Topic > Passive Anti-Semitism in the United States

During the first two years of World War II, the United States remained neutral. The United States was debating whether it should help its allies or stay out. Most Americans wanted to stay out of the war due to the traumas and events that occurred during World War I and coming out of the Great Depression. Most Americans believed that domestic problems should be more important than European ones. The United States decided to enter the war after Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese in 1941. Although the United States entered the war late; it was also because there was anti-Semitism and isolationist politics that prevented the country from intervening before the Holocaust. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay According to the dictionary, the definition of anti-Semitism is defined as hatred/hostility towards Jews. It didn't originate with Hitler but it certainly grew and became an even bigger problem. Anti-Semitism was mainly based on Jewish stereotypes. They were described as people taking money, not belonging to any country and as dangerous. Anti-Semitism spread throughout American society, for example in magazines/newspapers, commercials, and graffiti. In most cases, newspapers published anti-Semitic cartoons and articles. In the United States there was another type of anti-Semitism called “passive anti-Semitism”. Where these Americans would not physically harm a Jew but had negative feelings towards him. These negative feelings led people to not really care about what was happening to the Jews. popular examples of anti-Semitic propaganda. He stated that in the 1930s Jews were mostly targeted with controversial political and social positions. They were part of communism, responsible for the New Deal, the Great Depression (economic crisis), a conspiracy of the Elders of Zion, and the increase in the black population. These accusations also depended on people's political opinions, many were labeled as anti-American, which shows that being "American" is defined as a specific color, background, and race. In the United States of America, there have been numerous accusations against anti-Semitic groups/organizations. These groups were the Christian Identity Churches, the KKK, the American Nazi Party, the White Aryan Resistance, and many others. Before World War II, the KKK had approximately five million members. After World War I, the KKK mixed religious prejudice, xenophobia, and white supremacy to scare people. How the KKK viewed Eastern European immigrants coming to the United States to spread communism and take control of politics. In this way, they targeted Jews, African Americans, women, and other groups of people they disagreed with and wanted to control. Even though the KKK existed long before World War II or even before World War I, it primarily targeted African Americans. Another group, the Christian Identity, wanted to take a step forward from those Christians who had persecuted the Jews for rejecting Jesus. They believed that the Jews were evil and immoral, therefore they must be enemies. They accepted the fact that not even Jesus would forgive the Jews. Some organizations were not as violent as others, but they demonstrated that Jews were not welcome. Westboro Baptist Church wrote anti-Semitic messages. The American Nazi Party had members who shaved their heads and tattooed Nazi symbolism such as swastikas and Heil Hitler. The group organized anti-Semitic marches and shouted.