labeled by some as the New Antisemitism, Chanes suggests that these six stages could be merged into three categories: "ancient antisemitism, which was primarily ethnic in nature; Christian antisemitism, which was religious; and the racial antisemitism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries."^[3] 

In practice, it is difficult to differentiate antisemitism from the general ill-treatment of nations by other nations before the Roman period, but since the adoption of Christianity in Europe, antisemitism has undoubtedly been present. The Islamic world has also seen the Jews historically as outsiders. The coming of the scientific and industrial revolution in 19th century Europe bred a new manifestation of antisemitism, based as much upon race as upon religion, culminating in the horrors of the Nazi extermination camps of World War II. The formation of the state of Israel in 1948 has created new antisemitic tensions in the Middle East.

Dr. Chanes dedicated his 2004 book, Antisemitism: A Reference Handbook, to his wife, Dr. Eva (Chaviva) Fogelman, for her "unflagging encouragement and support for her numerous helpful and practical suggestions at every stage."

Further information about the peculiar Nazi version of antisemitism, together with their claim to the superiority of the so-called Aryan race may be found by searching this blog using both race and Aryan as search words.

Yoga And The Nazi SS

There was always a deep interest in ancient India among Nazi leaders. Now a new study by Matthias Teitke (Yoga in National Socialism) shows that the SS encouraged officers and death camp guards to practice yoga to enrich their minds, bodies and spirits.

How SS recommended yoga to death camp guards as a good way to de-stress | Mail Online: 

The Nazi interest in yoga lay in its roots in the 19th century when India mysticism was a favourite pursuit of the middle and upper classes and a great influence on romantic poets and philosophers.

During the Wiemar Republic, as the Nazis gained strength, yoga enjoyed a boom among a people weary of war, inflation, unemployment and misery. More than 50 yoga books were published in the 1920's in Berlin alone. And, as the Nazis corrupted most things they touched, so it was with yoga.  

It was seized on by race experts in the party as being the pursuit of 'Ayran' people. Jakob Wilhelm Hauer, an S.S. captain and yoga expert, who influenced his chief Himmler and convinced him that 'yoga can internally arm us and prepare us for the forthcoming battles.'  

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104365/How-SS-recommended-yoga-death-camp-guards-good-way-stress.html#ixzz1oX6tmSul

 For further background on Nazi connections with ancient India read my post: Nazis, Aryans and India. 

Nazism—Still Alive In The USA

The NAZI movement is not dead in the United States. Founded in 1974, the National Socialist Movement (NSM), is now a fast growing organization. Prior to World War II this movement was known as the German-American Bund, an outgrowth of German organizations reaching back into the 1920s. Bund membership nationwide was between 50 and 60 thousand, with three times that many auxiliary members. The Bund security force (OD—Ordnungsdienst—order division) consisted of between 5 and 6 thousand men nationwide. Chicago also had a unit of American SS.

ANP Seal - from the website

The Nazi movement went underground until the formation of the American Nazi Party (ANP) in the U.S. Organized by American naval veteran George Lincoln Rockwell in 1958, the ANP still exists, Rockwell was assassinated on August 25, 1967. The ANP states its purposes in this manner:

Although National Socialism encompasses many various issues of concern to Aryan Americans, including a healthy environment, children's welfare, and freedom of belief without fear of System persecution...the two main tenets of National Socialism embodies the Struggle for Aryan Racial survival, and Social Justice for White Working Class people throughout our land. 

As Aryan Revolutionaries, we recognize the fact that behaving in the manner of past activities, little progress has been achieved for our Cause. That is why we have taken a new direction. In the American Nazi Party, you will find no uniforms or ranks, we do not engage in publicly exposing our Comrades to undo publicity through pointless and dangerous Rallies or Marches. We instead stress Small Cell, and Individual Activism as the path for which to build our Movement, as securely and in a responsible manner as possible.

From the NSM Website

The NSM, however, continues to speak and publish openly, to rally and protest to promote its agenda. 

The NSM's core beliefs include: 

• defending the rights of white people everywhere 
• preservation of our European culture and heritage 
• strengthening family values 
• economic self-sufficiency 
• reform of illegal immigration policies 
• immediate withdrawal of our national military from an illegal Middle Eastern occupation 
• promotion of white separation 

Membership is open to non-Semitic heterosexuals of European descent.

The National Socialist Movement was founded in 1974 by Robert Brannen, former member of the American Nazi Party before its decline. The NSM is currently led by Jeff Schoep. 

