One of the main ideas in the Nazi ideology was a continuous attack against the lesser races deemed inferior by Hitler, specifically the Jews. Racial prejudices were used as scapegoats which the Nazis blamed for what was wrong with Germany. The Germans under Hitler 's regime used propaganda devices including modified versions of Shakespeare 's play The Merchant of Venice to further convince the German public to oppress the Jews during WWII. Loathe and outrage appear to be key focuses in Nazi philosophy. To maintain the sort of displeasure the Nazis expected to influence the masses over to their side, they required a typical adversary, some person or something that could be seen each day. Jews were portrayed as extremists and revolutionaries. …show more content…
The Nazis alluded back to an alleged German brilliant age, before the Jew started to run the world through money and slyness. The purposeful publicity did not stop at addresses and handouts. Youngsters ' books additionally spread the Nazi message of scorn. The book The Toadstool, is a gathering of short stories wherein every one of them, the Jews are depicted as snare nosed, with sneaky eyes, and having the look of a criminal. Their instructors taught these generalizations in the schools each day. Everybody, starting from the leaders, to the youngsters felt the same path about the Jews. As exasperating and wiped out as his techniques were, they were in any case to a great degree viable. Notwithstanding amid the War and after the Final Solution was put into impact, it was still seen as a racial war to the Germans. They battled that Roosevelt and Churchill were only attendants of the Jewish specialists. At the point when the Nazis announced war on the United States, they saw it an European purging of the Jews, as well as an overall operation to free the universe of the pestilence of Jewish control. This obviously was the Germans fixing, which reached a critical stage on …show more content…
The Merchant of Venice ended up being the most valuable in sending this hostile to Semitic assumption amongst the Germans using a practically bizarre, cruel depiction of Shylock. Werner Krauss, the Nazi 's driving performer of the time, execution as Shylock was portrayed as bringing on the group of onlookers to shiver: "With an accident and a bizarre train of shadows, something revoltingly outsider and startlingly terrible slithered over the stage." One specific generation of The Merchant of Venice had additional items planted in the crowd with the sole reason for reviling and booing Shylock, asking whatever is left of the gathering of people to participate on the harassing. Daily paper audits frequently unequivocally expressed the messages and connotations of the play to the
The book Mein Kampf written by Hitler, explicitly states Hitler 's hate for the Jews. This hate is what led him to believe that it was his responsibility to create a pure country out of Germany, by excluding the other types of races and focusing on the Aryan race, which is what he believed to be the superior.This idea would later result in in the Holocaust. Although Hitler was an intelligent individual the scientific and cultural basis he uses to prove his beliefs are completely foolish, and the facts that he uses to differentiate the Jews and aryan races do not add up. Hitler 's views eventually laid the foundations of anti -semitism.
Anti- Semitism and the Persecution of the Jewish population of Europe became more common during the Nazi rise in power in the early 1900’s. In 1920 the Nazis published their party program, consisting of 25 points. For example point four reads “Only those who are our fellow countrymen can become citizens. Only those who have German blood, regardless of creed, can be our countrymen. Hence no Jew can be a countryman.” The Nazis goal was to create a master race throughout Europe called the “Aryan Race” or the Germanic race. To fulfil this plan of a “master race” the Nazis declared that they intended to segregate groups that the party viewed as a danger and inferior to society. These groups included European Jews, Gypsies, those who were handicapped (both mentally and physically) and those who were deaf and blind. The main target of the Nazi government was still Jews in Europe whom they viewed “not as a religious group, but as a poisonous "race," which "lived off" the other races and weakened them” . As a result many Europ...
The mention of the name Adolf Hitler automatically recalls one of the most hate filled and destructive periods in the history of humanity. More people died in World War 2 than in any war ever fought, but it wasn't merely soldiers; innocent civilians were persecuted for nothing more than their views of the government or for their religion. The specific focus here will be to deal with Hitler's hatred of the Jews, and how it progressed in the years before the war. The other point to bring up from this time was the Nazi's use of propaganda to rally their people and deceive the foreign community from strongly intervening in their plans.
The Nazi’s believed that the Jews were followers of an abhorrent religious doctrine and that were in control of too much influence in the economy, politics, and culture. Many of the decisions made by the Nazi’s when controlling the Jews in the concentrated camps were not official orders from Hitler himself; they felt as tough it would make him happy based on his views and so they carried them out.
During Hitler’s reign in Germany, propaganda was his main method of control. He and the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazis, believed that to remain in control, it is necessary to prevent any and all internal unrest through strictly regulated popular opinion. The mission was to keep public opinion in favor of the Nazi party’s ideology. One of the primary aspects of their ideology was extreme anti-Semitism and racial inequality. Within years they were able to introduce this belief to nearly all of the German people through heavy influence by propaganda. Hitler was able to stabilize and dictate his Germany for years through propaganda aimed to control the lives of the youth, the opinions of the general public, and beliefs about the war effort and well-being of the country.
