Ahasver, der Ewige Jude

A culturally grounded presentation of the provocative topic in text and image documents from the Early Modern period to the present. It is a myth firmly anchored in collective memory: the fate of Ahasver, the Eternal Jew, who is said to have begrudged Christ his rest while suffering on the way to the cross and was condemned to eternal wandering for it. The roots of this tradition reach back to the Middle Ages, but it is not until the early 17th century that the material begins to unfold its significant potential. Ahasver becomes a vivid and simultaneously miraculous figure, embarking on a victorious journey across Europe. An anti-Jewish tone is unmistakable. And even though over time identificatory forms of appropriation permeate the myth, the danger of anti-Semitic reinterpretation remains present, as demonstrated by Nazi propaganda. The book traces the astonishing and immense career of this figure from the Early Modern period to the present, with a particular focus on the provocative documents of the German cultural sphere. Whether Goethe, Heine, Wagner, or Celan - they all are voices in a choir that, precisely in its dissonance, testifies that myth and protagonist share the fate of being unable to die.