Between philosemitism and antisemitism

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Philosemitism, defined by Alan T. Levenson as "any pro-Jewish or pro-Judaic utterance or act," emerged in Germany alongside antisemitism, highlighting a significant yet often overlooked aspect of German-Jewish relations. This work offers the first comprehensive assessment of non-Jewish support for Jews, Judaism, and Jewishness from the establishment of the German Reich in 1871 until the rise of the Nazis in 1932, when supporting Jews became criminalized. Levenson employs an interdisciplinary approach, examining fiction, private letters, and published defenses of Jews in early twentieth-century Germany. He reevaluates the role of missionary Protestants and advocates from the German peace movement. Through literary analysis of novels featuring positive Jewish characters and the reception of Herzlian Zionism, the book sheds light on this neglected facet of history. It reveals that, despite being a marginalized group, Jews garnered sympathy in Imperial and Weimar Germany, though this support was often limited by outdated societal values. Levenson's new afterword reviews the past decade of philosemitism studies, using Die Weltbühne, a prominent leftist journal, to substantiate the term's relevance. Alan T. Levenson is the Schusterman Professor for Jewish Intellectual and Religious History at the University of Oklahoma and has authored several notable works on Jewish thought and history.