Modern Antisemitism in Western Europe: Romantic Nationalism, Racism and Racial Fantasies

In this chapter, changing attitudes toward Jews in the countries of Western and Central Europe are discussed, beginning with the early fight for equal rights in the latter part of the 18th century, and continuing up to the First World War. The rise of new forms of anti-Jewish sentiment and ideology during this era is described, including the Romantic-Conservative rejection of Jewish participation in the life of bourgeois society, Jews’ definition as foreigners within the emerging nations, and, finally, their designation as a separate, inferior race – all constituting aspects of a modern form of antisemitism that grew parallel to the process of Jewish integration in contemporary society and culture.