Adolf Stoecker

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Adolf Stoecker (December 11, 1835 - February 2, 1909) was the court chaplain to Kaiser Wilhelm, a politician, and an antisemitic German theologian who founded one of the first antisemitic political parties in Germany, the Christian Social Party.

Stoecker was born in Halberstadt, Prussia (now in Germany).

A staunch antisemite, Stocker was a believer in Verjudung, the idea that German culture was being corrupted by the newly-emancipated Jews. Upset with the dislocating social effects brought on by rapid industrialization, he called for German society to rededicate itself to Christian faith and return to Germanic rule in law and business.

In 1878, Stoecker founded the Christian Social Party (CSP). Exclusively Christian, the party's main objective was to combat the influence of Social Democracy among workers. The party at first enjoyed little success, and in the 1878 elections it obtained less than 1% of the vote.

Antisemitism was a minor theme at the early stages, but Stoecker saw that the party gained in popularity after the party adopted a more aggressive antisemitic agenda and used the party as a platform to attack Jews.[1]

Stoecker proposed severely limiting the civil rights of Jews in Germany. In September 1879, he delivered a speech entitled "What we demand of modern Jewry", in which he spelled out several demands of German Jews, among them:

  • that Jews renounce their ambition to rule Germany,
  • that the Jewish press become more tolerant towards German culture,
  • that quotas be placed on the number of Jews in certain professions and universities.

From then on the CSP concentrated its efforts on anti-Jewish incitement.[1]

Even though the CSP never gained mass support, Adolf Stoecker was able to obtain a seat in the Reichstag after an electoral coalition with the Conservative Party. The CSP was forced from the coalition in 1896.

Stoecker died on February 2, 1909 in Bozen Gries, Germany.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Ben-Sasson, H.H., ed. (1976): A History of the Jewish People. (Harvard University Press, Cambridge). ISBN 0-674-39730-4, p.875

[edit] Further reading

  • D. A. Jeremy Telman (1995). "Adolf Stoecker: Anti-Semite with a Christian mission". Jewish History 9 (2): 93-112. DOI:10.1007/BF01668991.
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