Palestine seems to function as a link between his theological anti-Judaism and fascist anti-Semitism. This topic seems to be fairly far-fetched. The resettlement of the Jews appears, at first sight, to be of little emotional appeal to anti-Semites. Yet the choice of this subject matter may not be altogether insignificant. One of the fundamental impulses of the anti-Semite makes itself felt in the complaint that the Jews are “there.” “They shall get out.” “They are not wanted here.” While this impulse is apparently directed only against the Jews as the “guest nation,” a favorite Nazi concept, it actually aims at the Jews being “there” at all. It is as though the anti-Semite could not tolerate them on any part of the earth. He regards them as intruders and infringers everywhere: in the theatre, where they have bought their tickets as well as the “Gentiles,” no less than in the vacation resort or in an exotic country. Their very existence is perceived by him as a threat to the potentiality of feeling “at home.” While he attacks the Jews because of their supposed striving for world domination, the anti-Semite nourishes this desire himself. The Jews are a symbol to him that he does not yet possess the whole world. Hence the reference to Jewish settlement and Jewish expansion in a particular country probably has a definite meaning to the anti-Semitic-minded. It may inspire their fury even if the pertinent explicit statements do not involve name-calling. This may help to understand why Thomas sometimes uses confused references to the Jewish resettlement of Palestine as symbols for the coming of the day of judgement, without making it quite clear whether he favors this settlement or resents it. This attitude mirrors the Nazi ambivalence toward Zionism. The Nazis welcomed it insofar as it promised that they could get rid of the Jews. But they also regarded it as dangerous - or at least pretended to so regard it - because it apparently proved their assumption of a Jewish nationalism transcending the borders of the other nations. Behind this ambivalence looms the most deadly hatred. The Jews, according to the fascist mentality, should be allowed neither to stay where they are nor to become a separate nation. No possibility is left but extermination. The Jewish settlement in Palestine is described in a factual manner, but its very phrasing has a threatening aspect. The audience is made to shudder under the idea of the supposedly tremendous increase of Jewish power in Palestine.
Theodor W. Adorno, GS 9.1, Soziologische Schriften II, The Psychological Technique of Martin Luther Thomas’ Radio Addresses, Section IV: Ideological Bait, The Jews are coming, S. 130 f., Frankfurt/M. 2003.
