Walter Benjamin

July 1892- Sept 1940

Walter Benjamin, a German Jew, lived in the unluckiest time and place: Germany, at the turn of the 20th Century. History could not have chosen a more unfavourable time for Benjamin to be born; combining his race, religion and radical ideas with cultural change and growing hatred against Jews. Benjamin was a writer and philosopher who committed suicide in 1940 while trying to escape the Nazi’s. His ideas were a mix of marxism, German idealism, Romanticism, and Jewish mysticism. He was a devout religious man, believing Judaism to be the highest form of spirituality, and opposing what he called “capitalist religion” (Robinson, Andrew). His ideas opposing modernity and capitalism were profound, and have added to marxist ideology. He was friends with famous figures such as Theodor Adorno and Hannah Arendt. From 1933-1940, he spent his days exiled in France, where he produced some of his most famous pieces before his death (Wolfe, Ross.).

Benjamin felt alienation from German writers, and instead tended towards the culture and ideas of France thinkers (Benjamin, Walter et al.). France was emerging from the tides of revolution, switching power throughout the 1800s from free Republic to ruled Empire. In the late 19th Century, French thinkers were moving more towards Realism, and away from Romanticism. However, Benjamin would have felt more at home amongst the Romantics and Symbolists, who valued human emotion and traditional religious values. He also wrote about the “concept of criticism in German Romanticism,” combining ideas from the Enlightenment and Romanticism (Walter, Eiland, and McLaughlin).

In Walter Benjamin’s “Theses on History,” he explains marxism as a response to capitalism that has become a religion in France. He saw how capitalism changed the very fabric of cultural life and even the experience of time. Walter’s idea of homogeneous empty time occurs when moments are viewed as equal and interchangeable along a continuum. Empty time lacks any differentiation and special moments that give life meaning (Robinson, Andrew). This form of time is a result of capitalism, and creates an empty existence with no meaning, as labour and commodities are continually measured, used and replaced. Benjamin contrasts this empty existence with the jetztzeit, or “now time,” that exists in “messianic time” (Robinson, Andrew). In messianic time, all of history is compressed into a single moment in time, and real truth can be seen. Benjamin relates this to social movements and revolutions, as all past failed struggles are fulfilled in one messianic moment of redemption. History can only be understood through the lens of immediacy and redemption (Robinson, Andrew).

This was Benjamin’s philosophical reasoning for his marxist views on revolution. His ideas are such a wild mix of religious, political and romantic ideas. Reading his work transports one immediately to the social context in which he lived, yet his ideas transcend time. Benjamin’s writing itself is descriptive and vivid, you can see what he saw. For example, Benjamin starts his text, Berlin Childhood Around 1900, by a vivid description of his childhood home:

“The caryatids… may have [sung] a lullaby beside that cradle- a song containing little of what later awaited me, but nonetheless surrounding the theme through which the air of the courtyards has forever remained intoxicating to me… and it is precisely this air that sustains the images and allegories which preside over my thinking, just as the caryatids, from the heights of their loggias, preside over the courtyards of Berlin’s West End.” (Walter, Bullock, and Jennings. )

He switches in this quote from past to present, pulling the air of the courtyards throughout time and portraying his childhood innocence and adult awakening, connected by a common theme of the caryatids. In the same way, he views history as connecting through time with a common thread of revolution and messianic redemption.

What he considered his greatest work, left unfinished when he died, was the Arcades Project (Walter, Eiland, and McLaughlin). It was a series of observations on the Paris Arcades, the beautiful glass arches that cased the products of modernity and technological advances of his time (Schwartz, Vanessa R.). He used this project to portray the meaninglessness of bourgeois life, and communicate his marxist ideas. Benjamin did not view this collection as merely observations, but a blueprint for the ideal city, and wrote in a letter that he wished to apply his observations to the city (Walter, Eiland, and McLaughlin). He always considered his work more important than even his life, demonstrated by how he lugged a suitcase of writings over the mountains when trying to escape from the Nazi’s (Limone, Noa). His tragic death left many of his pieces unfinished, but as his friends and colleagues sorted through the writings he had left, it was only then that the world saw the true brilliance of this philosopher and his ideas became famous.

Veronica Klassen

Works Cited

Ball, David. “Walter Benjamin.” Ambit, no. 185, 2006, pp. 22–22. JSTOR,

www.jstor.org/stable/44336533.

Benjamin, Walter, Marcus Paul Bullock, and Michael William Jennings. (2003). Walter 

Benjamin: Selected Writings Volume 3 1935-1938. Harvard University Press.

Benjamin, Walter, Howard Eiland, and Kevin McLaughlin. The Arcades Project. Harvard

University Press, 1999.

Cohen, Josh. “Phenomenologies of Mourning: Gillian Rose and Walter Benjamin.” Women: A 

Cultural Review, vol. 9, 1998, pp. 47–61., doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09574049808578334.

Clark, T.J. “Reservations of the Marvellous.” London Review of Books, London Review of

Books, 21 June 2000, www.lrb.co.uk/v22/n12/tj-clark/reservations-of-the- marvellous.

Jeffries, Stuart. “Walter Benjamin: A Critical Life Review – Gambler, Womaniser, Thinker.”

The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Aug. 2014, www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/07/walter-benjamin-critical-life-howard- eiland-michael-w-jennings-review.

