Images of Malice: Visual Representations of Anti-Judaism and Antisemitism in the Bohemian Lands

The subject of visual anti-Judaism (hatred of Jews based on their religious difference) and of visual antisemitism (hateful content based primarily on delineation of nationality) is an integral part of local histories in the Bohemian lands, whether that be the history of religion or the history of national and racial intolerance. This intolerance may have originated from church doctrines, from feudal fiats and, later in history, from conditions related to nationality and the general need to find somebody to blame for practically any kind of problem in society. The publication presents the well-known high points of antisemitic resentment on the one hand, while on the other hand it reconsiders our view of historical periods not usually connected with the idea of anti-Jewish sentiment. The danger of anti-Jewish visuals is still an urgent problem today. This mapping of the visual signs of anti-Judaism and antisemitism is also an account of their broader meaning, as the processes of stereotyping, delegitimization, dehumanization and exclusion from society represent a more general problem. Whether these processes target religious, national or sexual minorities, they are based on a supposed conflict that is both constructed and imaginary.