ABSTRACT
The "Jewish problem" in Nazi Germany had deep-seated roots. The general features of an oppositional collective representation of the Jew did not originate in Germany. Historical accounts suggest that since the dawn of Christianity, Jews and Christians were each other's "disconfirming other", for genuine belief in the veracity of one religion required belief in the falsity of the other. Cross-national diffusion of social problems requires the adopters of claims to define conditions in their own society as similar to those that are the source of those claims. Clearly, the diffusion of Christianity established the basis for the diffusion of anti-Semitic constructions of the Jew. It was not always anti-Semitism that was the Nazis' most effective theme in garnering popular support. At various times and with different audiences, appeal to nationalism, complaints about the Versailles Treaty, opposition to communism, and proposed solutions to economic problems were more attractive issues.
