Antisemitism

  • 16

    Roman Empire/Beginnings of Christianity

    During this time, the Romans conquered Palestine and wanted Jews to obey Roman laws and worship Roman gods. The Jews refused and as a result were labeled"stubborn" and "hostile." Many rebellions and arguments for peace emerged.
  • 16

    Anti-Judaism

    When Jesus and other Jews became excommunicated, Christian anti-Judaism was born.
  • 1500

    Isolation

    By the 16th century many Jews were isolated from Christians and moved into "ghetto" areas. New assumptions were made about them, such as "agents of the devil" and "the reason for ever catastrophe."
  • Race

    Within the 17th and 18th centuries, the word "race" took on a new meaning. Many races were ranked, having the Aryans at the top and the Jews towards the bottom. Jews were considered the "Semitic race" and were considered inferior to the Aryans. Thus, Antisemitism was formed to show people's hatred for Jews.
  • Discovery

    The German Anthropological Society set out to find the differences between the Jews and the Aryans, and they concluded that both groups were more alike than different. Therefore, Historian George Mosse concluded that the idea of superior races is irrelevant.
  • Racist Thinking

    Many people accepted the fact of racism, and attacks against Jews and other minor groups increased. During the time of the Great Depression, Jews were blamed for society's problems solely because of their religion.
  • Holocaust

    When Hitler rose, he targeted Jews and started separating them, stripped their citizenship, and made it crime for Christians and Jews to have contact. Many Jews were sent to concentration camps in an even called the Holocaust.
  • Holocaust Continued

    By this time, Hitler was shipping thousands of Jews in Hungary to death camps, decreasing this group to less than 1 percent of the population.