The Southern Poverty Law Center says this about the NSM:

An organization that specializes in theatrical and provocative protests, the National Socialist Movement (NSM) is one of the largest and most prominent neo-Nazi groups in the United States. The group is notable for its violent anti-Jewish rhetoric, its racist views and its policy allowing members of other racist groups to join NSM while remaining members of other groups. Until 2007, NSM members protested in full Nazi uniforms, now traded in for black “Battle Dress Uniforms”. . .

Starting in 2004, the NSM began to overshadow all other American neo-Nazi groups, including two, White Revolution and National Vanguard, that emerged from the ashes of the National Alliance. The NSM made its presence felt through frequent theatrical street actions undertaken in Nazi garb. Unlike other neo-Nazi outfits, the NSM adopted an open-arms recruiting policy that allowed members of other white supremacist groups to participate in NSM actions and join the NSM.

Schoep was only 21 years old when he took control of the group in 1994, and his relatively young age has helped him attract a younger generation of neo-Nazis. In fact, under Schoep’s leadership, the NSM set up a unit specifically focused on recruiting teens that it called its Viking Youth Corps. It also launched a Women’s Division and a Skinhead Division. It bolstered its online presence with a revamped website featuring the group’s newsletter, downloadable leaflets for printing and distribution, and field reports from NSM chapters around the country. The group created its own hate rock music label, NSM88 Records, and in April 2007 purchased the now-popular white supremacist social networking site New Saxon.

________________________________

Christians who base their faith upon the Christ revealed in Holy Scriptures, rejoice in a Savior who had these words nailed upon His cross: "The King of the Jews" (Luke 23:38; John 19:19).

They also rejoice to proclaim: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." - Jhn 3:14-17 ESV

American Nazi Party—Alive With Hate

American Nazi Party - Who we are

On Jan. 22, 2011 the History Channel aired a whole day on the Third Reich and Nazis. In watching the segment about the continuation of the Nazi part here in the USA, I was painfully conscious of how this evil refuses to die. TheAmerican Nazi Party continues to operate and recruit here in the USA in the 21st century. They describe themselves in this manner:

As Aryan Revolutionaries, we recognize the fact that behaving in the manner of past activities, little progress has been achieved for our Cause. That is why we have taken a new direction. In the American Nazi Party, you will find no uniforms or ranks, we do not engage in publicly exposing our Comrades to undo publicity through pointless and dangerous Rallies or Marches. We instead stress Small Cell, and Individual Activism as the path for which to build our Movement, as securely and in a responsible manner as possible. 

We are looking for Men and Women, who are willing to sacrifice for the Good of the Folk, not people who are looking for aggrandizement, titillation, or simply causing undirected and useless mayhem. This is not a game or a gang.

It is a very serious Struggle that we are involved in for the very existence of our White Nation of people. Those who are simply intent on pranks or causing trouble should perhaps look elsewhere for stimulation.

 As with the original Nazis, race is their religion and their idol. 

The Hindu-Aryan Myth of Savitri Devi

The whole terrible Nazi experience had many oddities, and Savitri Devi, a relatively unknown woman, is one of them. Born in France in 1905 as Maximiani Portas, the daughter of a Greek father and an English mother. She became a Greek national in 1928. She was attracted to the Greek Orthodox Church and Byzantine culture, but soon became more interested in paganism and pantheism, with strong anti-Semitic prejudices. 

She left for India in 1932 at the age of 27, in search of the roots of the Aryan civilization. Following the lead of people like Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and many other pseudo-scientific teachers, she regarded Hinduism as the only living Aryan heritage in the modern world, superior to all other religions. She adopted the name Savitri Devi and accepted India as her home. Convinced that she could rediscover a living Aryan world only in contemporary India, she championed the cause of Hindu nationalism and a neo-Nazi cult.  She lived and worked in Calcutta and called Hitler her idol. She admired the Brahmins, India's highest caste, whom she saw as a pure race. By the late 1930s she was involved with Hindu nationalist movements like the Hindu Mahasabha. 

N. Goodrick-Clarke  notes: “For Savitri Devi, Hinduism was the custodian of the Aryan and Vedic heritage down through the centuries, the very essence of India. In her opinion, Hinduism was the sole surviving example of that Indo-European paganism once common to all the Aryan nations” (Hitler's Priestess, p.44).

After the war Devi traveled through a devastated Europe and was a vocal apologist of the Nazis, regardless of the horrendous things they had done. Her early writings were republished by far-right-wing publishers, and she gained new fans in the 1970s as neo-Nazism spread. Devi died in 1982, but her combination of Hindu religion and Nordic racial ideology became "a bridge between neo-Nazism and the New Age" movements

Her numerous writings are available online at the Savitri Devi Archive.

_________________________

My primary scource for this article is Hitler's Priestess: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and Neo-Nazism  by N Goodrick-Clarke.


