Reflexe antisemitismu v meziválečných prózách Egona Hostovského
Reflections of antisemitism in the interwar prose works of Egon Hostovský

Summary/Abstract: This study analyses images of antisemitism in the interwar prose works Ghetto v nich (The Ghetto in Them, 1928), Případ profesora Körnera (The Case of Professor Körner, 1932) and Dům bez pána (House Without a Master, 1937), focusing on Hostovský’s representation of antisemitism at various levels (social, cultural and psychological), which is present to various degrees of explicitness in his works. It is generally the case in these prose works that Hostovský’s characters recognize and live out their Jewish identity whenever they experience exclusion and face hatred. Racial stereotypes and antisemitic prejudices go through the minds of non-Jews and Jews alike, and have a fundamental importance in the creation of the contradictory identity and selfunderstanding of Hostovský’s characters. The novels Případ profesora Körnera and Dům bez pána in particular show that the affirmation of Jewish tradition and identity may in certain situations be an indication of escape from responsibility and the dilemmas of human existence. In these prose works, assimilation, a return to the traditions of the ancestors or an attempt at individual emancipation are not adequate responses to antisemitism and the problems of life in a modern society. The only possible solution proves to be mutual solidarity among people who overcome their socially and culturally determined status by combining their strengths and strenuously endeavouring to achieve mutual comprehension.

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