Although these “protocols” weren’t necessarily written to be enjoyed or read for pleasure, and although I feel somewhat conflicted about this, I found reading The Protocols of the Elders of Zion rather entertaining. Without any background knowledge of the protocols, the text would mostly just seem like gibberish, so some “reading around the text” was required. The protocols are a fabricated text that lays out a plan for global domination by Jews, supposedly in the form of meeting minutes from multiple meetings of the so-called Elders of Zion. In reality, the protocols were a fabricated text written to stir up anti-semitism in Russia during the late 19th century. I actually found the more modern history of the text to be pretty interesting – the protocols were assigned to school children during Hitler’s rule over Nazi Germany, but before that, were disseminated by Henry Ford in an effort to stir up American anti-semitism during the Gilded Age. I vaguely knew that Ford was an anti-semite, but I didn’t know specifically what he did to deserve this label – I’m glad that now I have more information on the subject considering I think it’s extremely important to examine all the qualities of America’s celebrated historical figures (another example of this is studying Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemmings).
Another reason I found the protocols particularly interesting is that I am third-generation Eastern European Jewish, specifically Russian Jewish. The fact that the protocols originated in late 19th century Russia was especially alarming and caused me to read more into pogroms and the role they played in late 19th century Russia. Since I’ve started doing genealogical research into this side of my family, I’ve always theorized that my family left in the early 1920s because of Lenin’s rise to power and the increasing influence of the Bolsheviks, but now I am starting to believe they left because of the threat of pogroms. My own heritage also allowed me to examine the protocols from the perspective of someone of Russian Jewish heritage – as a result, I saw more clearly the flaws in the creation of the text and the reason why I (and most people) don’t believe it was actually written by Jews – this is the fact that specifics of the religion of Judaism are avoided throughout the text, which focuses mostly on the economic influence of Jews.