Constructing Otherness

INTERPRETING ANTISEMITISM: STUDIES AND ESSAYS ON THE GERMAN CASE. By Shulamit Volkov. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2023. Pp. v + 253. Hardcover, $114.99. Antisemitism is among the most enduring and complex social phenomena in European history, shaping and reflecting the theological, ideological, and political currents of the societies in which it manifests. Germany, as the epicenter of both modern antisemitic thought and the Holocaust, provides a particularly rich case for studying how antisemitism functions as more than a prejudice, acting instead as a deeply embedded cultural force. Shulamit Volkov's Interpreting Antisemitism: Studies and Essays on the German Case takes up this challenge, offering a sophisticated analysis of the historical, cultural, and ideological dynamics of antisemitism in Germany. By weaving together theoretical reflection, historiographical critique, and empirical investigation, Volkov not only deepens our understanding of antisemitism but also challenges us to reconsider its function in both historical and contemporary contexts. This volume spans decades of Volkov's scholarly work, bringing together studies and essays that explore antisemitism as both a historical reality and a cultural phenomenon. At its core lies Volkov's groundbreaking conceptualization of antisemitism as a “cultural code”—a lens that moves beyond simplistic categorizations of antisemitism as religious, economic, or racial prejudice. Instead, Volkov argues that antisemitism served as a symbolic marker, signaling broader ideological alignments and cultural stances in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Germany. By framing antisemitism in this way, Volkov shifts the discourse from understanding antisemitism as a static, universal phenomenon to examining its adaptability and resilience within specific historical contexts. Organized into four thematic parts, the volume explores the historiography of antisemitism, its role as a cultural code, its evolution, and its function within Nazism. An epilogue examines the persistence of antisemitism in postwar Germany, particularly its intersections with memory culture, politics, and discussions about the State of Israel. Grounded in meticulous historical analysis, Volkov's methodological approach also engages broader theoretical discussions on how antisemitism is understood and studied, bridging theory and empiricism. By integrating cultural history, intellectual history, and historiography, she provides an interdisciplinary perspective that enhances both historical scholarship and contemporary discourse on antisemitism. This review examines Volkov's contributions, focusing on her concept of antisemitism as a cultural code and how this framework enhances our understanding of antisemitism's persistence and adaptability. By engaging with the book's thematic structure and interdisciplinary insights, I will assess its strengths, limitations, and significance for contemporary discussions on the cultural and ideological dynamics that sustain and reshape antisemitism over time. The opening section of Interpreting Antisemitism establishes the foundational questions and methodological challenges framing the volume. In her first essay, Volkov critiques the historiography of antisemitism, engaging with historians Shmuel Ettinger and Jacob Katz. While Ettinger views antisemitism as a continuous cultural constant, Katz emphasizes its evolution in specific historical contexts. Volkov critiques both for privileging intellectual history, arguing that they overlook the social and material conditions that sustain antisemitism. She highlights its fluidity and versatility across diverse contexts, advocating for nuanced periodization and interdisciplinary approaches to better understand its enduring features and dynamic shifts (23). This perspective lays a historiographical foundation for addressing complexities, including modern antisemitism's manifestations in the Nazi era. The subsequent essays explore case studies that reveal the multifaceted nature of antisemitism in late-nineteenth-century Germany. In “The Social and Political Function of Late Nineteenth-Century Antisemitism: The Case of the Small Handicraft Masters” (25–42), Volkov examines how economic discontent, political isolation, and modernization pressures drove small artisans, the Mittelstand, toward antisemitic rhetoric as both scapegoating and a tool for cohesion. She traces the evolution of their antisemitism from sporadic reactions to entrenched ideologies shaped by racial narratives and political shifts. In the third essay, Volkov examines the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), which resisted antisemitism by embracing Marxist class analysis, proletarian solidarity, and the rejection of scapegoating as a mechanism for unification. Unlike the fragmented Mittelstand, which found cohesion in antisemitism, the industrial working class aligned with the SPD's ideological resistance, reflecting the interplay of historical, sociological, and ideological factors. Together, these