Known as the father of modern anti-Semitism, Wilhelm Marr led the fight to overturn Jewish emancipation in Germany. He entered politics as a democratic revolutionary who favored the emancipation of all oppressed groups, including Jews. He got involved with left-wing exiles in Switzerland, but was expelled from the country in 1843.
He returned to Germany, joining the revolution of 1848 in Hamburg. He became embittered by the failure of the revolution to democratize Germany, and about his own rapidly declining political fortunes. He left for a decade to live in North and Central America.
When he returned to Hamburg, his views had radically changed and he turned his venom against the Jews. His essay “Der Weg zum Siege des Germanenthums uber das Judenthum. (“The Way to Victory of Germanicism over Judaism”) was published in 1862. Marr’s conception of anti-Semitism focused on the supposed racial, as opposed to religious, characteristics of the Jews. His organization, the League of Antisemites, introduced the word “anti-Semite” into the political lexicon and established the first popular political movement based entirely on anti-Jewish beliefs.