Fabian Weber

Jewish Wit and Jewish Conservatism

Introduction

Jewish wit and jewish conservatism. Uncover the paradox of Jewish wit and conservatism via Salcia Landmann's double life: acclaimed Jewish publicist and far-right 'Jewish alibi.'

Abstract

This article examines the intellectual double life of Swiss-Jewish publicist Salcia Landmann, who achieved widespread literary acclaim while simultaneously maintaining a decades-long involvement with the German-speaking far right. Although she actively self-styled herself as the leading authority dedicated to rescuing destroyed Eastern European Jewish culture from oblivion, contemporary Jewish critics frequently accused her of perpetuating anti-Jewish clichés. Paradoxically, Landmann regularly contributed to New Right and extremist publications, where she utilised her Jewish identity to attempt the rehabilitation of pseudoscientific racial concepts and to legitimise fierce anti-immigration sentiments. Within these radical networks, she served as a willing ‘Jewish alibi’, effectively shielding right-wing actors from accusations of racism and providing discursive legitimacy to their prejudices. Ultimately, this study embeds Landmann’s unusual trajectory within Jewish historiography to illuminate the underexplored phenomenon of Jewish political participation in conservative and right-wing milieus.

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