Scholars Contending with Delusional Ideology: Historians, Antisemitic Lore, and The Protocols

Although the notorious antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion had enormous impact on twentieth-century public opinion, with disastrous consequences, its importance has only recently been acknowledged by historians. As much as rational thinkers wish to ignore conspiracy theories of history implicating Jews as diabolical plotters, the persistence of these notions makes them worthy of serious study. By examining the origins of the Protocols and its subsequent dissemination, and by linking it to centuries-old folk traditions of demonology aimed at imagined "enemies within," scholars have begun to consider carefully the significance of this spurious document and its antecedents.