In 1871, the Second German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. In this historical act the emperor, William I, was crowned emperor in front of, to name just a few, his soldiers, Moltke, Bismarck, the Chancellor of the new empire, and the Crown Prince Frederick. Others present included important personalities such as Anton von Werner, according to whom the proclamation was perceived as monumental and was met with deafening cheers from the audience. This proclamation marked the German unification from above, which was significantly facilitated by the Wars of Unification—the German-Danish War, the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. These wars, especially the Franco-Prussian War, made the german states united
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Indeed, there were “257 incidents of anti-Muslim” hate crimes reported in 2015, increasing from 154 the year before, this is “second only to the surge in hate crimes following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001”. Several connections can be drawn between 19th-century antisemitism and these recent developments in islamophobia. For instance, the jews were blamed for almost all conflicts in 19th century Germany. Similarly, Muslims are blamed for terrorist attacks, such as 9/11 or more recently the Brussel subway bombing last year. Additionally, a rhetoric of fear and generalized statements is used to inspire racism and islamophobia in people. Likewise, jews were stereotyped as the counter race and preachers used fear and agitation to increase the influence of racial antisemitism. Moreover, I chose to write about this topic as there are several widespread misconceptions about the origins of Nazi antisemitism. More importantly, antisemitism during the formation of the first german nation-state is particularly interesting as german nationalism was just starting to develop. Thus connections can be made between the two ideologies and applied to the controversial nature of nationalism in Germany
Indeed, there were “257 incidents of anti-Muslim” hate crimes reported in 2015, increasing from 154 the year before, this is “second only to the surge in hate crimes following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001”. Several connections can be drawn between 19th-century antisemitism and these recent developments in islamophobia. For instance, the jews were blamed for almost all conflicts in 19th century Germany. Similarly, Muslims are blamed for terrorist attacks, such as 9/11 or more recently the Brussel subway bombing last year. Additionally, a rhetoric of fear and generalized statements is used to inspire racism and islamophobia in people. Likewise, jews were stereotyped as the counter race and preachers used fear and agitation to increase the influence of racial antisemitism. Moreover, I chose to write about this topic as there are several widespread misconceptions about the origins of Nazi antisemitism. More importantly, antisemitism during the formation of the first german nation-state is particularly interesting as german nationalism was just starting to develop. Thus connections can be made between the two ideologies and applied to the controversial nature of nationalism in Germany