ABSTRACT
Historical research on anti-Semitism utilizes a crisis theory in analyzing the German Empire and Weimar Republic. Aside from the connection between subjectively perceived disadvantage or individual success on the one hand, and anti-Semitism on the other, the authors examined the impact of these feelings on xenophobia and a strong identification with the ingroup. Subjectively perceived deprivation was tied to an above-average level of rejection of the "other". Deprivation and the resulting rejection of outgroup were not age-related phenomena; rather, they were tied to lower levels of education and the corresponding lower status, low income occupations. Apparently, a diffuse feeling of discontentment and deprivation is responsible for more negative attitudes toward outgroups. Political discontentment, which was particularly apparent on the left-wing and extreme right-wing fringes of the political spectrum, only showed a correlation with increased anti-Semitism among voters for the ultra-right parties.
