Anti-Semitism in Political Cartoons essays

Anti-Semitism in Political Cartoons essays An anti-Semitic political cartoon drawn by the English artist, Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) shows Solomon (of the Bible) enjoying himself with two pretty Christian girls. This, as with many other Nazi-driven ideas, contain very ironic subject matter, concerning the events that took place during the Holocaust. This cartoon tells the viewer that Jews have low morals, and that they believe they are superior to other races. The central theme of this particular cartoon is that Jews are crude and that they believe Jews are obliged to commit infamous acts against Christians. I will describe the various ways the viewer might decipher this illustration. Though these ideas will most likely sound strange, the sad fact is that many Nazis were trained to think this way. First of all, because of the anti-Semitic view that Jews are morally corrupt, there must be reason for the brutal murder of them, right? Even though in reality Jews followed the teachings of the Old Testament (which had a very high moral structure), Nazis decided to claim they were vulgar in order to justify their anti-Semitic behavior. Secondly, where did the notion that Jews are obliged to commit infamous acts against Christians come from? Yes, its true that cases do exist where Jews have done wrong towards Christians, but is that not the same vise-versa? When society takes one act of cruelty and stereotypes an entire race based upon that act, it suggests that things like anti-Semitism can be easily accepted. Because cartoons like this one were published in many European publications, the stereotypes set upon the Jews became widespread. These stereotypes enabled the Nazis in strengthening anti-Semitic values in the masses. By creating this otherness, Jews were essentially de-humanized and were easily punished for these horrible things they had been labeled for. Though this cartoon shows that Jews deemed themselves to be raciall...