The Roots of Antisemitism in South Africa (Reconsiderations in Southern African History)

History

Shain, Milton

World

Univ of Virginia Pr

Although South Africa is universally regarded as a metaphor for racism and bigotry, there has been surprisingly little scholarly focus on antisemitism in that society. Historians of South African Jewry have depicted antisemitism in the 1930s and early 1940s as an essentially alien phenomenon, a product of Nazi propaganda at a time of great social and economic trauma. Milton Shain argues that antisemitism was an important element in South African society long befor 1930. Using previously unmined sources, such as novels, plays, caricatures, and even jokes, he demonstrates that the roots of anti-Jewish outbursts of the 1930s and early 1940s are to be found in a widely shared negative stereotype of the Jew that had evolved from the late ninteenth century.

In the third volume of Milton Shain's history of antisemitism in South Africa, he traces and unpacks hostile attitudes towards Jews and irrational fantasies that accompany them in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.

Fascists, Fabricators and Fantasists

Africa

Digital on Demand

This richly illustrated story – the first comprehensive history to appear in over 50 years – includes a wide range of historically important photographs, many long unseen, and encompasses a broad swathe of Jewish life, from the bimah and the boardroom to the bowling green. Beginning with the first Jewish immigrants to South Africa, and depicting the fragility of the early foundations and the shifting fortunes of this infant community, the book traces its development to robust maturity amidst turbulent social and political currents. These include the strident antisemitism of the 1930s, the moral dilemmas of the apartheid era, the subsequent turbulent transition towards a non-racial democracy, the birth of the New South Africa and the fresh challenges and promise that have followed in its wake up to the present day. The Jews in South Africa will be of great interest to every member of the Jewish community living both in South Africa and in their adoptive countries, as well as for all wishing to learn more about this highly energetic and innovative community whose contribution in many spheres of life has so greatly influenced and enriched the history of South Africa.

The Jews in South Africa: An Illustrated History

Mendelsohn, Richard

Jonathan Ball Pub.

The interwar years were a tumultuous time in South Africa. The effects of the worldwide economic slump gave rise to a huge number of 'poor whites' and fed the growth of a militant and aggressive Afrikaner nationalism that often took its lead from Nazi Germany. For a great number of whites, both English - and Afrikaans - speakers, the Jew was an unwelcome and disturbing addition to society. A Perfect Storm explores the growth of antisemitism in South Africa between 1930 and 1948 within the broader context of South African politics and culture. A Perfect Storm reveals how the radical right's malevolent message moved from the margins to the centre of political life; how demagoguery was able to gain traction in society; and how vulgar antisemitism seeped into mainstream politics, with real and lasting consequences. Milton Shain, South Africa's leading scholar of modern Jewish history, carefully documents the rise of the 'Jewish Question' in this period, detailing the growth of overtly fascistic organisations such as the Greyshirts, the New Order and the Ossewa-Brandwag. Central to his analysis is the National Party's use of anti-Semitism to win electoral advantage and mobilise Afrikaners behind the nationalist project. The party contributed to the climate of hostility that resulted in the United Party government drastically curtailing the numbers of Jews admitted as immigrants. Indeed, some of its most virulent antisemites were accorded high office after 1948 when the National Party came to power.

A Perfect Storm (Antisemitism in South Africa 1930 - 1948)

Jonathan Ball Publishers

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Books by Shain, Milton

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shain, Milton. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Roots of Antisemitism in South Africa (Reconsiderations in Southern African History)

The Roots of Antisemitism in South Africa (Reconsiderations in Southern African History)

Fascists, Fabricators and Fantasists

The Jews in South Africa: An Illustrated History

A Perfect Storm (Antisemitism in South Africa 1930 - 1948)