Afterword- Anti-Semitism: Moving Beyond Upbringing and Preconceptions

George Orwell realised that anti-Semitism was the humanitarian curse of his age, had corrupted his own personal outlook, consciousness and writings – and needed addressing as the ever-present political evil of his time. His own writing on the subject reflects the abiding honesty with which he challenged his own past, culture and prejudices. Although he died so cruelly from tuberculosis in 1950 at the early age of 46, he lived long enough to witness what became known as the Holocaust and the Nazis’ ‘Final Solution’ for world Jewry. This essay examines in detail the debate about whether he fully appreciated their significance.
The experience of concentration camp survival has resulted in some of the most haunting writing of the twentieth century. It challenges the very nature of faith, humanity and literature. Primo Levi’s observation: ‘Dawn came on us like a betrayer; it seemed as though the new sun rose as an ally of our enemies to assist in our destruction’ (Levi 1996: 16) highlights the way in which anti-Semitism threatened all notions of hope and redemption. The Holocaust represented an unprecedented challenge to writers and philosophers who experienced and witnessed it.