Supervisors info:
Βάνα Νικολαΐδου - Κυριανίδου, Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Φιλοσοφίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Ηροδότου Κωνσταντίνος
Χωριανοπούλου Μαρία
Summary:
This paper aims to investigate the anti-Semitism that manifested itself in interwar Greece,
through the writings of some anti-Semitic intellectuals and through the press. Unliketraditional
anti-Semitism, modern anti-Semitism, which developed in Europe during the last quarter of the
nineteenth century, sought its theoretical legitimacy on pseudo-scientific grounds. It also
managed to gather around it a non-negligeable number of nationalist intellectuals. Despite its
limited social impact, in Greece anti-Semitism was primarily expressed in interwar
Thessaloniki, in the context of the economic competition between the city’s Jews and the newly
arrived refugees. A typical case is the newspaper Macedonia, which in 1931 played a leading
role in the anti-Semitic events that led to the arson of the Campbell neighborhood in
Thessaloniki. In addition, anti-Semitism met with anti-communism, which during the same
period became official policy of the Greek state. The arguments of anti-Semitic intellectuals
and journalists relied heavily on anti-Semitic myths already widespread in Europe, such as the
inclination of Jews for crime, conspiracy against the nation, easy enrichment, etc. However,
Greek anti-Semites adapted their arguments to Greek reality, presenting Jews as culturally alien
to the Greeks, dangerous to the nation, and manipulating, often in collaboration with
communists.
Keywords:
Anti-Semitism, intellectuals, anti-Semitic press, Jews of Thessaloniki.
