Holocaust Memorial Museum- Antisemitism Narration 2
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Young Adult (18-35)Accents
North American (General) North American (US General American - GenAM) North American (US West Coast - California, Portland)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
The COVID-19 pandemic upturned the world creating both health and economic disasters. Along with these disasters came another persistent threat. A rise in anti Semitism, anti-semitism means prejudice against or hatred of Jews in the US. Anti Semitic incidents are at the highest levels in over 40 years and have more than doubled in the past 10 in times of economic or political turmoil. We often look for something or someone to blame for centuries. Starting with the crucifixion of Jesus. Jews have been a frequent scapegoat, falsely blamed for catastrophic events in the middle ages when the bubonic plague was destroying Europe. Jews were wrongly accused of spreading it by poisoning drinking wells. It was even said that Jews murdered Christian babies to use their blood in religious rituals. This so called blood libel led to massacres of Jews between the 12th and 16th centuries. Fast forward to the early 19 hundreds and the devastation caused by the first world war made many people look for simple explanations for what had caused the conflict or influenced its outcome. In Germany defeated military leaders spread lies that German Jews had betrayed their country, stabbing it in the back and causing it to lose the war. In addition to having lost the first world war, Germany was struggling through the Great depression of the 19 thirties. This made many citizens even more desperate for someone to blame for the economic disaster. The Nazi Party that rose to power in 1933 exploited this unrest. They began depicting Jews as the enemy of the German people. They said that Jews were an internal source of contagion or disease in Europe that had to be wiped out through official state channels. Nazis said that Jews were the reason for Germany's misfortune. They exploited the general population's readiness to scapegoat Jews by enacting laws that targeted the freedoms of the Jewish people. Sometimes called the longest hatred. Anti-semitism has persisted for thousands of years. No matter how much the world changes, anti-semitism adapts flaring up again and again. During turbulent times. This persistent nature not grounded in facts or reality is what makes it so dangerous and deadly. If history has taught us anything, it's that we can never ignore it, overlook it or accept it.