Kommunisten zur Judenfrage
zur Geschichte von Theorie und Praxis des Kommunismus
Description:... Pt. 1 (pp. 16-56) discusses the views of Marx and Engels on the "Jewish question" as guidelines for subsequent communist thought on the matter. Pt. 2 (pp. 58-135) examines the views of ideologists and party leaders Rosa Luxemburg, Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin. Contends that Marx's antisemitism remained unchanged throughout his life, whereas Engels, who was initially not antisemitic, was influenced by Marx for 30 years, then eventually fundamentally changed his views. Rosa Luxemburg distanced herself from Judaism and from the "Jewish question", which she viewed as a pure class issue. She was targeted as a Jew and combated antisemitism, but only out of concern for the unity of the working class. Lenin was positively inclined toward the Jews and opposed discrimination against them. Although he did not view them as a nation, he granted them the rights of a national minority after the October Revolution. Like Marx and Karl Kautsky, he viewed Jewish assimilation as a historical necessity, which would happen voluntarily. Trotsky dealt with the "Jewish question" only in a perfunctory manner. He viewed the Jews as a people and never criticized them, though he thought Jewish culture was doomed. Like most Marxist theoreticians, he initially believed the "Jewish question" would disappear with assimilation, but Nazism taught him otherwise. The "Jewish question" would remain and could not be solved by Zionism; only world socialism could secure Jewish existence in Palestine or elsewhere. Views Stalin as a pragmatic, not doctrinary, antisemite. Pt. 3 (pp. 138-310) traces the views of the Soviet, Polish, and German Communist Parties concerning antisemitism and the "Jewish question" from the early 19th century until 1953. This section also presents the views of the Kommunist International, which functioned in 1919-43.
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