Limone, Noa. “Chronicling Walter Benjamin’s Final Hours.” Haaretz.com, 7 Apr. 2013,

www.haaretz.com/chronicling-walter-benjamin-s-final-hours-1.449897.

Robinson, Andrew. “Walter Benjamin: Messianism and Revolution – Theses on

History.”Ceasefire Magazine, 30 Nov. 2013,

ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/walter-benjamin-messianism-revolution-theses-history/.

Schwartz, Vanessa R. “Walter Benjamin for Historians.” The American Historical Review, vol. 106, no. 5, 2001, pp. 1721–1743. JSTOR,  www.jstor.org/stable/2692744.

Wolfe, Ross. “Walter Benjamin’s Writings in German and in English.” The Charnel-House, 9 Jan. 2017,thecharnelhouse.org/2015/12/10/walter-benjamins-writings-in-german- and-in-english/.

Other Relevant Reading

Gilloch, Graeme. “Three Biographical Studies of Walter Benjamin — Walter Benjamin. Eine

Biographie by Werner Fuld / Spinne Im Eigenen Netz. Walter Benjamin: Leben Und Werk by Momme Brodersen / Benjaminiana Edited by Hans Puttnies and Gary Smith.” Telos, no. 91, 1992, pp. 173, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS); Politics Collection; Sociology Collection, libaccess.mcmaster.ca.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/docview/214365417?accountid=12347

Wohlfarth, Irving. No-Man’s-Land: On Walter Benjamin’s ‘Destructive Character’ in Walter 

Benjamin’s Philosophy, Benjamin, Andrew (Ed). Routledge, 1994, Philosopher’s Index,

libaccess.mcmaster.ca.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/docview/42793130?accountid=12347.

Anti-Semitism

The term anti-Semitism can be described as the jealousy, anger or outright hatred towards people of the Jewish faith. It was first used in 1881 by German radical and founder of the Anti-Semitic league, Wilhelm Marr (Poliakov, 15). However, the hatred of those who follow the Jewish faith has a much longer history. It saw its beginnings under emperor Constantine who ruled as the last emperor before the fall of the Roman Empire (Reich). Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor, attacked the Jewish people for their faith, a trend that has continued into modern day.

Anti-Semitism has defined and continues to define, much of our modern history. Having been present since Rome it has proven extremely useful throughout history to those who wish to attack or scapegoat a group for contemporary problems. Plagues or diseases in Medieval Europe were blamed on Jewish communities that were lived nearby owing to their practice of usury, or money lending, which was a sin under the Christian doctrine. In the Early Modern empire of Venice Jewish communities were sequestered to their quarter of the city which often faced attacks by other, Catholic, citizens when the cities economy came under duress. The entire Second World War can be seen as a global assault on the Jewish faith with the Holocaust, but also with the xenophobic beliefs that Jewish people’s faced when being refused entry to countries such as France or Canada. And of course, in our modern day, the Jewish faith faces scrutiny in America, with recent events in Charlottesville.

The most infamous example of Anti-Semitism was the Holocaust. Germany was in a terrible position following their defeat in the First World War and the stock market collapse during the Great Depression. In response to the widespread despair, radical movements came to the forefront, the one in question here is the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or the Nazi Party (Griech-Polelle, 72). This party was under the leadership of one of the most influential and infamous leaders of all history, Adolf Hitler. Hitler used the Jew archetype as the cause of all Germany’s problems. Using the concept of the “other” Jewish people were described as “dirty, foreign, corrupt, corrupting, and never to be trusted” (Griech-Polelle, 2). Through this language, the Nazi party began the systematic killing of Jewish communities across the globe using death camps, such as Auschwitz (Grief-Polelle, 228). During the Second World War from 1939 to 1945, the Nazi Party killed roughly 6 million Jewish people because of Anti-Semitic beliefs. Here the value of Anti-Semitism is demonstrated through its use in scapegoating the Jewish peoples. The loss was terrible and has been difficult to reconcile. A monument has since been erected in Germany as a reminder and an apology for the hurt caused to the Jewish people.

These hateful values have seen a recent resurgence in our modern times during a Unite the Right rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia. During the rally white supremacists waving the Nazi flag marched and chanted hate speech across a campus. One line that was repeated was “Jews will not replace us.” While the rally has faced widespread denunciation it demonstrates that Anti-Semitic beliefs are still present today, and continue to affect how people interact with those of the Jewish faith.

Graeme Moore

 

Bibliography

Bartlett, Kenneth R. A Short History Of The Italian Renaissance. North York, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2013.

Griech-Polelle, Beth A. Anti-Semitism And The Holocaust. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2017.

Jews in England: Statute of Jewry (1275) and Petition of the “Commonality” of the Jews, English Historical Documents, vol. 3: 1189-1327, ed. Harry Rothwell (London and New York: Routledge, 1975), pp. 411-413.

Poliakov, Léon. The History Of Anti-Semitism. Philadelphia, Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.

Reich, Nathan. “Anti-Semitism.” The Journal of Educational Sociology 18, no. 5 (1945): 294-302. doi:10.2307/2262720.

Sotomayor, Marianna. “Violence At Charlottesville Rally Prompts State Of Emergency”. NBC News, 2017. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/torch-wielding-white-supremacists-march-university-virginia-n792021.

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