Why did Germans hate Jews a long time ago?

Question

Why did Germans hate Jews a long time ago?

Answer 1

You won't find many historical sources that have a lot of time for the Jews. From the time that Tacitus wrote "the Jewish religion is tasteless and mean" (100AD) to the Russian pogroms of the 19thC, the Jews have not been a well liked bunch. The "people apart" nature of their faith and its elitism (as opposed to the inclusiveness of christianity) probably didn't help. From medieval times forward thier position in society as (frequently wealthy) money lenders stoked both envy & religious outrage. In ancient & classical times they were a rebellious people with a god who (oddly for the day) denied all other deities and claimed his people as favored above all others. Hence their overlords were obliged to go to the expense of dispersing them.

The Germans were certainly not alone in their ill-feeling towards the Jews...

Answer 2

They couldn't accept that they lost to the french and hitler took advantage of that and convinced people to put their hate on the JEWS, because they were rich. Morel ike they were jealous.

Answer 3

There is also a minor theory that I was taught, that when Hitler was living as just an unsuccessful struggling artist, he was in an area where there were lots of successful Jewish businessmen, and he grew extremely resentful of them.

Answer 4

it is because they were wiped out by hitler during the world war 2

Answer 5

Well to be honest, the Jews weren't liked by pretty much everyone in the world at anytime. but back to the question.

After WWI, because of the costs of reperations that the Germans were forced to pay to Britian and France, they fell into a great depression, similar to ours in America. Anyways, Hitler used them as a scapegoat, basically saying that the Jerws were holding Germany back. He simply used the Jews as propaganda to support his own aims. The reason it went so well is because Jews tend to be bankers, business owners, etc. (some say thats a generalization, but it is true) So when you have a group of poeple who are doing a little better than the rest, people get angry.

On another note, during the Black Plague circa 1347, Europeans of many nations blamed the Jews' disbelief in Christ as the Messiah as the reason for the plague...it was Gods' punishment for their disbelief. Also, they blamed them because many Jews, who because of their religion were more cautious in the preperation of food and overall more sanitary people, didn't get the boubonic plague.

hope this helps.

Answer 6

With all due respect, I think Libby's answer is a bit overly-simplistic. Germany, an otherwise proud and industrious nation with a long and successful history, had faced utter humiliation after their defeat in World War I. With national morale at an all-time low it was a tinder-box of emotions in which an organization like the Third Reich could flourish. This involved a number of multi-tiered strategies that included their muscle-flexing in the eyes of Western powers during the annexing of Austria to the persecuting of minorities that could be "blamed" for the countries internal problems. Minorities such as Jewish (and other) communities in European countries and elsewhere have been scapegoated for years, basically whenever it suits the political agenda of the governing political organization at the time. It's often part of a much broader political agenda fueled by the fear and ignorance of the masses.

Answer 7

The German people as a whole have never hated Jews.

In 1933, persecution of the Jews became active n**i policy, but at first laws were not as rigorously obeyed or as devastating as in later years. On 2 August 1934, President Paul von Hindenburg died. No new president was appointed; instead the powers of the chancellor and president were combined into the office of Führer. This, and a tame government with no opposition parties, allowed Adolf Hitler totalitarian control of law making. The Military was forced to swear an oath of loyalty personally to Hitler, giving him power over the military and allowing HIM to easily create more pressure on the Jews than ever before. The n**i persecution of the Jews culminated in the Holocaust, in which approximately 6 million European Jews were deported and murdered during the Second World War. On May 19, 1943, Germany was declared judenrein (clean of Jews; also judenfrei: free of Jews). It is believed that between 170,000 and 200,000 German Jews were killed. Many Jews were shielded from the labour camps by Germans unsympathetic to the n***s and their policies Approximately 150,000 German Jews had served in the German Wehrmacht, including decorated veterans and high-ranking officers, even generals and admirals. A great many of these men did not even consider themselves Jewish and had embraced the military as a way of life and as devoted patriots eager to serve a revived German nation. In turn, they had been embraced by the Wehrmacht, which prior to Hitler had given little thought to the race of these men but which was now forced to look deeply into the ancestry of its soldiers

What happened during WWII was never supported by the vast majority of Geramns, but then from134 through 1945 Germany occupied by a facist dictatorship. Germans were powerless to do anything to help the Jews without putting their own lives in sevre jeopardy. Many did help, and many of them were executed without bennefit of trial. So it wasn't Germans that hated Jews during WWII, but n***s, which were of many ethnic groups.

Answer 8

To expand on brkfstclb8807 (sorry if i got that wrong) and to go back even further, as much of Europe has been Christian over the last 2 thousand years, it would make sense that much of Europe hated the Jews.  The Christians believed that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus Christ.  The Jewish Ghetto's of WWII were not the first in existence.  Going back centuries, Jews were segregated from the Christian population as a result of Christian hatred for them.  It was Napoleon's conquests in Europe that freed the Jews and allowed them to integrate with society at large.  A different hatred stemmed from this as Jews became successful in many professions (including banking, which is where the Jews and money stereotype comes from).  It was the fear of Jews taking over and Christians not being able to tell who the Jewish people were that created much of the fear most Europeans had of Jewish people.  From this stemmed the hatred of Hitler and the reluctance of other countries to allow Jews into their lands in the 20th century.

Answer 9

it wasn't just germans it was all christians from all around Europe. they were kecked out of spain during the inquisition, moved on from everywhere they tried to settle, The polish invited them to live there, and then perserquited them.  There have been Progroms all over Europe for centuries. The Germans just tool it to extreams during and before WWII.  and the reason, well simply because they were different.

Answer 10

they needed someone to blame for their economic problems and hitler targeted them.