Wolfgang Benz

Wolfgang Benz
Wolfgang Benz
Born	9 June 1941; Ellwangen, Free People's State of Württemberg, Nazi Germany
Nationality	German
Education	University of Munich, (PhD, 1968)
Occupation(s)	Historian, researcher in antisemitism
Known for	Holocaust studies, antisemitism studies, German history
Awards	Geschwister-Scholl-Preis (1992)

*Antisemitismus und "Islamkritik"* (2011)

Wolfgang Benz (born June 9, 1941) is a German historian and researcher in antisemitism. He was the director of the Center for Research on Antisemitism of Technische Universität Berlin^[a] between 1990 and 2011.^[1] Benz is also a member of the advisory board for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, who participated in the memorial's design.^[2]^[3]

Overview

He has over 200 publications.^[4] He is one of the most well-known German historians, and a leading expert on antisemitism studies.^[5] Some call him the "doyen"^[b] of antisemitism research.^[1]

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin, July 2024.

Research

The Holocaust

Benz is known for confirming that 5.29–6.2 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.^[6] Benz worked on data from declassified Eastern European government archives in the 1990s, contributing to the death toll's confirmation. He concluded in 1999:^[7]

The goal of annihilating all of the Jews of Europe, as it was proclaimed at the conference in the villa Am Grossen Wannsee in January 1942, was not reached. Yet the six million murder victims make the Holocaust a unique crime in the history of mankind. The number of victims — and with certainty the following represent the minimum number in each case — cannot express that adequately. Numbers are just too abstract. However they must be stated in order to make clear the dimension of the genocide: 165,000 Jews from Germany, 65,000 from Austria, 32,000 from France and Belgium, more than 100,000 from the Netherlands, 60,000 from Greece, the same number from Yugoslavia, more than 140,000 from Czechoslovakia, half a million from Hungary, 2.2 million from the Soviet Union, and 2.7 million from Poland. To these numbers must be added all those killed in the pogroms and massacres in Romania and Transitrien [sic] (over 200,000) and the deported and murdered Jews from Albania and Norway, Denmark and Italy, from Luxembourg and Bulgaria.

Comparison of Islamophobia to antisemitism

Benz claimed in 2010 that "anti-Semites [sic] of the 19th Century and some detractors of the Islam of the 21st Century work with similar methods on their concept of the enemy", warning against Islamophobia, which he saw as a "declaration of war against tolerance and democracy".^[8]^[9] He was criticized by historian Julius H. Schoeps who considered Benz's claim "dubious – if not dangerous"^[10] and by journalist Henryk M. Broder.^[11]

They said that Islamophobia – unlike antisemitism – has a real basis, e.g. terrorist acts, the way dissidents are treated in Islamic countries etc. However, educator Micha Brumlik argued that as far as social-psychological aspect is concerned, Benz was right when comparing today's Islamophobia and antisemitism of the late 19th and early 20th century.^[12] Historian Norbert Frei agreed with Brumlik.^[13]

Opposition to Polish monument construction

Benz objected to building a monument in Berlin to honor the Polish victims of Nazi occupation (1939–45). As the director of the Center for Research on Antisemitism, Benz warned the Bundestag's president of the "danger of nationalizing memory" by building such monuments.^[14]

Selected works

Monographs

	Publications
List (year in descending order)	Die Protokolle der Weisen von Zion. Die Legende von der jüdischen Weltverschwörung. ("The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Legends about Jewish World Conspiracy")." C.H.Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-53613-7 or ISBN 3-406-53613-1. A Concise History of the Third Reich. University of California Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-520-25383-4. Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen. Das Dritte Reich. ("The 101 Most Important Questions: The Third Reich") C. H. Beck. Munich 2006/2007. ISBN 3-406-54142-9 new edition: ISBN 3-406-56849-1. Ausgrenzung, Vertreibung, Völkermord. Genozid im 20. Jahrhundert. ("Marginalization, Expulsion, Genocide in the 20th Century") Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-423-34370-1 oder ISBN 3-423-34370-2 Potsdam 1945. Besatzungsherrschaft und Neuaufbau im Vier-Zonen-Deutschland. (Potsdam 1945. Occupation and Reconstruction in Four-Zone-Germany.) 4th edition, dtv, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-423-34230-7. Was ist Antisemitismus? ("What is Anti-Semitism?") Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb). Bonn 2004, ISBN 3-89331-562-4. (Review Archived 2010-12-04 at the Wayback Machine – German) Bilder vom Juden. Studien zum alltäglichen Antisemitismus. ("Images of Jews. Studies in Every-Day Anti-Semitism.") C.H. Beck, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47575-2(Review by Susanne Benöhr on H-Soz-Kult Archived 2013-12-30 at the Wayback Machine) The Holocaust: A German Historian Examines the Genocide. Columbia University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-231-11215-4 Encyclopedia of German Resistance to the Nazi Movement. Continuum International Publishing Group, 1996. ISBN 978-0-8264-0945-4. Herrschaft und Gesellschaft im nationalsozialistischen Staat. Studien zur Struktur- und Mentalitätsgeschichte. (Governance and Society in the Nazi State. Studies in the History of Structure and Mentality.) Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-596-24435-8.

