Video Collection

The Longest Hatred

Categories:

Germany and the Holocaust Nazism, Nazi Germany, and Fascism Racism, Antisemitism, and Prejudice Religion, Morality, and Ethics

"They are the other. They are not us." Throughout time, words such as these have been used to justify and vilify. This stunning documentary takes an unsparing look at the ways such words have shaped the experience of Jewish people, from the first century to the present - a revealing history of antisemitism with roots long before the Holocaust and branches that continue to sprout in surprising places today. Part One, "From the Cross to the Swastika," traces an image that begins with the earliest writings of Christianity, which leveled the charge that Jews were responsible for Jesus' death. In this segment, historians show how demonizing dogma has affected Jews through the centuries - in Italy, Spain, England, and Germany - reaching its zenith with the development of Nazi ideology. Part Two, "Enemies of the People," shows how antisemitic sentiment has accompanied a growing nationalism in Europe in recent decades, causing a mass exodus of Jews from Russia and even resurfacing in Poland and Austria, where few Jews remain. In Germany, the remarkable collapse of the Berlin wall has been followed by the rise of neo-Nazism among German youth. Part Three, "Between Moses and Muhammed," takes a humanistic look at relations between Arabs and Israelis, once linked by pseudo-science under the degrading label "Semite" and now enmeshed in one of the world's most violent conflicts. Experts on both sides tell how Arabs and Jews, who for centuries lived in relative peace, have been drastically alienated by political turmoil - and how the anti-Jewish propaganda now disseminated in the Arab world is so eerily like that seen in Europe before World War II. Color, 150 minutes.

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