Collective Victimhood and Social Prejudice: A Post-Holocaust Theory of Anti-Semitism

Abstract

Anti-Semitism represents one of the most penetrating forms of prejudice, yet social research has failed to address the causal underpinnings of the phenomenon. To this end, we put forward a new theory of anti-Semitism that builds on the legacy of the Holocaust. Standing as the benchmark for collective suffering, the Holocaust creates competition over recognition of the status of the victim. Upward comparisons between victimized in-groups with other victimized out-groups trigger social prejudice. Victimhood, thus, creates an antagonistic view of the Jews that, in turn, fuels anti-Semitic prejudice. We test this theory using data from Greece -- the European nation with the highest proportion of anti-Semites -- leveraging two survey experiments. Our results confirm the observational implications of the theory, while a natural experiment and a comparative analysis shed additional light on the causal mechanism. The findings of our research carry important implications for dealing with anti-Semitism and for combating various forms of out-group prejudice.