Theodor Fritsch (1852 - 1933) was a German antisemite whose views did much to influence popular German opinion against Jews in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A believer in the absolute superiority of the Aryan race, Fritsch was upset by the changes brought on by rapid industrialization and urbanization, and called for a return to the traditional peasant values and customs of the distant past, which he believed exemplified the essence of the Volk. One of Fritsch's major goals was to unite all anti-semitic political parties under a single banner; he wished for anti-semitism to permeate the agenda of every German social and political organization. This effort proved largely to be a failure, as by 1890 there were over 190 various anti-semitic parties in Germany. In 1896, Fritsch published his most famous work, The Handbook of the Jewish Question also known as the Anti-Semitic Catechism which leveled a number of conspiratorial charges at European Jews and called upon Germans to refrain from intermingling with them. Vastly popular, the book was read by millions and was in its 49th edition by 1944 (330.000 copies). The ideas espoused by the work greatly influenced Hitler and the Nazis during their rise to power after World War I. Fritsch also founded an anti-semitic journal - the Hammer (in 1902). His better known book, The Riddle of the Jew's Success was published in English in 1927 under the pseudonym F. Roderich-Stoltheim, and dealt with the negative impact of Jewish values and the centralization of the German economy is Jewish hands had on the German people. This book was recently republished by Noontide Press, and was the subject of a media controversy after it was banned by Amazon.com and other online book sellers.
