"Po przekroczeniu tego progu zaczyna się królestwo śmiechu..." Antysemityzm jako wywąchiwanie
„If it crosses the threshold, the response is laughter...” Antisemitism as sniffing out

Summary/Abstract: The article suggests a peculiar interpretation of antisemitism as the ability to sniff. The production of a stench had been considered a Jewish quality for centuries. It elicited an aesthetic disgust, but enabled an identification of the enemy. Antisemites sniff out Jewish plots, and smell Jewish character. The tradition of a sensual antisemitism was perfected by Nazi ideologues. Sniffing out is thence accompanied by a belittlement of those sniffed out. Disinfection of the enemies was concluded with a burst of laughter. Legalized sniffing turns out to have caused unbridled amusement. The louder the laughter, the stronger the feeling that the killed merely resemble human beings.

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