Reflections on the Genealogy of German Philosemitism

In recent decades, philosemitism attracts an increased research interest. But as a concept, philosemitism is usually treated with suspicion. Some claim that philosemitism does not exist as a social phenomenon in itself, that is, expressions of sympathy for Jews are only a derivative product of various motivations – political, religious, economic, etc. But if we refer to anti-Semitism as a concept describing a certain phenomena in history, there is no reason not to treat philosemitism the same way. My paper will differentiate between two types of philosemitism In German culture, which sometimes corresponded to each other: one attitude stressed the similarity of Jews with the rest of humanity, and the other stressing their designation and uniqueness.