Jews Out of Place? Place and Space in Czech Antisemitic Caricatures
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Michal Frankl
Abstract
Using examples of antisemitic caricatures published in the Czech press at the end of the nineteenth century, this article explores the function of place and space in this form of visualization of Jews. Existing research paid more attention to the deformed, racist rendering of Jewish physiognomy and to visual codes which made Jews recognizable and which expressed their alleged negative qualities. Experimenting at the crossroads of studies in visual antisemitism and spatial studies, this article is an attempt to make a critical examination of the construction of space through negative images of Jews. It focuses on two sets of caricatures, one placing Jews in the public space in Prague and in interaction and sometimes dialogue with non-Jews, and pictures reflecting on nationalist exhibitions in Prague in the 1890s. The article argues that these images depicted Jews as both included in the space and excluded through the logic of the (middle class, nationalized) space and that this visual representation co-produced the expectations related to places in ways which could potentially be translated into real exclusionary practices.
Abstract
Using examples of antisemitic caricatures published in the Czech press at the end of the nineteenth century, this article explores the function of place and space in this form of visualization of Jews. Existing research paid more attention to the deformed, racist rendering of Jewish physiognomy and to visual codes which made Jews recognizable and which expressed their alleged negative qualities. Experimenting at the crossroads of studies in visual antisemitism and spatial studies, this article is an attempt to make a critical examination of the construction of space through negative images of Jews. It focuses on two sets of caricatures, one placing Jews in the public space in Prague and in interaction and sometimes dialogue with non-Jews, and pictures reflecting on nationalist exhibitions in Prague in the 1890s. The article argues that these images depicted Jews as both included in the space and excluded through the logic of the (middle class, nationalized) space and that this visual representation co-produced the expectations related to places in ways which could potentially be translated into real exclusionary practices.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Table of Contents v
- Introduction vii
- The Metamorphoses of the Judensau 1
- Imagining Ritual Murder: Social Knowledge in the Making 35
- Spa Antisemitism in Bohemia and Moravia 59
- Jews Out of Place? Place and Space in Czech Antisemitic Caricatures 99
- Simple Entertainment? Die Muskete and ‘Weak’ Antisemitism in Interwar Vienna 123
- Faithful to Tradition: Visual Depictions of Antisemitism in Humoristické listy in the 1920s and 1930s 145
- Antisemitic Caricatures in the Protectorate Press (1939–1945) and their Authors 171
- Polish Jews in the Visual Reporting of the Propaganda Companies 203
- Visual Depictions of Antisemitism in the Czech Lands after World War II 221
- Contemporary Visual Antisemitism in the Czech Republic 251
- Refugees ‘as Jews’. Travelling Images of Atrocities 271
- Index of Names 285
- List of Contributors 289
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Table of Contents v
- Introduction vii
- The Metamorphoses of the Judensau 1
- Imagining Ritual Murder: Social Knowledge in the Making 35
- Spa Antisemitism in Bohemia and Moravia 59
- Jews Out of Place? Place and Space in Czech Antisemitic Caricatures 99
- Simple Entertainment? Die Muskete and ‘Weak’ Antisemitism in Interwar Vienna 123
- Faithful to Tradition: Visual Depictions of Antisemitism in Humoristické listy in the 1920s and 1930s 145
- Antisemitic Caricatures in the Protectorate Press (1939–1945) and their Authors 171
- Polish Jews in the Visual Reporting of the Propaganda Companies 203
- Visual Depictions of Antisemitism in the Czech Lands after World War II 221
- Contemporary Visual Antisemitism in the Czech Republic 251
- Refugees ‘as Jews’. Travelling Images of Atrocities 271
- Index of Names 285
- List of Contributors 289
