ABSTRACT
After examining the meaning of the word monster, their typical traits and typical human reactions to them, the author questions the reasons why societies worldwide seem always to have created monsters. The archetypal pair hero–monster suggests that we need to create monsters in order to reassure ourselves that we can conquer them and what they represent – the unknown. Erich Neumann understands the battle with the monster as a developmental step, which is necessary in order to reach a new level of consciousness. The projection of the monster onto a minority – scapegoating – is a frequent phenomenon which the author describes in relation especially to anti-Semitism. Can the projections of monsters onto foreigners – in the sense of scapegoating – be removed? On the individual level, sometimes; on the collective level this seems unlikely. However, more recent depictions of monsters are seldom as terrifyingly inimical as they have been in the past. Does this mean that scapegoating can be eradicated?