For more on Savitri Devi's continued influence consult Goodrck-Clarke, The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology.
 

Most American and European Jews Are Not Israelites

I read recently that the Jews of Israel are mostly not descended from the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel. For some reason, I was still following 19th and early 20th century views of race. As you know, the Nazis were committed to developing the master race, the Aryans, and were dead set upon eliminating the Jewish race. But most European Jews were Caucasian, not racially different from the Nazis themselves!

My source for this astounding conclusion is Arthur Koestler's book, The Thirteenth Tribe . Koestler explains that Eastern Europe's Jewish population, largely decimated by the Nazi onslaught during the World War II,  were descended from a a tribe known as the Khazars. They were converted to Judaism by their king as a way of balancing their position between the Christian Byzantine Empire on the east and the Muslims on their western and southern borders. When their empire collapsed they immigrated to and settled in Hungary, Poland and Germany, bringing their Jewish faith with them.

This means that the European Jews came from the Caucasus region (southern Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey). Genetically, they are more closely related to the Hun, Uigar and Magyar tribes than to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These folks are known today as Ashkenazic Jews.

The site Judaism 101 seems to ignore this history, preferring to go no deeper than the fact that there were Jews in France, Germany, and Eastern Europe. That site says, 

"Ashkenazic Jews are the Jews of France, Germany, and Eastern Europe and their descendants . . . The word "Ashkenazic" is derived from the Hebrew word for Germany. The word "Sephardic" is derived from the Hebrew word for Spain. The word "Mizrachi" is derived from the Hebrew word for Eastern."

In later Blogs I'll explore further the views on race promoted in the years leading up to Nazism. 

The Uniqueness of Nazi Antisemitism

What are the unique roots of Nazi antisemitism? Professor Yehuda Bauer, Director of the International Center for Holocaust Studies of Yad Vashem, made some generalizations about the uniqueness of Nazi antisemitism over a dozen years ago in Jerusalem.

1. 
   

   The Holocaust is a genocide of special and unprecedented type. The word genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin, a refugee Polish-U.S. Jewish lawyer in 1942. While genocides are planned attempts to destroy ethnic or racial groups, the Holocaust was a radical attempt to annihilate every single member of the Jewish race.

2. 
   

   The Holocaust was purely ideological. The Nazis imagined an international Jewish conspiracy to control the world (think "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion").  More on the fictitious Protocols another time. Other genocides have had practical motivations.

3. 
   

   The Holocaust was not geographically limited. Since the Nazis fully intended to rule the world, directly or through allies, Jews around the world were to be hunted down and exterminated.

4. 
   

   The Nazis were looking for all Jews. Persons with three or four Jewish grandparents were sentenced to death for the crime of having been born. 

5. 
   

   The Holocaust dehumanized the perpetrators and humiliated the victims.

6. 
   

   In Nazi thinking all humanity was to be reorganized. The so-called Aryan race, they believed, was destined to dominate the world. All other races or social groups were to be either abolished or subordinated.

7. 
   

   Finally, to accomplish this Nazis combined the ideology with modern technology and record keeping. Ultimately, this combination made it possible to exterminate 2/3 of European Jewry in less than a decade, together with millions of Slavic and other peoples.

The roots of Nazi antisemitic ideology are to be found, no doubt, in the rebirth of Nordic paganism, or the Nordic Religion. In this view the Aryan race has always been the master race. It is the will of the gods.


Connected to this, in his 2006 argument Pope Benedict claimed that the "ultimate Nazi target" was the Christian church. If the tap root of the Christian faith, i.e. Judaism, could be torn up, the church might also be destroyed, he said.

This statement seems to ignore the nearly two millenia-long antisemitic hatred sponsored by many within the Christian Church who maintained that the Jews were responsible for rejecting and murdering their long-awaited Messiah. Since the Jews asked that Jesus blood be upon them and their children (Matt.27:24-25), let it be so. Their old covenant has been superseded by the New Covenant in Christ.

Related to this issue is the Roman Catholic Church's more recent affirmation of the permanent integrity of God's ancient covenant with the Jewish people.  Many scholars, including some Lutheran, have insisted that this is so and are calling for Christians to reevaluate their relationship to the Jewish people.

These issues must be explored in greater detail another time.

Santorini, the legend of Atlantis and the Nazis

Santorini and the legend of Atlantis

Maybe you've noticed from studying my links about Atlantis, etc. and Madame H P Blavatsky that Atlantis plays a significant part in the legendary background of the Aryan race and the myths the Nazis created about themselves.

Here's a link to the island of Santorini. On this site are also are the references from Plato's writings. By the way, the name Atlantis comes from the mythical giant Atlas and not from the ocean.