A TRANSLATION OF WILHELM MARR’S DER JUDENSPIEGEL: THE TRANSFORMATION OF A DEMOCRAT INTO A RACIST

Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Cuomo, Glenn

Area of Concentration

German Studies

Abstract

This thesis provides analytical background and historical context for a translation of Wilhelm Marr’s 1862 book, Der Judenspiegel. Relying heavily on Moshe Zimmerman’s biography, Wilhelm Marr: The Patriarch of Antisemitism, I argue that Marr was both unusual and an integral product of his times; though he failed to achieve social success within the anti-Jewish movement, he remains important as a transitional intellectual figure between left wing and right wing radicalism. In the first chapter, I address the historiography of the term “anti-Semitism” which Marr is (falsely) credited with coining. The second chapter examines the broad movements of heterodox racism and secular anti-Jewishness over several centuries which came together decisively in Der Judenspiegel. The final chapter explains why Marr is a unique figure worthy of study, and analyzes the connections between Marr’s experiences, his personality, and the resultant changes in his ideology.

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