Download or read book Lovable Crooks and Loathsome Jews written by T.S. Kord and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-10-17 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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' 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--the hilarious or piteous crook. The author examines the figure of the crook and notions of "Jewish" criminality in a range of antisemitic writing, from Nazi propaganda to court reporting to forgotten classics of crime fiction.