Richard Wagner

May 22, 1813 – Feb 13, 1883

Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany to Carl Friedrich Wagner and Johanna Rosine. His father died nine months after his birth and his mother married his father’s friend, Ludwig Geyer, who was an actor and playwright. The interests of his stepfather were also found in Wagner who grew to become a theatre director as well as a composer, conductor and a polemicist. Wagner’s works in the theatres were influenced by other well-known artists and composers such as Ludwig van Beethoven and William Shakespeare. Wagner is known today for his musical contributions and controversial anti-Semitic works. Wagner’s contributions extend into the performing arts as well as the thoughts of intellectuals. Weber (2006, 508) notes that during Wagner’s early life, Leipzig had strict notions of music imposed upon it by the Church. The population was ready for a change in its musical capacities and Wagner delivered with his works and compositions. Wagner introduced leitmotifs, a characteristic sound for a person, object or event. Kregor (2017, 547) details Wagner’s leitmotifs and how they are still used today in movies and television because the masses still find them entertaining. Wagner used tonal centres, chromaticism, various sounds of quantity and quality to produce a new quality of music. Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde that premiered on June 10, 1865, was a musical masterpiece in its various combinations of sound, but is as Classen (2013, 338) suggests, a work that romanticizes the material and greedy aspects of human nature. Wagner would use dream sequences in his works as Lippman (1990, 54-56) describes, in ways that were fairly insightful into what dreams really were before any formal investigation into the matter. Wagner was more than an artist, he was an influential thinker, a polemicist who had controversial ideas and a magnetic character that allowed his ideas to spread. Wagner still has followers known as Wagnerians or Wagnerites who are devoted to him and his works. Wagner’s essay on Jewish music is as Loeffler (2009, 3) describes, reflective of the stereotypes during his time. Hall (2017, 54-60) details how Adolf Hitler had gained a deep interest in Wagner’s works, specifically the anti-Semitic ones. Wagner had indirectly influenced the Nazis and as such, a select few pieces of his works were being used as propaganda and his music was played during their events. Emslie (2012, 17-25) details how Wagner’s works in music and literature helped some to define what it meant to be German. Wagner was creating a cultural identity with his works, and as a result, he helped to define clear lines between Germans and Non-Germans for those who had a deep sense of nationalism. These dividing sentiments in culture contributed to the feeling of ressentiment between the Germans and Non-Germans, only to explode into a conflict such as the Holocaust during World War II. Wagner was an innovative composer and thinker whose influence was far reaching in areas involving the arts and intellectual thought. He has had an impact on the minds of many and has had a hand in shaping history as a result.

Shariful Sakib

Works Cited

Classen, Albrecht. 2013. “Visuality and Materiality in the Story of Tristan and Isolde ed. by Jutta Eming, Ann Marie Rasmussen, and Kathryn Starkey (Review).” The Comparatist 37 (1): 338–41. doi:10.1353/com.2013.0003.

Emslie, Barry. 2012. “Being German: Richard Wagner and Thomas Mann.” Being German: Richard Wagner and Thomas Mann. 6 (2): 17–32.

Hall, David Ian. 2017. “Wagner, Hitler, and Germany’s Rebirth after the First World War.” War in History 24 (2): 154–75. doi:10.1177/0968344515608664.

Loeffler, James. 2009. “Richard Wagners “Jewish Music”: Antisemitism and Aesthetics in Modern Jewish Culture.” Jewish Social Studies 15 (2): 2–36. doi:10.2979/jss.2009.15.2.2.

Kregor, Jonathan. 2017. “Understanding the Leitmotif: From Wagner to Hollywood Film Music.” Understanding the Leitmotif: From Wagner to Hollywood Film Music 73 (3): 547.

Lippman, Edward A. 1990. “Wagners Conception of the Dream.” Journal of Musicology 8 (1): 54–81. doi:10.1525/jm.1990.8.1.03a00030.

Weber, William. 2006. “Redefining the Status of Opera: London and Leipzig, 1800–1848.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 36 (3): 507–32. doi:10.1162/002219506774929764.

