ruveyn wrote:
Kraichgauer wrote:
Actually, it didn't for the most part, as his friends and colleges made an effort to suppress this aspect of Luther's writings, as they knew he was no longer in his right frame of mind. His Antisemitic writings were largely (but not entirely) forgotten until the twentieth century, when the Nazis had rediscovered them, and incorporated them into their political philosophy and propaganda. There was already Antisemitism in German society, even without Luther's urging from the grave. But the rediscovery of this aspect of us Lutheran's past may explain why Nazism was able to make the jump from Catholic Bavaria to the Protestant north.
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
Horse feathers. There have been pogroms in Poland since the middle ages up to the 19th century.
Germany was an anti-semitic both before the time of Luther and afterward.
Spain was an anti-semtic country since the time of the reconquista.
All due to Christian attitudes, by the way.
ruveyn
I think you misunderstood me. I said Germany was already Antisemitic without Luther's urging from the grave. I never said there wasn't any Antisemitism in Germany before or after Luther's time. I simply maintained that Luther's contribution to the hatred of Jews has been exaggerated, as his ugly, Antisemitic writings were largely forgotten until the Nazis dug them up for their own nefarious purposes.
As for Poland and Spain - I was addressing Germany specifically, and the Antisemitic problem in that country, not the others.
But it should be remembered, while Germany's Lutherans have been roundly criticized for either their bad behavior, or lack of good behavior, the Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes had always been praised and congratulated for aiding Jews in escaping certain death. Guess what - while Germany is a country of mixed confessions, the Scandinavian countries are almost entirely
LUTHERAN!
-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer
24 Jul 2011, 4:37 pm
