The Operated Jew (German: Der operirte Jud’) is a satirical antisemitic book published by the German physician Oskar Panizza in 1893. Written from a supposedly medical perspective, it exemplified the scientific racism characteristic of the era.
A young Jewish doctor is caused by antisemitic pressures to escape his Jewishness, which he seeks to do by submitting himself to violent and painful ethnic plastic surgery. He has stereotypical Jewish features: black curly hair, oily skin, thick lips, a large hooked nose, an effeminate voice, poor posture, and orthopedic impairments. He arranges to have all of his bones straightened out, his hair dyed blonde, and his larynx altered to change his voice. He is then placed in a bathtub and given a blood transfusion by pure Aryan virgins. Having been seemingly cured of his Jewishness, the doctor marries a blonde German woman. However, just as he is about to deliver a speech at his wedding, his voice takes on a high pitch and all of his previous Jewish features resurface. He eventually becomes a gelatinous puddle on the floor.
Analysisedit
The book incorporates the elements of racial antisemitism of the era: the expression of desire on the part of the Jew to escape his cultural identity, the lengths to which he will go to transform himself, the pornographic quality of the attempted transformation, and the impossibility of it all. The author sought to illustrate an idea that Jews cannot escape their race, and attempts to do so will result in them becoming subhuman or untermensch. The image of the Jewish man melting into a puddle at his wedding signifies that Jewishness cannot be overcome by attempts at cultural assimilation.
operated, this, article, possibly, contains, original, research, please, improve, verifying, claims, made, adding, inline, citations, statements, consisting, only, original, research, should, removed, march, 2018, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, . This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed March 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Operated Jew German Der operirte Jud is a satirical antisemitic book published by the German physician Oskar Panizza in 1893 Written from a supposedly medical perspective it exemplified the scientific racism characteristic of the era The Operated JewAuthorOskar PanizzaOriginal titleDer operirte Jud LanguageGermanPublished1893 Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Analysis 3 See also 4 ReferencesPlot summary editA young Jewish doctor is caused by antisemitic pressures to escape his Jewishness which he seeks to do by submitting himself to violent and painful ethnic plastic surgery He has stereotypical Jewish features black curly hair oily skin thick lips a large hooked nose an effeminate voice poor posture and orthopedic impairments He arranges to have all of his bones straightened out his hair dyed blonde and his larynx altered to change his voice He is then placed in a bathtub and given a blood transfusion by pure Aryan virgins Having been seemingly cured of his Jewishness the doctor marries a blonde German woman However just as he is about to deliver a speech at his wedding his voice takes on a high pitch and all of his previous Jewish features resurface He eventually becomes a gelatinous puddle on the floor Analysis editThe book incorporates the elements of racial antisemitism of the era the expression of desire on the part of the Jew to escape his cultural identity the lengths to which he will go to transform himself the pornographic quality of the attempted transformation and the impossibility of it all The author sought to illustrate an idea that Jews cannot escape their race and attempts to do so will result in them becoming subhuman or untermensch The image of the Jewish man melting into a puddle at his wedding signifies that Jewishness cannot be overcome by attempts at cultural assimilation See also editEthnic plastic surgery Racial antisemitism Self hating Jew Passing racial identity References editZipes Jack 1991 The Operated Jew Two Tales of Anti Semitism New York and London Routledge ISBN 9780415904612 nbsp Novels portal nbsp This article about an 1890s novel is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it See guidelines for writing about novels Further suggestions might be found on the article s talk page vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Operated Jew amp oldid 1143716024, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
