THE CHOSEN CREATURES: HOW ANIMAL JUXTAPOSITIONS IN ANTISEMITIC PROPAGANDA CONTRIBUTED TO INSTITUTIONALIZED OTHERNESS
Abstract
This paper discusses how anthropomorphic animals have been used in depicting Jews in antisemitic
art and propaganda imagery since the late High Middle Ages until the first half of the 20th century. It
sheds light on why certain animal species were chosen to symbolize Jews, and categorizes the
animals into three groups: creatures taken from the Hebrew Scriptures and the Jewish folklore
inspired by it, animals presented in secular and pagan folklore influenced by legends from Ancient
Greece and Rome, and the “anti-charismatic” fauna. It explains how comparisons between people
and animals are taken advantage of when justifying exploitation of both people and animals, and
shows how animal motifs are a central, recurring theme in antisemitic contexts.
The research for the paper has been carried out through studying animal motifs in images and
descriptions of ecclesiastical art, secular folk art, medieval bestiaries, and Jewish folklore, such as
the animal fables in the talmudic and midrashic literature. The aim has been to provide possible
explanations as to why and how certain animal species (like the swine and the goat) have made their
way into antisemitic imagery in European visual art and printed media.
Degree
Student essay