essays bridge micro-level case studies with macro-level critiques, illustrating how antisemitic ideologies functioned within specific social, economic, and political contexts. Volkov's analysis underscores the grassroots adoption and top-down dissemination of antisemitism, offering a nuanced understanding of its continuity and resilience. Part II is the heart of Volkov's argument, introducing her influential concept of antisemitism as a “cultural code.” Moving beyond traditional models, she argues that antisemitism in Imperial Germany functioned as a symbolic marker, signaling broader ideological and cultural affiliations. The chapter “Antisemitism as a Cultural Code: Reflections on the History and Historiography of Antisemitism in Imperial Germany” (61–84) offers profound insights into how antisemitism became an embedded cultural code, transcending immediate political and social functions. Through meticulous examination of historiographical debates, social dynamics, and ideological transformations, this chapter elucidates the mechanisms by which antisemitism infiltrated diverse strata of society, ultimately shaping a collective worldview that persisted across decades. A key aspect of Volkov's chapter is her critical engagement with the historiography of antisemitism, expanding upon earlier critiques. She challenges narratives that treat Nazism as an aberration or draw an unbroken line from medieval antisemitism to the Holocaust. Expanding on Hannah Arendt's caution against framing antisemitism as an “eternal hatred,” Volkov explores its historical specificity, arguing that modern antisemitism functioned as a “Weltanschauung”—a worldview—deeply intertwined with German nationalism, cultural pessimism, and anti-modern sentiment (Rürup 1975, 91; Volkov 66). By framing antisemitism as a cultural code, she moves beyond the political failures of antisemitic parties, as outlined by scholars like Richard Levy, to reveal its broader social integration (Volkov 62). This shift from formal institutions to cultural practices underscores antisemitism's resilience as a symbolic language in Imperial Germany. Volkov further describes how antisemitism functioned as “a way of communicating an acceptance of a particular set of ideas and a preference for specific social, political, and moral norms” (72). It became a shorthand for rejecting modernity, capitalism, socialism, and liberalism, while affirming an idealized vision of “pure Germanism” and conservative values (69). This abstraction allowed antisemitism to transcend individual grievances, uniting a society grappling with the upheavals of industrialization and modernization. Figures like Wilhelm Marr and Otto Glagau exemplify this transformation, portraying Jews as embodiments of cultural anxieties rather than merely economic scapegoats (62). The essay's strength lies in its nuanced portrayal of antisemitism functioning simultaneously as ideology, propaganda, and cultural ethos. Volkov illustrates that antisemitism was more than mere prejudice; it was a lens through which Germans interpreted societal upheavals. Integrated into institutions and cultural arenas—from political parties and professional associations to literature and education—it became endemic, permeating unions, cultural groups, and trade organizations as an assumed part of societal fabric (64). Even as overtly antisemitic political parties dissolved, antisemitism persisted. Volkov notes: “The decline of the Antisemitic political parties can therefore be considered not as a sign of the overall slackening of German Antisemitism but merely as an indication of its changing form” (64). This challenges historiographical views that link political failure with ideological decline, highlighting the fluidity and persistence of antisemitic thought. Additionally, Volkov's essay extends beyond Imperial Germany, laying the groundwork for understanding the cultural continuity that enabled Nazi antisemitism to flourish. She emphasizes that while the Nazis radicalized antisemitism, they heavily relied on cultural foundations established during the Kaiserreich. This reinforces her argument that the cultural coding of antisemitism in Imperial Germany created fertile ground for its later manifestations. In sum, “Antisemitism as a Cultural Code” is the cornerstone of Interpreting Antisemitism, offering a deeply analytical and historically grounded perspective on antisemitism's transformation into a pervasive cultural phenomenon. Its interdisciplinary approach illuminates the mechanisms of ideological entrenchment and provides critical tools for understanding how hate becomes normalized within a society. By tracing the continuity from Imperial Germany to the Nazi era, this chapter underscores antisemitism's enduring relevance to discussions of prejudice, ideology, and cultural identity. The subsequent essays further support Volkov's claim that antisemitism functions as a cultural code, revealing how it adapts to and aligns with shifting societal and ideological contexts. The chapter “The Written Matter and the Spoken Word: On the Gap Between