As an editor

	Publications
List (year in descending order)	Handbuch des Antisemitismus. Judenfeindschaft in Geschichte und Gegenwart. (Handbook on Anti-Semitism. Anti-Judaism in Past and Present.) de Gruyter/K. G. Saur, Berlin. 5 Bände in ca. 9 Teilbänden (geplant), bisher erschienen: 1. Band: Länder und Regionen. (Countries and Regions.) 2008. 2. Band: Personen. 1. A–K und 2. L–Z. (Individuals.) 2009. with Angelika Königseder: Das Konzentrationslager Dachau. Geschichte und Wirkung nationalsozialistischer Repression. (Dachau Concentration Camp. History and Effect of Nazi Repression.) Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-940938-10-7 Der Hass gegen die Juden. Dimensionen und Formen des Antisemitismus. (Hatred of Jews. Dimensions and Forms of Anti-Semitism.) Reihe Positionen, Perspektiven, Diagnosen (Band 2), Metropol Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-938690-82-6 oder ISBN 3-938690-82-8 Selbstbehauptung und Opposition. Kirche als Ort des Widerstandes gegen staatliche Diktatur. (Self-Assertion and Opposition. Churches as Places of Resistance against State Dictatorship.) Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-936411-32-8 Überleben im Dritten Reich. Juden im Untergrund und ihre Helfer. (Surviving the Third Reich. Jews in the Underground and Their Helpers.) 2003. (also known as Judenretter Review Tübingen e.V.) with Angelika Königseder: Judenfeindschaft als Paradigma (Anti-Judaism as Paradigm.) Studien zur Vorurteilsforschung, Berlin 2002. Salzgitter. Geschichte und Gegenwart einer deutschen Stadt 1942 – 1992. (Salzgitter. Past and Present of a German Town, 1942–1992.) Munich 1992. Zwischen Antisemitismus und Philosemitismus. Juden in der Bundesrepublik. (Between Anti-Semitism and Philosemitism. Jews in the Federal Republik [of Germany].) Metropol Verlag, Berlin 1991

As a co-editor

	Publications
List (year in descending order)	with Barbara Distel and Angelika Königseder (Redaktion): Der Ort des Terrors. Geschichte der nationalsozialistischen Konzentrationslager. (The Place of Terror. History of Nazi Concentration Camps.) 9 volumes, 2005–2009, ISBN 978-3-406-52960-3 (Review Archived 2013-12-30 at the Wayback Machine); Contents Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine) with Hermann Graml, Hermann Weiß: Enzyklopädie des Nationalsozialismus. (Encyclopedia on National-Socialism.). 1997 (5th edition, Klett-Cotta und Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag (dtv), Stuttgart and Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-423-34408-1 bzw. ISBN 3-423-34408-3 with Hermann Graml: Aspekte deutscher Außenpolitik im 20. Jahrhundert. Aufsätze Hans Rothfels zum Gedächtnis. (Aspects of German Foreign Policy in the 20th Century. Essays in Remembrance of Hans Rothfels.) Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1976. 1: Die Organisation des Terrors. (The Organization of Terror.) Co-editor Angelika Königseder. 2005. (2nd edition, 2005). ISBN 978-3-406-52961-0 2: Frühe Lager. Dachau. Emslandlager. (Early Camps. Dachau, Emslandlager.) 2005 ISBN 3-406-52962-3 3: Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, mit Nebenlagern. (Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, and Their Satellite Camps.) ISBN 978-3-406-52963-4 4: Flossenbürg, Mauthausen, Ravensbrück. ISBN 978-3-406-52964-1 5: Hinzert, Auschwitz, Neuengamme. ISBN 978-3-406-52965-8 6: Natzweiler, Groß-Rosen, Stutthof. ISBN 978-3-406-52966-5 7: Wewelsburg, Majdanek, Arbeitsdorf, Herzogenbusch (Vught), Bergen-Belsen, Mittelbau-Dora. 2008. ISBN 978-3-406-52967-2 8: Riga. Warschau. Kaunas. Vaivara. Plaszów. Klooga. Chelmo. Belzec. Treblinka. Sobibor. 2008. ISBN 978-3-406-57237-1 9: Arbeitserziehungslager, Durchgangslager, Ghettos, Polizeihaftlager, Sonderlager, Zigeunerlager, Zwangsarbeitslager. (Work Education Camps, Transit Camps, Ghettos, Police Custodial Camps. Special Camps. Gypsy Camps. Forced Labor Camps.) 2009 ISBN 978-3-406-57238-8

Related pages

Footnotes

↑ Abbreviated as TU Berlin, also known as the Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin
↑ The most respected or prominent person in a particular field. Oxford Languages

