Anti-semitism In British Society, 1876-1939 (routledge Library Editions: Racism And Fascism) (volume 2)

Surveys antisemitism in Britain from the campaign against Disraeli in 1876 until World War II. The pre-World War I period was marked by anti-Jewish sentiments following the great influx of immigrants into Britain. The fear of "Jewish domination" was expressed in British antisemitic writings. World War I brought about a rise in antisemitism; riots broke out in London and in Leeds in 1917. After the war, the myth of Jewish Bolshevism spread. English versions of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and "The Cause of World Unrest" were published in 1920 (chs. 9-10 deal with the subject of the "Protocols" and its influence). The first anti-Jewish organizations arose in England before World War I; after the war the Imperial Fascist League, headed by Arnold Leese, and the British Union of Fascists became the main bearers of racist antisemitism. Anti-Jewish violence in this period was limited to London's East End. Concludes that antisemitism in Britain was of a less severe kind than in some other countries; it was never a vehicle for political success in society, but it was a significant factor. (From the Bibliography of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism) This is the first detailed study of anti-semitism, as an ideology, among the British. First published in 1979, it concentrates on the crucial period between 1876 and 1939 when, against a background of Jewish immigration, war or the threat of war, and social and economic unrest, hostility towards the Jewish community reached its peak. Colin Holmes identifies the main strands of anti-semitic thought and their expression, starting with the Eastern Crisis of 1876 which sparked off the first serious manifestation of anti-semitism. He shows how, before 1914, opposition towards Jews rested on religious and other perceived cultural distinctions. It was only after the First World War that a sinister and significant change of emphasis occurred: racism now became the dominant feature of anti-semitism and was reinforced by theories of conspiracy, the most notorious being The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Anti-semitism has no uniform cause or characteristic and a single explanation cannot suffice. This book elucidates the complex range of factors involved, using both historical and sociological methods and drawing on extensive (and sometimes controversial) research. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Original Title Page Original Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Part I 1 Background 2 A nation within a nation? 3 The health and morals of the nation 4 Dark legends 5 Our new masters? 6 Movements and measures against Jews 7 Anti-semitism and society Part II 8 Anti-semitism in the First World War Part III 9 The Protocols and the Britons 10 Other anti-semitic worlds 11 The BUF and anti-semitism 12 Attack and counter-attack 13 Anti-semitism and society 1919–39 14 The balance sheet Notes Select bibliography Index Index of Persons Index of Places Index of Subjects This set gathers together a collection of out-of-print titles, all classics in their field. Reissued for the first time in some years, they offer an insightful reference resource to a variety of topics. From Professor Colin Holmes's groundbreaking studies of racism in British society, to Professor Kitchen's analysis of the rise of fascism in pre-war Austria, these books shed much light on society's recent dark past.