• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site

Boris Khavkin's report "The 500th anniversary of the Reformation and the "new anti-Semitism" in Germany"

On October 12, 2018, within the framework of the scientific and educational seminar of the International Laboratory for the Study of Russian and European Intellectual Dialogue, the Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the History and Archives Institute Boris L. Khavkin gave a report

In his report B.L. Khavkin highlighted the problem of the new relevance of the "Jewish question". In 2017, the 500th anniversary of the Reformation was widely celebrated in the world. One of the central themes of the anniversary year was the problem of antisemitism of Martin Luther. The anniversary was the occasion for a public debate on the "Jewish issue", which has become relevant in modern Germany. In this regard, German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, the daughter of a Protestant pastor, called tolerance and open society "the most important foundation of the modern world." In a video address on October 28, 2017, Chancellor Merkel noted that it is important to show not only the strengths, but also the weaknesses of Luther, in particular, to criticize his attitude towards Jews. The debate on anti-Semitism in Germany is taking place against the background of a sharp rise in Muslim immigrants in the country and the 12.6% of votes received by the Alternative for Germany party in the 2017 parliamentary elections. This Islamophobic and anti-immigrant party states that "those who pose a problem for Jews today" are primarily "people of Arab-Muslim origin." However, anti-Semitism in Germany is not always “imported”. Christian Hardinghaus, Ph.D., who studies the problems of anti-Semitism in modern Germany, in a study “Der ewige Jude and die Generation Facebook” writes about the anti-Semitism of the Facebook generation.

The problem of attitudes toward "aliens" split the generally tolerant modern German society. The traditional indicator of xenophobia is still the attitude towards Jews. Moreover, the “new anti-Semitism” unites the latent anti-Semitism of the part of the Germans of the “Facebook generation” and the “imported anti-Semitism” of many emigrants who have recently arrived in the country from the countries of the Middle East. In either case, the “new anti-Semitism” has, albeit different, deep religious and historical roots.