Treitschke, Heinrich von (1834-96)

This entry describes the academic and political career and opinions of the Prussian court historian Heinrich von Treitschke, placing special emphasis on the great public debate about the national integration of German Jewry from 1880. Treitschke provoked this controversy with several antisemite remarks published in a political journal article. Although in line with his well-known pro-Prussian, chauvinistic, and culturally hegemonic views, the article was widely perceived as a first clear sign of the penetrating of antisemite ideas into respected academic and liberal Protestant circles. This singled Treitschke out as the initiator of a special intellectual hostility toward the Jews, while in fact his ideas were nothing but the modern continuation of centuries-old clichés and fears.