Entdecktes Judenthum. In Zweyen Theilen verfasset (Judaism Unmasked. Written in Two Parts)

Eisenmenger, Johann Andreae

Published by Königsberg [disguised, i.e., Berlin], 1711

About this Item

Quarto. [20], 1016 [= 998; mispaginated but complete: page count jumps from 960 to 969, and from 984 to 995]; 1111, [1, blank]pp. Lacks final errata leaves in both parts, along with the half-title to part 2 and the table of chapters which follows. Woodcut headpieces at opening of each part, a few decorative initials, printed marginalia; text in German with (often long) quotations in Hebrew throughout. Contemporary vellum (moderately soiled), manuscript title at spine. Very occasional ink stains or smudges (largely confined to the margins); text overall fine and crisp throughout with variable light toning. A very good, amply-margined copy. Second edition of the most important anti-Semitic work of the early modern era whose sinister significance must be ranked with the Protocols and the Elders of Zion and Adolf Hitler's, Mein Kampf. A massively documented work, Entdecktes Judenthum (Judaism Unmasked) was a "formative influence on modern anti-Semitic polemics" (Enc. Jud.). First published at Frankfurt in 1700, it aroused tremendous indignation among the Jews of that city who feared that such a work published in German (rather than Latin) would further inflame anti-Jewish sentiment in the wake of recent anti-Jewish riots in Franconia and Bamberg. Through the mediation of the Jewish court financiers Samuel Oppenheimer and his nephew, Samson Werheimer, the Frankfurt Jews were able to convince emperor Leopold I to ban the distribution of the work, already printed in 2500 copies. "Eisenmenger's heirs applied to the king [Friedrich Wilhelm I, of Prussia]; and the latter tried to induce the emperor to repeal the injunction against the book, but did not succeed. He therefore ordered a new edition of 3,000 copies to be printed in Berlin at his expense, but as there was an imperial prohibition against printing the book in the German empire, the title page gave as the place of publication Königsberg, which was beyond the boundaries of the empire. Almost forty years later the original edition was released" (JE). "The son of an official in the service of the Elector of the Palatinate, Eisenmenger [1654-1704] received a good education, and distinguishing himself at the Collegium Sapientiae at Heidelberg by his zeal for Hebrew studies, he was sent by the elector to England and Holland to continue them there. For nineteen years he studied rabbinical literature assisted by Jews, first in Heidelberg and afterward in Frankfort-on-the-Main, pretending that he desired to be converted to Judaism" (JE). He was appointed lecturer at Heidelberg University where he later edited with the Dutch orientalist, Johannes Leusden, an unvocalized edition of the Hebrew Scriptures. "Eisenmenger proceeded to amass quotations from the Talmud and other Hebrew sources revealing to all how the Jewish religion was barbarous, superstitious, and even murderous. All this was done in an apparently scholarly and reasonable way that belied the author's evident preoccupation (like Luther) with tales of Jewish ritual murder of Christian children and poisoning of wells. While piously insisting that the Jews must not be converted by cruel methods, Eisenmenger blithely recommended abolishing their present 'freedom in trade,' which was making them 'lords' over the Germans. He demanded too an immediate ban on their synagogues, public worship, and communal leaders and rabbis" (Rose). The list of sources which appears at the beginning of the first part includes 182 Hebrew works, thirteen in Yiddish, and eight written by Jews who had converted to Christianity. Extracts, often quite long, appear in the original languages, followed by a German translation. "The translations are erroneous in places, and often intentionally distorted" (Enc. Jud.). Eisenmenger's motivation for writing Judaism Unmasked is not entirely certain. "During a visit to Amsterdam in 1680-81 he was shocked when three Christian adopted Judaism, and also by the criticism of Christianity expressed by David Lyda, rabbi of.

Seller Inventory # 53754

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Entdecktes Judenthum. In Zweyen Theilen verfasset (Judaism Unmasked. Written in Two Parts)
• Publisher: Königsberg [disguised, i.e., Berlin]
• Publication Date: 1711
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: Second edition.
• Condition: Very good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Judaica