Words / Use & spelling / 1882–2014
A Nazi race official tells Rashid Ali the word is aimed at Jews alone
17 October 1942, Berlin
Bernard Lewis quotes a letter of 17 October 1942 from Walter Gross, director of the Nazi Party’s Race Policy Office, to the Iraqi politician Rashid Ali, who had asked whether “anti-Semitism” was also directed against Arabs. Gross wrote that it was aimed only at Jews and that the word was incorrect for that reason. Lewis writes that a committee then proposed saying “anti-Jewish” instead of “anti-Semitic” in Hitler’s speeches and Mein Kampf, and that Hitler refused.
Everything here traces back to a single original source. A second, independent source would strengthen this event.
What the sources say
QuotesLewis writes that Rashid Ali asked whether anti-Semitism was also directed against Arabs, and that Walter Gross answered in a letter dated 17 October 1942 that it was concerned wholly and exclusively with Jews.
Professor Walter Gross, director of the Race Policy Office of the Nazi Party, explained with great emphasis, in a letter dated October 17, 1942, that this was not the caseAdded on 12 Nov 2026Debunk this
QuotesLewis quotes Gross saying the expression was incorrect because the movement was directed only against Jews, not against other speakers of Semitic languages.
was incorrect since this movement was directed exclusively against Jewry, and not against other peoples who speak a Semitic language.Added on 12 Nov 2026Debunk this
Lewis writes that a committee later suggested revising Hitler's speeches and Mein Kampf to say “anti-Jewish” instead of “anti-Semitic” so as not to offend “our Arab friends”, and that Hitler did not agree.
The Führer did not agree, and this proposal was not accepted.Added on 12 Nov 2026Debunk this
Posts about this event
No posts yet. Write what you know about it, what it led to, or how it is told.
Contribute
Sign in or create an account to add sources, flag disagreements or open a debate.