Theodor Herzl

May 2, 1860 – July 3, 1904

Theodor Herzl was born on May 2^nd, 1860, in Tabak Gasse, Hungary.  Tabak Gasse was a street located in the Eastern part of modern day Budapest.  Herzl’s family was Jewish, but much like many other Jewish families during the 1800’s, had confusions about cultural heritage.  Herzls two brother converted to Christianity.  During Herzl’s youth, nationalism had only begun to appear in Europe, Pest, the city where Herzl grew up, polarized its residents into a German cultural camp or a Hungarian cultural camp.  In 1869, Herzl attuned a technical institute where he studied humanities.  Anti-Semitic remarks from a teacher caused Herzl to leave the school after 4 years.  Herzl’s mother, Jeannette, pushed her son towards German culture and when Herzl attended the University of Vienna, he joined a German fraternity called Albia.  After strong anti-Semitic tones were pushed by the fraternity, Herzl wrote a vehement protest letter and resigned from the frat.  After University, Herzl worked as the Paris correspondent for Neue Freie Presse, during which time, he followed the Dreyfus affair closely.  During the Dreyfus affair, a French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus was accused of treason by the French government.  The trials that followed were filled with anti-Semitism.  Herzl witnessed mass rallies in Paris where chants of “Death to the Jews!” was heard.  Jewish issues began to emerge in writings by Herzl.  Herzl stated that the Dreyfus cased turned him into a Zionist.  Zionism is Jewish nationalism, the belief that Jews should have their own nation.  Herzl began to write his developing ideas about a new Jewish state and in 1896, he published “Der Judenstaat”, meaning “A Jewish State”.  In “Der Judenstaat, Herzl identified Jews as people, not just a religious group.  Herzl wanted to save Western Europe’s Jews from assimilation, and save Eastern Europe’s Jews from poverty and oppression.  After identifying Palestine and Argentina as possible locations for a new Jewish homeland, the first Zionist Congress met in 1897.  The Congress believed that a Jewish state would help to stop the anti-Semitism found in Europe.  Herzl used his salary from working for Neue Freie Presse to travel throughout Europe seeking support for a Jewish state from diplomats.  Turkey, who held Palestine at the time, had a failing economy and Herzl believed that a purchase of Palestine for the Jewish state would help to boost the economy.  Herzl suffered a severe heart attack in May of 1904, and eventually died on July 3^rd, 1904 in Adlach, Austria.

Fifty years and three months after the first Zionist Congress met, Israel, the first and only Jewish state came into being.  Herzls efforts allowed the creation of a Jewish state to become possible.  Credited with founding political Zionism, Herzl is often referred to as the first major Zionist activist.  Without Herzl, Zionism would not have been expanded to the point it is at today.  Herzl’s contributions to Jewish culture help to shape the identity of Jewish peoples today.  There is currently an Israeli national holiday to commemorate the life of Theodor Herzl.

Cam Ramolla

Works Cited

Haas, Jacob de. Theodor Herzl: A Biographical Study. Vol. 2, The Leonard Company, 1927.

Schingler, Michelle Anne. “Herzl’s Vision; Theodor Herzl and the Foundation of the Jewish State.” Forward Magazine, 27 Nov. 2014. Literature Resource Centre.

Kornberg, Jacques. Theodor Herzl: From Assimilation to Zionism. Indiana University Press.

Zionism

Identification:   

The Online Etymology Dictionary explains Zionism as a movement whose goal is to form a Jewish national state in Palestine, founded in late nineteenth-century Eastern Europe. Originally, the founding father of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, wanted to create an independent state for the Jewish people by trying to force the government to grant Jews theirown Charter and land, and in turn, establish their own country. This goal had been a product of the spread of nationalism throughout Europe and had been the Jewish peoples’ way of forming their own nationalist, secular state. This being said, as it may often be confused, Zionism was not originally a movement to create a state based off of the Jewish religion, but rather a state for the Jewish as a people, to provide national security. Zionism is now an ideological movement supporting the development of this Jewish national state reflecting Jewish culture.

Historical Significance:

From a historical standpoint, this “-ism” is significant due to the fact that it illuminates the adoption of nationalist views due to feelings of oppression and segregation within society caused by the Enlightenment’s creation of a modern, secular, and capitalist state. Because the Jews felt pressured in their community due to social circumstances, they felt the need to separate themselves from the rest of society and strengthen themselves as a national unit. It is noted that, during the beginning of the Enlightenment Era, when much, if not all, of Europe, had begun to completely change their way of life, many upper-class intellectuals had begun to progress in society. However, wanting to integrate their culture into this new, modern, society, Jewish intellectuals tried to create a secular Hebrew literature and revive the Hebrew language. This did not work out due to the fact that upper-class intellectuals in their community did not see Jews as equals and refused to allow this integration. As Shapiro claims, “When this was recognized by the Jewish intellectuals, many of them, in their disappointment and frustration, turned to nationalism for solace.” (Shapiro, 1966) . Clearly, the Jews’ turn to nationalism in order to dismiss inequalities within society illuminates the tendency to seek comfort in the practice of nationalist ideologies due to social alienation, an idea formerly brought forward by Rousseau.

Furthermore, Zionism has influenced the contemporary moment due to the fact that it plays a role in some of the Anti-Semitic and Anti-Zionist violence seen today. Anti-Zionists and Anti-Semitics continue to perform racial violence due to hatred and anger toward Jews, as a result of their desire to separate themselves from the state. Ironically enough, the desire to separate from the state is due to these racial acts. Finally, the meaning of Zionism and its practices have changed over the years and have caused a lot of debate. The principles of the Jewish religion have begun to seep their way into Zionist practices, causing both national and international conflict. This illuminates an ongoing battle between secular and non-secular thinkers.  Some problems never go away and, although we may think they are two separate issues, the development of Zionism in the nineteenth century and the conflict that had led up to and followed it, between Zionists and all opposed to a Jewish national state, is still present today.

