ADDITIONAL PRAISE FOR HOLY HATRED: This work is a thorough treatment of an immense topic. So much has been written about Christian antisemitism, and about the Holocaust, that general readers can sometimes lose sight of the fact that an intimate causal relationship existed between the two. All that had gone before, it seemed, allowed the Holocaust to happen indeed, it might be said that the Holocaust was in fact the culmination of the previous twenty centuries of Christian animosity towards Jews, a hostility that only intensified with each passing year. Robert Michael has crafted a timely study which deserves to be read by specialist and non-specialist alike, the better to understand the dynamics of Christian Jew-hatred from the time of the early Church fathers to Hitler and beyond. Michael is to be congratulated on bringing light to an area that has in the past all too frequently been darkened by the clouds of superstition, bigotry, and denial. This work is, in short, a praiseworthy achievement a model of its kind. Paul R. Bartrop, Honorary Research Fellow, The Faculty of Arts, Deakin University, and Head of History, Bialik College Holy Hatred is a masterful, beautifully written study of how Christianity and the churches shaped and sustained a lethal antisemitism for almost two millennia. With a full command of both primary and secondary sources, Robert Michael exposes the extent and continuity of Christian racial and theological antisemitism from the earliest foundations of the Church through the Holocaust. Michael powerfully delineates nearly two millennia of the obsessive Christian teachings that dehumanized Jews and the behavior [Christians] justified, including the numerous calls to rid the world of Jews and Judaism. The author shows the critical importance of Christian antisemitism to German and Austrian Nazis at all levels and to the vast populations that sustained them. In unforgettable, even shocking, portraits, Michael reveals the extent to which Christian antisemitism shaped the views of leading German literary figures, composers, philosophers, and political thinkers from left to right. A brilliant work, the work of a true master, a powerful and courageous study, unlike that of so many
who have written on the subject of antisemitism, who have chosen to appease Christians and Christianity. Future studies of the Holocaust or of antisemitism will have to address Michael s work. This is a unique and extremely important book! Eunice G. Pollack, University of North Texas Following in the footsteps of Poliakov and Flannery, this book offers a powerful description of Christianity s intimate involvement with Judeophobia and anti-semitism from the gospels forward. In the later chapters, which focus on Central Europe in the modern period, the author pulls no punches in describing the religious traditions and historical precedents upon which the Nazis drew. Peter J. Haas, Abba Hillel Silver Professor of Jewish Studies, Chair, Department of Religious Studies, and Director, The Samuel Rosenthal Center for Judaic Studies, Case Western Reserve University If anyone still remains ignorant of the Christian origins of anti- Semitism ancient and modern and its contribution to the Holocaust, this book will remedy that bliss: clearly, and in comprehensive detail. Organized, institutionalized defamation of Jews and Judaism is shown to derive from the Christian Bible and its sainted interpreters, while incitement to murder Jews begins with the Church Fathers, Popes, and holy men and contaminates the Christian and Secular West. A history of Christianity s crusading sins against Jews, Judaism, and God, in thought, word and deed. Richard Elliott Sherwin, Professor, Bar-Ilan University
Holy Hatred: Christianity, Antisemitism, and the Holocaust BY ROBERT MICHAEL
HOLY HATRED Robert Michael, 2006. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2006 978-1-4039-7471-6 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 and Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-4039-7472-3 DOI 10.1057/9780230601987 ISBN 978-0-230-60198-7 (ebook) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Michael, Robert, 1936 Holy hatred : Christianity, antisemitism, and the Holocaust / Robert Michael. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Christianity and antisemitism History. 2. Judaism Relations Christianity. 3. Christianity and other religions Judaism. 4. Holocaust, Jewish (1939 1945) Causes. I. Title. BM535.M52 2006 261.2 6 dc22 2006043778 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October 2006 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to all those people whom I love and who bless my life. In particular, my wife Susan, and my children Stephanie, Andrew, and Carolyn.
The unexamined life is not worth living. Plato, The Apology 38a. Help others, be compassionate, and, at the least, do no harm. The Buddha Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. Micah 6:8 If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when? Rabbi Hillel, the Elder Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 22 Without memory there can be no redemption. Ba al Shem Tov Courage is a person who keeps on coming on. Slow him down, maybe, but you can t never defeat him. Leander McNelly, Captain, Texas Rangers Be a human being first, a Christian second. Nikolai Grundtvig, Danish theologian The Christians say they love him, but I think they hate him without knowing it. So they take the cross by the other end and make a sword out of it and strike us with it!... They take the cross and they turn it around, they turn it around, my God. André Schwarz-Bart, The Last of the Just
Contents Acknowledgments ix 1. Christianity, Antisemitism, and the Holocaust 1 2. The Church Fathers 15 3. Medieval Violence 45 4. The Germanies from Luther to Hitler 105 5. Christian Antisemitism, the German People, and Adolf Hitler 153 Postscript 185 Notes 187 Index 239
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Acknowledgments I would like to thank the following. The libraries without whom this book would have been impossible: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Brandeis University, Brown University, Harvard University, Yale University, Ringling School of Art & Design. My colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and at the Humanities Network headquartered at Michigan State University. My teachers at Boston University, Columbia University, Brooklyn College, and the University of Connecticut. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts that supported research grants to me as a faculty member in the commonwealth s higher education structure. In particular, this book would not have been possible without the guidance of Professor Peter A. Bertocci, late of the Philosophy Department of Boston University, who, I am sure, continues to inspire students from a higher mountain.