Pre-1914 and Nazi Antisemitism” (85–106) examines the shift from symbolic expressions of antisemitism to the systematic violence of the Nazi era, highlighting historical factors that enabled this transformation. In “Antisemitism and Anti-Feminism: Cultural Code or Social Norm?” (107–120), Volkov examines parallels between antisemitic and anti-feminist rhetoric, showing how both defended traditional hierarchies and resisted social change. Finally, “Readjusting Cultural Codes: Reflections on Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism, and the Critique of Israel” (121–136) explores how antisemitism, as a cultural code, has adapted to contemporary contexts. It now signals broader affiliations with anti-modern, anti-colonial, or anti-imperialist worldviews, within which anti-Zionism is situated. This final essay is especially relevant given the recent surge in antisemitism across North America, functioning as both a reflective conclusion and a refinement of Volkov's foundational thesis. In this chapter, she examines the transformation of antisemitism into anti-Zionism, challenging static interpretations and reframing anti-Jewish prejudice as a dynamic phenomenon influenced by modern historical and societal shifts. This antipathy, I argue, is neither always the same, nor does it follow a pattern of rising intensity. The nineteen century, accordingly, ought not to be considered a “rehearsal for destruction”, nor Nazism the peak of an on-going, linear development. It did build upon “the longest hatred”, of course, but finally introduced—as had happened in the past—a radical new variation upon the old theme. (132) Here, Volkov argues that antisemitism is not a static or cyclical phenomenon that simply repeats over time or escalates predictably toward events like the Holocaust. Instead, she emphasizes that Nazi antisemitism marked a radical departure from earlier forms. Under the Nazis, antisemitism transformed from a symbolic cultural code—used to signify broader social or political affiliations—into a policy of annihilation. Reframing Nazi antisemitism as a historical rupture underscores the necessity of examining antisemitism in specific contexts. By distinguishing the instrumental roles of antisemitism in Imperial Germany from its genocidal application under Nazism, she disrupts deterministic narratives and highlights the transformative power of ideology. Furthermore, Volkov warns of the danger when antisemitism, initially serving as a symbolic marker within a cultural context, shifts imperceptibly into overt hostility and violence. She questions whether contemporary anti-Zionism and criticism of Israel, especially within leftist movements, have similarly evolved. What once might have been a code signaling opposition to imperialism or colonialism may now have lost its symbolic nature, becoming a direct expression of resentment or hatred toward Jews (132). She highlights that in today's context, with prolonged conflicts in the Middle East and the intertwining of US and Israeli policies, opposition to Israel may no longer merely represent a stance against broader issues but could reflect genuine hostility. Unlike in the past, Jews and the State of Israel now have the agency to respond. Volkov urges proactive efforts to demonstrate a commitment to peace and address legitimate concerns rather than solely blaming others or focusing on the prevalence of antisemitism (133). If you read only one part of Volkov's Interpreting Antisemitism, make it the second section, “Cultural Codes and Its Derivatives” (Chapters Four to Seven). This section presents her core thesis: antisemitism functions as a cultural code—a symbolic marker tied to ideological struggles rather than merely an expression of hatred. Volkov examines its intersections with societal issues, its adaptability to changing contexts, and its transformation into systemic violence, as seen in Nazi policies. By rejecting reductionist narratives that view the as she highlights the factors this shift and warns against symbolic which can into violence. analysis of anti-Zionism within leftist the fluidity of offering a framework to understand the of antisemitic rhetoric In Part of Interpreting Antisemitism, Volkov her to historiographical and thematic that earlier approaches to antisemitism or its intersections with social This section functions as a bridge between the framework established in Part II and the more analysis of antisemitism within that in Part In Antisemitism, and German Volkov critiques historians the between and antisemitism, arguing that antisemitism was to German identity. She how antisemitism from prejudice to a of nationalism, serving as a for ideologies and highlighting its relevance contemporary The essays as a of Jews and in Germany” and The of explore how cultural tools like language and racial Volkov illustrates how both idealized and contemporary their She also how racial ideologies infiltrated efforts and societal The final essay, and in the History of German Antisemitism” provides a reflective of the key whether antisemitism a radical departure from or