Some of the audiences in the 16th century, believed that Jews were at a lower stage than them, and they only believed this because the Jews were a different (“different” referred to as “wrong “for Christians who lived in the 16th century), religion they believed they were not people, like them. The play Merchant of Venice shows the evil side of the Jews. The character’s name is “Shylock”. He is the character of evil doing; he is also the character that Shakespeare chose to represent a Jewish character. As a Jew, he represents the race as being wicked, evil etc.
It was Hitler’s ability to make group identity salient within the Aryan German population, the transformation of his ideas to ideology, and his deep hatred for the Jews that ultimately led to the Holocaust. Although Anti-Semitism was already present within German society before Hitler rose to power, he was the actor that enacted policies against Jews and what ultimately led to the Final Solution
“All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach,” Adolf Hitler (The National World War Museum). The German Nazi dictator utilized his power over the people using propaganda, eventually creating a sense of hatred towards Jews. After World War 1, the punishments of the League of Nations caused Germany to suffer. The Nazi party came to blame the Jews in order to have a nation-wide “scapegoat”. This hatred and prejudice towards Jews is known as anti-semitism. According to the Breman Museum, “the Nazi Party was one of the first political movements to take full advantage of mass communications technologies: radio, recorded sound, film, and the printed word” (The Breman Museum). By publishing books, releasing movies and holding campaigns against Jews, antisemitism came to grow quickly, spreading all across Germany. The Nazi Party often referred to the notion of a “People’s Community” where all of Germany was “racially pure” (Issuu). They would show images of ‘pure’, blond workers, labouring to build a new society. This appealed greatly to people who were demoralized during Germany’s defeat in World War 1 and the economic depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Hitler, along with Joseph Goebbels, used developed propaganda methods in order to suppress the Jews and spread anti semitism.
Shakespeare creates a caricature of a Jew, just as he might have seen done by Christopher Marlowe in "The Jew of Malta". Shakespeare's "Shylock" was easily recognisable as a Jew, wearing traditional clothing, immediately showing the audience that he is different. The money lending profession adds to the Jewish look, and the way he acts, without even a care for his own daughter, making references to his desire for Christian blood, allows Shakespeare's audience to create a strong hatred for the Jew. Although nobody had actually met a Jew, probably the entire audience had been brought up to despise such an awful religion, hearing terrible tales of sin and misery.
Hitler used propaganda and manufacturing enemies such as Jews and five million other people, to prepare the country for war. This shows Hitler’s attempt of genocide toward the Jewish race and other races.
Everyone who reads The Merchant of Venice must bear in mind that it is, like any other literary work, a creation of a skillful writer, rising a case that can be a subject for many interpretations and not necessarily revealing a specific view of its writer, however it aims to convey a certain moral to the readers. Therefore, the character of shylock, being stereotyped or not, with its controversy is a tool manipulated to convey a moral message: when people live in a society that is open to cultural diversity and that values the contributions of all society members – regardless of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, race, life styles, and beliefs – they will be one step closer to living in a civil society. Works Cited 1) Encyclopaedia Britannica, the definition of "Anti-Semitism". 2) E. E. Stoll, Shylock (an essay in Shakespeare Studies, 1927). 3) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock. 4) John Palmer, Comic Characters of Shakespeare, Shylock.
During the sixteenth-century there was a very prominent existence of anti-semitism. The English audience had a very clear prejudice towards the Jewish people because of the deep-rooted concept of anti-semitism. This mindset carried from everyday life to plays and productions of the time. This ill will towards the Jewish people spawned from political and religious disputes that were unresolved. The portrayal of Shylock as a villainous Jew is a logical move for the sixteenth-century playwrights because of this common belief. When walking into a production of The Merchant of Venice during this ear, one must keep in mind the predisposition towards the Jewish people as well as the cultural beliefs at that time.
It is so important for people to recognize how Jews were portrayed during Shakespeare’s life so that historic events such as the holocaust do not repeat themselves. Teachers who plan on presenting their students with The Merchant of Venice should also present them with articles explaining how Jews received their negative stereotype and explain to them that Jews are not as evil as Shylock. The play can still be useful as a high school reading experience only if taught correctly, in a manner that avoids Jews being insulted and non-Jews getting a completely flawed idea about Jews. Although comedic during the 16th century, The Merchant of Venice can no longer be viewed as a comedy in the 21st century due to the diversity of people and general acceptance of their cultures throughout the United States.
Discrimination is a resounding theme in The Merchant of Venice (Meyers). All of the characters are affected by inequality. This inequity is clearly evidenced in Shylock, the Jewish usurer. He is treated with scorn and derision by all the characters. Shylock’s misfortunes stem not from poor attributes or even a poor background; it stems from the fact he is Jewish, and what is more, he is impeccably of that distinction.
At the end of The Merchant of Venice, Shylock has been both a victim and a villain. He is a victim of his religion, and a victim of his greed and overwhelming need for revenge. Shylock is definitely the most villainous character in the play, and only a few elements can show him as a victim overall, even then, his victimisation only seems to be a consequence of his own actions. His daughter running away, because of her treatment, and apparent lack of love. The taking of his assets, because he would show no mercy towards Antonio. The final conclusion must be that Shylock is unreasonable, spiteful, heinous, greedy - and a villain.