Antisemitism in Europe

Antisemitism, also known as Judeophobia, has a long history in Europe. (Those who hold antisemitic views are called antisemites.) The worst instance of antisemitism in European history is the Holocaust. The Holocaust was done by German Nazis and affected most of peninsular Europe.

Overview

Map of expulsions of Jews from various European regions, ca. 1100–1600 AD.

20th Century

Main articles: Pogrom, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and Nazism

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) shaking hands with Alberto Vassallo-Torregrossa (1865–1959), a high-ranking Vatican clergy in Bavaria, Nazi Germany.

The Nazis murdered 11 million people during World War 2. 6 million of them were Jewish by ethnicity or faith.

The Nazis knew who the Jews were because the Nazis made laws that said ethnic Jews had to wear a star of David on their clothing. Then the Nazis paid people (SS Officers) to go around and ask where ethnic Jews were. Then they murdered 11 million people, which is why it is called "Holocaust". Holocaust means "wholly burned".

21st century

Further information: Holocaust denial, Holocaust trivialization, Calls for the destruction of Israel, and Roman Catholics and antisemitism in the 21st century

In a 2013 research of 5,847 Jews in Europe, 76% thought that antisemitism had increased in the previous five years, while 29% had thought about moving countries as they felt unsafe. A 2023 ADL research found that as many as one-third of Western Europeans believed in stereotypes of Jews. This was reportedly worse in some eastern European countries, particularly Hungary (37%), Poland (35%) and Russia (26%). In Eastern Europe, the level of antisemitism is found to be high. The cause of persistent antisemitism in Europe is under debate. A 2024 ADL research found that 46% of world adult population elevated levels of antisemitic attitudes. Notably, 82% of Greece's population believed that "Jews have too much power in the business world," while 40% of Belgium's population believed that "Jews have too much control over media and global affairs" and 61% believed that "Jews are only loyal to Israel."

Antisemitism in Europe (Polling agency: ADL)

Country	% population holding biases against Jews (95% confidence level)
Greece	69	69
Armenia	58	58
Poland	45	45
Bulgaria	44	44
Serbia	42	42
Hungary	41	41
Belarus	38	38
France	37	37
Azerbaijan	37	37
Lithuania	36	36
Romania	35	35
Croatia	33	33
Bosnia and Herzegovina	32	32
Georgia	32	32
Russia	30	30
Moldova	30	30
Spain	29	29
Montenegro	29	29
Latvia	28	28
Austria	28	28
Slovenia	27	27
Belgium	27	27
Germany	27	27
Switzerland	26	26
Estonia	22	22
Portugal	21	21
Ireland	20	20
Italy	20	20
Iceland	16	16
Norway	15	15
Finland	15	15
Czech Republic	13	13
Denmark	9	9
United Kingdom	8	8
Netherlands	5	5
Sweden	4	4

Croatia

20th century

Main article: Independent State of Croatia

21st century

Main article: Croatian Wikipedia

Poland

Main article: Racism in Poland § Jews

Further information: Jedwabne pogrom (1941); Kraków pogrom; Szczuczyn pogrom; Antisemitic violence in Bielsk County, Poland (1941); and Polish Memory Law

A clipping from the daily Pod Pręgierz, 1937, entitled "Whoever buys from a Jew is a traitor to the nation".

Portugal

Main article: Lisbon massacre

Romania

Main articles: History of Jews in Romania, Iași pogrom, and Odessa massacre (1941)

Further information: Massacres of Jews during the Russo-Turkish Wars and Iron Guard

Slovakia

Main article: Slovak Republic (1939–1945)

Slovenia

Main article: Leon Rupnik

Armenia

Main article: Antisemitism in Armenia

Related pages

• Anti-Judaism and antisemitism
• Antisemitism in the Soviet Union