Debono, Emmanuel

Anti-Semitism at Its Peak: The Munich Crisis (Fall 1938) - 2010.


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In September 1938, the German claim concerning the Czechoslovakian part of Sudetenland brought about intensive diplomatic activity over the risk of a possible European war. Pacifist France faced deep worries, and anti-Semitic outbursts were noted, mainly in newly regained Alsace-Lorraine and the Paris area. While extremist activists were behind many outbursts, their slogans and actions met with a favorable response among more moderate sections of the public. Before and after the Munich conference (September 30, 1938), France seemed gripped by anti-Semitic fever of a rarely observed intensity, aimed simultaneously at warmongering Jews and Hitler.