THE ETERNAL JEW: JEWISH VICTIMIZATION THROUGH MARGINALIZATION

Author

Joshua Fishlock, University of Rhode Island

Date of Award

2010

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Communication Studies

Department

Communication Studies

First Advisor

Kevin McClure

Abstract

This thesis examines the phenomenon of Jewish marginalization in Nazi Germany using the film The Eternal Jew as a representative example. Specifically this study identified sources of guilt in post World War I German culture and the steps taken by the Nazi's to alleviate that guilt through victimization of the Jews. Results show that the Nazi's played upon cultural beliefs of German superiority and antisemitism in order to create a public reality of the Jews as the Other. This disidentification of the Jews from the German population increased the effectiveness of the usage of the Jews as scapegoats for the Germans socio-economic and political inadequacies following World War I. The use of the scapegoat also served as part of an enactment of the drama and the cult of the kill. The Eternal Jew is significant because it in part prepared the German public for the Final Solution.

Recommended Citation

Fishlock, Joshua, "THE ETERNAL JEW: JEWISH VICTIMIZATION THROUGH MARGINALIZATION" (2010). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 1781.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/1781