''A Dangerous Lie: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' was a special exhibition about the 1903 Russian

antisemitic canard Antisemitic tropes, also known as antisemitic canards or antisemitic libels, are " sensational reports, misrepresentations or fabrications" about Jews as an ethnicity or Judaism as a religion. Since the 2nd century, malicious allegations of ...

, ''

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated text purporting to detail a Jewish plot for global domination. Largely plagiarized from several earlier sources, it was first published in Imperial Russia in 1903, translated into multip ...

''. The exhibit was held at the United States Holocaust Memorial in 2006. The exhibit was curated by Daniel Greene.

Critical reception

Edward Rothstein Edward Benjamin Rothstein (born October 16, 1952) is an American critic. Rothstein wrote music criticism early in his career, but is best known for his critical analysis of museums and museum exhibitions. Rothstein holds a B.A. from Yale Univers ...

criticized the exhibit for failing to explore the idea that the protocols were actually written by

Mathieu Golovinski Matvei Vasilyevich Golovinski (alternatively, Mathieu) () (6 March 1865 – 1920) was a Russian-French writer, journalist and political activist. Critics studying ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' ...

, a Russian-French political activist, for failing to help viewers understand the nature of the text, and for failing to discuss contemporary use of this forgery by contemporary antisemitic governments. The exhibit explained that in the early 20th century and during

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's rise to power in Germany, it was widely accepted that the ''Protocols'' documented an actual conspiracy by a small cabal of Jews to control the world for nefarious purposes, and that government and media in some countries continue to promote the ''Protocols'' as proof that such a Jewish conspiracy to control the world exists. It details the manner in which

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

was responsible for popularizing the fake ''Protocols'' in his newspaper, The Dearborn Independent.

References

External links

A Dangerous Lie: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dangerous Lie Museums and exhibits about antisemitism Protocols of the Elders of Zion United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 2006 in Washington, D.C.