Eine Emotions- und Körpergeschichte von Rasse, Rassismus und Antisemitismus

Abstract

Race, racism and antisemitism are not just abstract concepts. Rather, they owe their power and persistence to their emotional and physical manifestations. This article examines how these concepts were learned emotionally and physically within German völkisch circles in the early twentieth century (1900–1933). Race has particularly been widely ignored in the history of emotions and the body in the German-speaking region due to its association with National Socialism. However, this has led to an overly limited understanding of race. Its affective and somatic dimensions reveal the inherent interconnectedness of race with racism and antisemitism. Through the lens of phenomenological and ontological approaches to affect and the body from anthropology and critical philosophy of race, this contribution reads historical sources on so-called rune gymnastics and traces the historical continuities of race, racism and antisemitism as an emotional and somatic repertoire.