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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides

Document H: Quotations from the Dearborn Independent

“The Jew is the world’s enigma. Poor in his masses, he yet controls the world’s finances. Scattered abroad without country or government, he yet presents a unity of race continuity which no other people has achieved. Living under legal disabilities in almost every land, he has become the power behind many a throne.” May 22, 1920  

“If there is one quality that attracts Jews, it is power. Wherever the seat of power may be, thither they swarm obsequiously.” September 24, 1921  

“It is true that beneath all the network of trivializing influences in literature, art, politics, economics, fashion and sport is Jewish influence controlled by Jewish groups. Their Orientalism has served as a subtle poison to dry up the sound serum of Anglo-Saxon morality on which this country thrived in its formative years.” January 7, 1922  

“Not satisfied with the ruination of the American stage, the degradation of the motion picture industry, and the spoliation of the thousands of American farmers who have been unwise enough to follow its leadership, the Jewish power in the United States is now seeking to control, ‘educate,’ and exploit, to its own present and future profit, every boy and girl on the nearly seven million farms of this country.” September 6, 1924  

Discussion Questions

1. What are some of the wrongs these quotations accuse Jews of committing?

2. How do these accusations relate to stereotypes about Jews?  

3. Do you think reading articles such as those excerpted here might influence people? What does this tell you about the importance of news sources? 

Sources

Dearborn Historical Museum. (n.d.). The Dearborn Independent [Web page]. The Dearborn Historical Museum. https://thedhm.org/independent/