German Anti-Semitic Association
The German Antisemitic Association ( DAV ) was a loose association of “politically active anti-Semites ” towards the end of the 19th century.
history
The roots of the German Anti-Semitic Association lie in the first German Anti-Semitic Day, which met in Kassel from June 13-14, 1886 . Leading German anti-Semites of the time came together there, a. Ernst Henrici , Otto Boeckel and Theodor Fritsch , and discussed suitable forms of organization for the anti-Semitic movement. The question arose as to whether the anti-Semitic movement should be organized as a “ party with a clear political profile or rather a loose association that is politically undefined”. Although the majority of those present spoke out in favor of founding a party, this project had to be abandoned due to a lack of financial resources and political programs. Therefore, those present decided to found the DAV as a temporary solution, which was then constituted in September 1886. Theodor Fritsch was appointed as the first chairman of the “Executive Committee”.
According to the DAV's self-image, it did not see itself as a party, but as an association whose aim was to create a German national reform party. To achieve this goal, the German people should be informed propagandistically about the imminent "Jewish danger" and a headquarters should be opened in Leipzig ; In addition, various institutions , u. a. a legal protection association , an association fund and a publication organ are to be founded. Political program items included a. the revocation of Jewish equality and the demand for an economic reform policy, but without specifying this more precisely.
As chairman, Fritsch's goal from the outset was to present the DAV as a homogeneous collective movement and to hide the existing disagreements within the association. For this purpose, for example, the names of the members of the association were not published and were therefore only known to the Executive Committee. Despite all efforts, the differences between the members soon began to crush the association. Thus Otto Boeckel a year distanced later after his election in the German Reichstag by the DAV and worked toward establishing their own anti-Semitic party, because this is his view, too much of the German Conservative Party and the Christian-Social Party approximated would have.
When the differences could not be resolved on an anti-Semitic day convened in Bochum in June 1889 , conservative members founded their own party with the German Social Party, while Boeckel founded the Anti-Semitic People's Party in 1890 . This ended the existence of the DAV.
literature
- Wolfgang Benz : Handbook of Antisemitism. Volume 5: Organizations, Institutions, Movements. de Gruyter, Munich / Boston, 2012, ISBN 978-3-598-24078-2 .
- Armin Pfahl-Traughber: Anti-Semitism in German History. State Center for Political Education Berlin, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-8100-3691-9 .