ABSTRACT

Propaganda to combat anti-Semitism has often been crude and ineffective because of a lack of knowledge of its psychological roots, individual as well as social. In spite of the many excellent works written on the subject, anti-Semitism is still regarded too casually and viewed too superficially, even by those whom it immediately affects. For too many people anti-Semitism is nothing more than a pitiable aberration, a relapse into the Dark Ages; and while its presence is understandable in those nations of middle and Eastern Europe whose post-war status made the permanent achievement of democracy impossible, it is on the whole viewed as an element foreign to the spirit of modern society. From this point of view, it would follow logically that anti-Semitism is an anachronism, incapable of securing a worldwide hold. This is not true. Hatred of the Jews, despite the

proclamation of human rights during the most progressive periods and in the most progressive countries, has never really been vanquished and is capable of flaring up anew at any moment.