[4/5] “At the origins of anti-Semitism”: the golden age of the anti-Semitic press

2024-02-10T04:12:48.818Z

Highlights: In the wake of the industrial revolution and scientific progress, hatred of Jews and the persecution to which they were subjected transformed again. The press of the time largely contributed to relaying new anti-Semitic ideas. “If there had not been such powerful newspapers, there would have been no Dreyfus affair,” believes Adeline Wrona. While the profession of journalism is not yet structured, the titles rely on the affair and take sides to try to sell more than their competitors, even if it means inventing false news.

In the wake of the industrial revolution and scientific progress, hatred of Jews and the persecution to which they were subjected transformed again. The press of the time largely contributed to relaying new anti-Semitic ideas. To talk about the role of the media in the spread of anti-Semitism, Virginie Girod receives Adeline Wrona, teacher-researcher at Paris Sorbonne University. The end of the 19th century corresponds to the golden age of the written press, distributed in hundreds of thousands of copies. It was during this period that “La Croix”, a daily newspaper run by Catholic monks, was created, for example. Anti-Semitism is then a selling point, as evidenced by the success of the anti-Jewish pamphlet “La France Juive” by Édouard Drumont. “La Croix will plunge into anti-Semitism and claim a leading role in what we could call a media movement of anti-Semitism, which largely crosses all French newspapers,” explains Adeline Wrona. “La Croix presents itself as a popular newspaper, targeting a readership who does not have a lot of money. His way of cultivating anti-Semitism will also be to condemn the rich.” The evolution of anti-Semitism can also be seen in the caricatures. “What dominated until then was rather the figure of the miserable wandering Jew”, recalls Adeline Wrona, “in the second half of the 19th century we saw the appearance of another figure, the rich Jew (...) who incarnated in constitutes a form of emerging capitalism. The question of race joins the question of class.” It is especially the Dreyfus affair which highlights this crucial role of the press. “If there had not been such powerful newspapers, there would have been no Dreyfus affair,” believes Adeline Wrona. While the profession of journalism is not yet structured, the titles rely on the affair and take sides to try to sell more than their competitors, even if it means inventing false news. The anti-Dreyfusard satirical newspaper Psst…! is thus created in reaction to “J’accuse…!” by Zola from which he uses the punctuation. “Its only editorial line is that Dreyfus is guilty,” underlines the teacher-researcher. Maupassant, Zola, George Sand: the men and women of letters of the time will also take a stand against anti-Semitism. “It tells us that anti-Semitism was the norm (...), that it was extremely difficult not to take up anti-Semitic speech,” deciphers the historian. Zola's commitment to Dreyfus probably cost him his life. Themes covered: press, media, anti-Semitism, Zola, Dreyfus affair