an of enduring Volkov critiques simplistic on both advocating for a nuanced understanding that the historical of antisemitism while the conditions that shaped its evolution under She offers a analysis of the between and modern racial antisemitism, arguing that Nazi antisemitism was not merely a of but a radical transformation that hatred to an in modern on concept of Volkov how Nazi of historical prejudice, including medieval and modern racial This underscores that while Nazi antisemitism upon it transformed a and ideological Volkov Antisemitism, the of hatred from to the did not hatred but rather This was in shaping the Nazi she not social cultural or it Nazi antisemitism, was not nor was it a mere of the Instead, was a new of these In Part of Interpreting Antisemitism, Volkov explores the specific manifestations of antisemitism within bridging the theoretical insights of earlier with the historical of the Holocaust. This section examines historiographical debates, the and ideological of Nazi antisemitism, and its broader role within In and to the History of Volkov critiques for German antisemitism and highlights the challenges of German and She the shift toward scholarship that the and a more nuanced understanding of collective Additionally, the essay “Antisemitism as and critiques the on antisemitism as the framework for the Holocaust. Volkov emphasizes its interplay with historical on to antisemitism as a rather than a of In on and Antisemitism” Volkov engages with to explore the of Nazi ideology. She argues for integrating these into of to better understand its of and The essay on Nazi Antisemitism” work, particularly the concept of Nazi antisemitism as a collective in an on the Volkov While contributions, Volkov critiques on and of the to or material She argues for the and of Nazi antisemitism to its force. In the final chapter, in the Nazi Antisemitism” Volkov on the historiographical evolution of antisemitism of continuity and She highlights integration of traditional antisemitism and modern ideological factors while advocating for methodological and interdisciplinary approaches to scholarship Part by the for that ideological, and historical contexts. Volkov's critical engagement with key underscores the of historiographical evolution in the moral and historical The epilogue Volkov's by reflecting on the persistence of antisemitism in postwar Germany. efforts by the Nazis the moral Antisemitism opposition to values and serving as a for commitment to like with Jews as for and while antisemitic Volkov underscores how antisemitism persisted as a cultural code, efforts to memory with The marked a particularly through events as in and the in Germans to their in the antisemitism as studies in the a decline in Volkov also the of antisemitism, particularly critiques of Israel as which the line between legitimate criticism and anti-Jewish prejudice. contemporary as over the and the of distinguishing political from antisemitism in a society by memory A of the epilogue is which to the and antisemitism from discourse these antisemitism as by like the on events the challenges of addressing both and antisemitism as political Volkov also engages with broader historiographical on antisemitism, including its intersections with and of While the to of she on the historical and cultural of antisemitism, which a analytical In Interpreting Antisemitism, Volkov the concept of antisemitism as a “cultural framing it as a symbolic language embedded in societal This perspective moves beyond traditional offering a framework for understanding antisemitism's persistence and Volkov argues that antisemitism as a dynamic of to diverse social, cultural, and political contexts. By framing it as a cultural code, she its role in reflecting and societal This adaptability is in how antisemitic narratives shift in to political, and cultural through or critiques of power in overt hatred is A key of Volkov's framework is its on both the continuity and transformation of antisemitism across than a static prejudice, antisemitism as a of to new Volkov traces its from in to modern racial and political including contemporary expressions in anti-Zionism and By with ideologies like nationalism, socialism, and antisemitism broader and becomes embedded within diverse political This cultural code framework also the of antisemitism of its intersections with cultural and ideological It highlights how prejudice is through its integration into societal it more challenging to antisemitism its entrenchment within narratives rather than it as an phenomenon. Volkov's interdisciplinary her analysis of antisemitism, cultural history, political and historiography to antisemitism within broader cultural and social contexts. This approach highlights its multifaceted nature, as seen in her of how antisemitism with to reveal the of that sustain systemic analysis of language and further illustrates the mechanisms by which rhetoric and offering tools for examining antisemitism across diverse contexts. While Volkov's is German antisemitism, her conceptualization of antisemitism as a cultural