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Susanne Kord, Lovable Crooks and Loathsome Jews: Antisemitism in German and Austrian Crime Writing Before the World Wars (MacFarland, 2018)

In the years leading up to the World Wars, Germany and Austria saw an unprecedented increase in the study and depiction of the criminal. Science, journalism and crime fiction were obsessed with delinquents while ignoring the social causes of crime.

As criminologists measured criminals鈥� heads and debated biological predestination, court reporters and crime writers wrote side-splitting or heart-rending stories featuring one of the most popular characters ever created鈥攖he hilarious or piteous crook. The author examines the figure of the crook and notions of 鈥淛ewish鈥� criminality in a range of antisemitic writing, from Nazi propaganda to court reporting to forgotten classics of crime fiction.

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