References

1 2 Probst, Robert (2021-06-08). "Wolfgang Benz: Dem Historiker und Antisemitismusforscher zum 80". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.
↑ "Wolfgang Benz, Prof. Dr". ivkf-berlin.de. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
↑ Friedrich, Sarah (2021-06-02). "Wolfgang Benz wird 80 Jahre alt". Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.
↑ e.V, Gegen Vergessen-für Demokratie. "Ehrung für Wolfgang Benz". www.gegen-vergessen.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2024-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
↑
- "Antisemitismusforscher Wolfgang Benz geht in den Ruhestand". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
- Walter, Rüdiger. "Veranstaltung am 26. 9. 2016: Prof. Wolfgang Benz : Rassismus und Fremdenfeindschaft – Herausforderungen für die Demokratie – Attac Aalen" (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- Friedrich, Sarah (2021-06-02). "Wolfgang Benz wird 80 Jahre alt". Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.
- "Prof. Wolfgang Benz". www.herder.de. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
↑ Benz, Wolfgang (1996). Dimension des Völkermords. Die Zahl der jüdischen Opfer des Nationalsozialismus. Dtv. ISBN 3-423-04690-2.
↑ Benz, Wolfgang (1999). The Holocaust: A German Historian Examines the Genocide. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 152–153. ISBN 0-231-11214-9.
↑ Hetzer mit Parallelen, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4. Januar 2010
↑ "Fakultät I Geisteswissenschaften: Aktuelles" (PDF).
↑ "Abwegige Parallelen". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
↑ Sind Muslime die Juden von heute? ("Are Muslims the Jews of Today?")
↑ Neue Feindschaft – Alte Muster. Micha Brumlik im Gespräch mit Britta Bürger In: Deutschlandradio Kultur, 28. January 2010.
↑ "Antisemitismusforscher Wolfgang Benz geht in den Ruhestand".
↑ "German politicians block Polish WWII memorial in Berlin". rmx.news. February 21, 2020.

[1] Abbreviated as TU Berlin, also known as the Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin

[7] The most respected or prominent person in a particular field. Oxford Languages

[:0-2] 1 2 Probst, Robert (2021-06-08). "Wolfgang Benz: Dem Historiker und Antisemitismusforscher zum 80". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.

[3] "Wolfgang Benz, Prof. Dr". ivkf-berlin.de. Retrieved 2024-04-13.

[4] Friedrich, Sarah (2021-06-02). "Wolfgang Benz wird 80 Jahre alt". Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.

[5] .V, Gegen Vergessen-für Demokratie. "Ehrung für Wolfgang Benz". www.gegen-vergessen.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2024-04-20. Retrieved 2024-04-14.

[6] 
"Antisemitismusforscher Wolfgang Benz geht in den Ruhestand". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2024-04-13.

Walter, Rüdiger. "Veranstaltung am 26. 9. 2016: Prof. Wolfgang Benz : Rassismus und Fremdenfeindschaft – Herausforderungen für die Demokratie – Attac Aalen" (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.

Friedrich, Sarah (2021-06-02). "Wolfgang Benz wird 80 Jahre alt". Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.

"Prof. Wolfgang Benz". www.herder.de. Retrieved 2024-04-13.

[mwAZc] "Antisemitismusforscher Wolfgang Benz geht in den Ruhestand". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2024-04-13.

[mwAaA] Walter, Rüdiger. "Veranstaltung am 26. 9. 2016: Prof. Wolfgang Benz : Rassismus und Fremdenfeindschaft – Herausforderungen für die Demokratie – Attac Aalen" (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.

[mwAbI] Friedrich, Sarah (2021-06-02). "Wolfgang Benz wird 80 Jahre alt". Stiftung Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas (in German). Retrieved 2024-04-12.

[mwAbs] "Prof. Wolfgang Benz". www.herder.de. Retrieved 2024-04-13.

[8] Benz, Wolfgang (1996). Dimension des Völkermords. Die Zahl der jüdischen Opfer des Nationalsozialismus. Dtv. ISBN 3-423-04690-2.

[9] Benz, Wolfgang (1999). The Holocaust: A German Historian Examines the Genocide. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 152–153. ISBN 0-231-11214-9.

[10] Hetzer mit Parallelen, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 4. Januar 2010

[11] "Fakultät I Geisteswissenschaften: Aktuelles" (PDF).

[12] "Abwegige Parallelen". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2025-07-01.

[13] Sind Muslime die Juden von heute? ("Are Muslims the Jews of Today?")

[14] Neue Feindschaft – Alte Muster. Micha Brumlik im Gespräch mit Britta Bürger In: Deutschlandradio Kultur, 28. January 2010.

[15] "Antisemitismusforscher Wolfgang Benz geht in den Ruhestand".

[16] "German politicians block Polish WWII memorial in Berlin". rmx.news. February 21, 2020.

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