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This book is an examination of the historical and cultural roots of anti-Semitism. The word is a comparative newcomer to the lexicon, but the social malady which the word connotes is ancient and persistent and shows few signs of abating. The symptoms need no description and, as Dr. Loewenstein states, they display 'a monotonous uniformity' so that the prejudices of the modern anti-Semite are little different from those of his medieval counterpart—just as the image of the 'accursed Jew' has changed but little with the passing of the centuries.
Concisely stated, the author's theme is that anti-Semitism is intimately associated with the rise and development of the Christian religion: hence the title of the book. Jews and Christians form a 'cultural pair'. Despite the schism that separated Judaism from the new religion and the intolerance with which the Christians regarded their ousted rival, they are nevertheless mutually interdependent and linked by very intimate ties. While the Jews helped to beget the new religion, the attitude of the Christians has been markedly ambivalent to the Jews: even when persecuting Judaism it has at the same time ensured its survival, for the Jew is necessary to the Christian as a scapegoat. In the last resort the Jew is indicted for his participation in the death of Christ who, through his sufferings, took upon himself the sins of Christians and so became their Savior. Psychologically speaking, then, Christians, who thus benefit by Christ's death, must unconsciously rejoice in it. One way of atonement which lies open to the Christian is through the Holy Communion. But a more convenient way is to father the guilt onto the Jews. The next step is to project onto the Jews the secret sin of every Christian, viz.: that of unconsciously rejoicing in the