Otherness

A detailed Summary of Otherness

The Theme of "Otherness" in Anti-Semitic Cartoons

Through political cartoons circulated in the early twentieth century, anti-Semites tried to persuade people to strongly believe the inferiority of the Jews by depicting them as a social "other". Perhaps the simplest definition of "otherness" is those human qualities that are different from one's own qualities and outside the groups to which we belong, yet are present in other individuals and groups. In this context, otherness is marked by outward signs like race and gender.  "Otherness" has also been associated predominantly with those who, by virtue of their difference from the dominant group, have been disempowered and robbed of a voice in the social, religious, and political world. There was an enormous amount of anti-Semitic propaganda and political cartoons published, not only in Germany, but throughout the world. These political cartoons often emphasized and exaggerated the stereotypical views that most people had about Jews.

Physical appearance was often highly exaggerated in anti-Semitic cartoons. Many years before Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, he was obsessed with ideas about race. In his speeches and writings, Hitler spread his beliefs of

Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote about being aware that the physical features of the Jews did not correspond with what he accepted to be normal. He writes, "Wherever I went, I began to see Jews, and the more I saw, the more sharply they became distinguished in my eyes from the rest of humanity" (Gillerman 56). Hitler explains his views further on the following page, penning the words "it became positively repulsive when, in addition to their physical uncleanliness, you discovered the moral stains on this chosen people" (Gillerman 56). One of these 'moral stains' mentioned by Hitler is the Jewish activity in the economy and press.

important function to persuade people that Jews were obliged to commit impure acts against Christians.

racial purity and his beliefs in the superiority of the Germanic race, or what he called an Aryan "master race". As every student in primary school is taught, Hitler's idea of the perfect Aryan was blond, blue-eyed, and tall. Anyone who did not possess these qualities had a sense of "otherness" about them. The cartoon of the Jewish money investor embodies the stereotypical features of a Jewish male. He is obviously quite short, and fulfills the misconception that all Jews have a distinctive large nose. Indeed, these features are in contrast with the physical features of Hitler's ideal Aryan race. In

movement is the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a literary hoax of the late nineteenth century. When combined with the visual effects of the cartoons, the effect to sway the opinions of the masses was tremendous.

The excerpt from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion provided in the class text contains several protocols. Each protocol relies heavily on the stereotypes about the Jews and the Zionist movement that had been forming until this document was written in the late 1890s, with the intent to show the existence of an international Jewish conspiracy to dominate the world. In the first protocol, the author deals with the fact that political freedom is not a fact, rather it is an idea. He writes "The idea of freedom cannot be realized because no one knows how to make reasonable use o

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Approximate Word count = 1446
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History