code beyond Germany. This adaptability the of antisemitism scholars to explore its manifestations in and cultural methodological on the interplay between continuity and offers a framework for understanding how antisemitism while deeply entrenched in societal Volkov's concept of antisemitism as a “cultural further relevance through her to historical analysis with contemporary on the adaptability of cultural highlights how antisemitism has given way to as language and expressions of prejudice. insights for understanding including the of anti-Zionism with antisemitism, the of and the persistence of antisemitic in Volkov's approach a the of political critiques while their to sustain prejudice. of postwar antisemitism deepens this analysis by examining the of addressing prejudice within modern Through her of and its interplay with political and dynamics, Volkov illuminates the challenges of historical in an While Volkov's framework of antisemitism as a “cultural is it is not its The of the concept its analytical questions about its What a cultural code from ideological or of While Volkov how antisemitism within societal contexts, the fluidity of the concept can to particularly when to it across historical and cultural lies in a “cultural from a broader ideological in with its deeply and functioned as a pervasive ideological for and was an of this framework The and cultural of a lens through which and shaping societal and If understand as an with how does a “cultural in its or the one of or does the cultural code as a more symbolic and mechanism within broader ideological Volkov's of the a fluidity and adaptability that traditional ideological might how antisemitic and when overt or ideological This adaptability the cultural code to in new with contemporary and as nationalism, economic or political identity. the of a between a cultural code and questions about whether the is a or a of the Volkov's of antisemitism, particularly its intersections with anti-Zionism, also both and nuanced approach the line between legitimate political and antisemitic it could from a more of how leftist ideologies with antisemitic expressions in the modern era. This is especially relevant in contemporary debates, can antisemitic as portraying Jews as or Volkov's cultural code framework provides a lens to these dynamics in the symbolic adaptability of antisemitic narratives within broader ideological particularly in or social on Volkov's insights, scholarship could our understanding of the intersections between ideologies and antisemitism. how cultural within could for addressing these Volkov's conceptualization not only illuminates the persistence of antisemitic narratives in but also lays the groundwork for that historical analysis with contemporary Finally, while Volkov's is a of intellectual its theoretical and may challenges for The and historiographical for but might for scholarly while the is a critical for its insights may not broader could from its profound analysis of antisemitism's enduring cultural and ideological Interpreting Antisemitism: Studies and Essays on the German Case is an and to the of antisemitism, offering a nuanced analysis of its cultural, political, and historical within the German By framing antisemitism as a dynamic cultural code, Volkov provides an framework for understanding the nature of antisemitism and the in which it adapts to shifting political and societal contexts. This is an for scholars and of history, German history, and the of antisemitism. Its interdisciplinary approach and of analysis make it a cornerstone in these challenging to beyond interpretations and with the and symbolic mechanisms that sustain antisemitism over time. Volkov's conceptualization the of a critical examination of how antisemitic narratives with broader cultural and ideological Interpreting Antisemitism is also an for in the have been deeply intertwined with efforts to antisemitism and Volkov's interdisciplinary approach to understanding antisemitism as a cultural code offers tools for scholars in this a of the narratives and that anti-Jewish sentiment in both historical and contemporary contexts. our beyond addressing antisemitism to with the and historical that antisemitism in diverse contexts. factors the of traditional or language but no in understanding and prejudice. By like Volkov's into their and scholars and in can more nuanced and approaches to antisemitism, and This interdisciplinary engagement underscores the to address the cultural, historical, and ideological that sustain antisemitism. In it that a and tool for understanding and prejudice in its forms. Interpreting Antisemitism traditional historiography by functioning not only as an of antisemitism but also as a moral to deeply with the cultural and ideological that The essays and studies in this volume with critical tools to and address the enduring challenges of antisemitism in both and societal contexts. By bringing together decades of Volkov's this and for antisemitism and a more nuanced and understanding of Jews and

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