Heine’s conversion failed to erase antisemitic suspicion of inauthenticity

Evidence

Heine was not an authentic Jew. He never aspired to be a traditional Jew. He grew up within a family that was already quite assimilated, his knowledge of Hebrew and Jewish religious matters was limited, and his Jewish faith probably even more so. He attended Jewish but also Catholic schools and tried—to a certain extent he also succeeded—in establishing himself as a German poet, writing in German. Yet even though he took the ultimate step and converted to Christianity, his baptismal certificate would never become the entrance ticket to European culture that he had expected it to be. For one, he did not get his academic career. However, it was also as a poet that he encountered resistance. Notwithstanding his conversion, Heine remained, in the eyes of antisemitic critics, a Jewish poet—a negative label that had nothing to do with the use of any Jewish subjects or with the Jewish religion, and everything to do with his presumed lack of truthfulness. Heine’s style was considered inauthentic, pretentious, not genuine art. — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 1663 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Prior to 1492–98, Jews had been a distinguishable section of the Iberian population. In both Spain and Portugal, they were legally forced to reside in segregated areas, compelled to display prominent symbols on their clothing and subject to sumptuary legislation (banning them from riding horses or bearing swords). Although some wealthy Jews could purchase exemptions from the Crown, these restrictions marked out the Jews. Apart from the shortage of trained doctors in many areas, there was no reason why a Christian seeking to avoid treatment by a Jewish medical practitioner could not do so. After their baptism in 1492–98 (or even before in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries), however, the judeoconversos became part of Catholic society and were no longer subject to segregationist legislation. Many patients, therefore, could no longer be certain of whether or not the medical practitioner tending to their needs was an ‘Old’ or a ‘New’ Christian. Given the widely held perception of the majority of the judeoconversos as secretly judaising heretics, this new state of affairs created a situation in which the wildest antisemitic fantasies could be unleashed. — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 383 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Heine’s conversion to Christianity could not erase antisemitic charges of inauthenticity — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in…, 1663; Religious conversion confirmed rather than dispelled antisemitic suspicion; Conversion reinforced rather than reduced antisemitic suspicion of Jews — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in…, 1667 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Heine’s conversion to Christianity could not erase antisemitic charges of inauthenticity #corroborates (1.00) — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 1663
• Forced conversion made Jews undetectable, unleashing antisemitic fantasy #complicates (0.75) — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 383