From Weimar Philosemite to Nazi Apologist

In 1922, the German nationalist writer Walter Bloem (1868-1951) published "Die Brüderlichkeit" ("Brotherhood"), a political novel strongly opposed to racism, antisemitism, and extremism. The novel aroused passionate controversy: nationalist leaders rejected his philosemitism and viewed him as a renegade; liberals and socialists hailed his stand against antisemitism but rejected his conservatism and nationalism; Jews welcomed his stand but were troubled by Bloem's perpetuation of central aspects of the antisemites' image of the Jew. Discusses the origins of Bloem's philosemitism and his moral decline and subsequent support for Nazi "völkisch" ideology. In 1938 he joined the Nazi Party, he propounded National Socialist doctrine, and accepted without protest the Nazis' persecution of the Jews.