Language:
English
Year of publication:
1990
Titel der Quelle:
American Scholar
Angaben zur Quelle:
59,3 (1990) 407-411
Keywords:
Mencken, H. L. Criticism and interpretation
;
Antisemitism History 20th century
;
Authors, American 20th century
Abstract:
Takes issue with the statement by Charles A. Fecher in the introduction to "The Diary of H.L. Mencken," which he edited, that "Mencken was an anti-Semite." Contends that the worst that can be said about Mencken is that he had an unflattering stereotypical view of Jews, though it had no connection with the malignancy assumed in antisemitic doctrine. Mencken was ready to waive the negative stereotype whenever a person possessed virtues which he revered, which explains the apparent contradiction between his attitude towards "the Jews" and his high regard for many individual Jews. Moreover, although his diary does not contain a denunciation of Nazi antisemitism, he did denounce it, and antisemitism in the USA, in newspaper columns, in private letters, and in unpublished notes. Adds that he clearly did not intend his diary to be a running commentary on world events, since other significant matters are also not mentioned (e.g. Pearl Harbor, the internment of Japanese Americans, and D-Day).
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