Joseph Stalin and antisemitism

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The accusation that Joseph Stalin was antisemitic is much discussed by historians. Although part of a movement that included Jews and rejected antisemitism, he privately displayed a contemptuous attitude toward Jews on various occasions that were witnessed by his contemporaries, and are documented by historical sources.[1] Stalin argued that the Jews possessed a national character but were not a nation and were thus unassimilable. He argued that Jewish nationalism, particularly Zionism, was hostile to socialism.[2] In 1939, he reversed communist policy and began a cooperation with Nazi Germany that included the removal of high-profile Jews from the Kremlin. As dictator of the Soviet Union, he promoted repressive policies that conspicuously impacted Jews shortly after World War II, especially during the anti-cosmopolitan campaign. At the time of his death, Stalin was planning an even larger campaign against Jews,[3][4][5] which included the deportation of all Jews within the Soviet Union to Northern Kazakhstan.[1] According to his successor Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin was fomenting the doctors' plot as a pretext for further anti-Jewish repressions.[6]

Stalin publicly condemned anti-Semitism,[7] although he was repeatedly accused of it.[8] People who knew him, such as Khrushchev, suggested he long harboured negative sentiments toward Jews.[9] It has been argued that anti-Semitic trends in his policies were fuelled by Stalin's struggle against Leon Trotsky.[10] After Stalin's death, Khrushchev claimed that Stalin encouraged him to incite anti-Semitism in Ukraine, allegedly telling him that "the good workers at the factory should be given clubs so they can beat the hell out of those Jews."[11] In 1946, Stalin allegedly said privately that "every Jew is a potential spy".[12] Robert Conquest stated that although Stalin had Jewish associates, he promoted anti-Semitism.[13] Robert Service cautioned that there was no irrefutable evidence of anti-Semitism in Stalin's published work, although his private statements and public actions were "undeniably reminiscent of crude antagonism towards Jews";[14] Service added that throughout Stalin's life, he "would be the friend, associate or leader of countless individual Jews".[15] According to Beria, Stalin had affairs with Jewish women.[16]

  1. ^ a b Tolstoy, Nikolai (1981). Stalin's Secret War. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. p. 27f.
  2. ^ Overy 2004, p. 565.
  3. ^ Johnson, I. O. (2021). Faustian Bargain: The Soviet-German Partnership and the Origins of the Second World War. Oxford University Press.
  4. ^ Moorhouse, R. (14 October 2014). The Devils' Alliance: Hitler's Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941. Basic Books.
  5. ^ Vladimir P. Brent, J. & N. (2003). Stalin's Last Crime: The Doctor's Plot. Harper Collins.
  6. ^ Hornsby, R. (2023). "Chapter 3: Time to talk about Stalin". The Soviet Sixties. Yale University Press.
  7. ^ Montefiore 2007, pp. 319, 637.
  8. ^ Service 2004, p. 55.
  9. ^ Etinger 1995, p. 103; Montefiore 2007, p. 165.
  10. ^ Etinger 1995, p. 103; Rappaport 1999, p. 297.
  11. ^ Pinkus 1984, pp. 107–108; Brackman 2001, p. 390.
  12. ^ Brent & Naumov 2004, p. 184.
  13. ^ Conquest 1991, p. 8.
  14. ^ Service 2004, pp. 567–568.
  15. ^ Service 2004, p. 77.
  16. ^ Montefiore 2003, p. 237.