Am I becoming an anti-Semite? Dangerous antisemitic advertising. France, 1938 - First Edition

Am I becoming an anti-Semite? Dangerous antisemitic advertising. France, 1938 - First Edition

Est-ce que je deviens antisémite ? - "Am I Becoming Anti-Semitic?" - Dangerous anti-Semitic publication disguised as an objective examination leading the author to the conclusion: "I wasn't anti-Semitic but it seems to me that I'm becoming one, and a little more each day" - published by Les Éditions De France. Paris, 1938 - first edition. The book was published anonymously with three X's at the top of the title page but it was later revealed the author is Eugène Fayolle.

A very dangerous anti-Semitic publication written anonymously on purpose. Unlike the anti-Semitic publications in 1930s France which took a prominent biting tone against Jews oozing hatred from every page, openly expressing their hatred for Jews, the book before us tries to instill anti-Semitism in an "objective" way. The author tries to lead the reader to "independently" reach the conclusion of hating Jews. At the beginning of the book he writes about himself that he likes Jews, and had he lived at the time of the Dreyfus affair he would have sided with his supporters, and even praises Jewish intelligence and Jewish manners. But gradually he begins to "analyze" the Jewish phenomenon worldwide, and without words of hatred or malice against them he simply "shows" in seemingly objective fashion that Jews are a danger "I wasn't anti-Semitic but it seems to me that I'm becoming one, and a little more each day" he writes. For example, he points to the fact of Jews occupying key positions in European countries not as their future desire to take over the world, but as a "fact" - "Jews are indeed taking over", "Jews live with us in constant contact, they sell us their goods... They protect us as lawyers. They are our doctors, they teach in our faculties. They write in our press, they manage us...". Without needing expressions of hatred or intimidation, he supposedly presents objective facts. He also writes for example: "We have seen this in Russia, Germany, Bavaria, Hungary. As long as the country is in good economic condition, the Jew hardly appears. He is satisfied with making money. The moment the temperature rises and the pulse begins to beat harder, the Jews multiply at an ever faster rate, until the moment when they settle in and behave like masters...". He also tries to show through seemingly objective political facts from French politics that when there are internal disputes between right and left and between parties, the Jews always know how to choose the winning side and serve Jewish interests through it. He brings data regarding the relative number of Jews in revolutionary movements, tries to argue Jewish control over global public opinion through the press, and more. Throughout the book he refrains from using expressions of hatred or contempt, but simply presents "facts" in order to turn the reader himself into an anti-Semite. One of the most dangerous anti-Semitic books of the war period.

Rare. Only three entries in the WorldCat global library catalog.

[6], VII, 224 p. Tears in the spine. Good condition.