Key Historical Proponents:

The key proponents, that being the most famously known people to be associated with the term, had been the Jewish Intellectuals during the nineteenth century. However, the individual most heavily associated with Zionism would be its acclaimed founder, Theodor Herzl. Herzl’s goals in establishing the movement are outlined in some of the previous paragraphs; however, he laid the basic foundation for the practice of Zionism as it is today. However, another proponent of Zionism was Albert Einstein, who believed that the Jews should be given their own state in order to progress culturally and religiously. This being said, Einstein supported cultural Zionism, meaning that he believed the state should reflect the Jewish religion and culture, unlike what Herzl had intended. The most likely reason for his opinion on Zionism may have been that he believed that internationalism was asserted through the connecting and acceptance of various nations and their own individual cultural identities, rather than one, singular and combined identity.

Breann McKinney

 

Bibliography

Jikeli, G. (2017, June 9). Explaining the Discrepancy of Antisemitic Acts and Attitudes in 21st Century France. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from https://link-springer-com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs12397-017-9221-x.pdf

Pyenson, L. (2008, June). Review [Review of the book Einstein on Politics: His Private Thoughts and Public Stands on Nationalism, Zionism, War, Peace, and the Bomb]. Isis, 99(2), 432-434. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from http://www.jstor.org.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/stable/pdf/10.1086/591372.pdf?refreqid=excelsior:68a8490e82f5947b8db2d97d6fa1409f

Shapiro, Y. (1966). The Zionist Faith . Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://americanjewisharchives.org/publications/journal/PDF/1966_18_02_00_shapiro.pdf

Wharton, L. (2015). Zionism, Judaism and the State of the Jews. Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture, 20/21(4/1), 75-82. Retrieved October 11, 2017, from http://www.pij.org.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/

Harper, D. (2001-2017). Zionism (n.). Retrieved October 06, 2017, from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Zionism&allowed_in_frame=0

Nazism

Identification 

Nazism is a term typically associated with the racist political beliefs of the Nazi Party of Germany and its leader, Adolf Hitler, and was most prominent during the 1920s through 1945 at the end of the second World War. Nazism suggests that there is a pure Aryan race which is superior to other races, and that all inferior races, such as Jews and people of colour, should be sterilized. This historical ‘ism’ is often closely linked to anti-semitism, the hatred of Jews and was the basis of the beliefs from which the holocaust stemmed.

Historical Significance

Nazism is arguably one of the most influential and significant ‘isms’ as many historical events resulted out of the anti-semitic beliefs of Nazism, such as the second World War. However the influences of Nazism did not end in 1945 as the war did, this ideology has followed society all the way up to present day as we can see through the Neo-Nazi groups that have been present in recent news. Nazism was strongly built on Hitler’s use of the Jews as scapegoats, this part of Nazism can be used to shine a light on Islamophobia in the contemporary world. Muslim populations all across the globe are facing scapegoating and bigotry because of their religious practices, and are recognized by some as the terrorist enemy of the Western world. Similarly the European Jewish population were seen as enemy to Nazi Germany and faced horrific consequences because of their religious identity and millions were slaughtered for this reason, which was one of the largest events in human history. While Islamophobia and anti-Semitism may not be completely identical, they do bare some striking similarities, which we can identify through a critical analysis of Nazism views and how Nazi Germany scrutinized people because of what region they chose to practice.

Key Historical Proponents 

The historical figure who is most famously associated with Nazism is Adolf Hitler. Hitler used the European Jews as a scapegoat for Germany’s failures and sought to create a pure Aryan race by disposing of all ‘impure’ races such as Jews, people of colour, disabled people and homosexuals. Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 and began implementing the Nazi agenda which included forcing Jewish people to wear the Star of David on their clothing, forcing them out of their homes into Ghettos and invading Poland in 1939. From this Nazi agenda came the second world war in which six million Jewish people lost their lives in concentration camps and various other horrible ways. Even today when we think of the term Nazism, World War two and Adolf Hitler are the first things that pop into our brains, followed by ant-semitism and racism. Nazism is universally discredited in modern day, although the influence still rears its ugly head through Neo-Nazism in hate groups.

Carmyn Jack 

 

Bibliography 

Dobkowski, Michael. “Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism.” CrossCurrents, vol. 65, no. 3, Sept. 2015, pp. 321–333., doi:10.1111/cros.12142.

Kurlander, E. “Hitler’s Monsters: The Occult Roots of Nazism and the Emergence of the Nazi ‘Supernatural Imaginary’.” German History, vol. 30, no. 4, 2012, pp. 528–549., doi:10.1093/gerhis/ghs073.

Lepsius, M. Rainer. “Charismatic Leadership: Max Weberâs Model and Its Applicability to the Rule of Hitler.” Changing Conceptions of Leadership, 1986, pp. 53–66., doi:10.1007/978-1-4612-4876-7_4.

Whitfield, Stephen J. “The South in the Shadow of Nazism.” Southern Cultures, vol. 18, no. 3, 2012, pp. 57–75., doi:10.1353/scu.2012.0024.