Brief considerations about Azevedo Amaral and the Almanack Israelita

ABSTRACT

Azevedo Amaral is known as one of the ideologues of the Estado Novo, a defender of so-called authoritarian democracy. He also defended racist and eugenic ideas and flirted with anti-Semitism. However, in 1937, he wrote the essay “The Jewish Question” in Almanack Israelita, a publication organized by Samuel Wainer. The book aimed to show the general public the history, achievements, and integration of Jews in the world and in Brazil. This article analyzes Azevedo Amaral’s essay, seeking to shed light on another facet of the author of O Estado autoritário e a realidade nacional (The Authoritarian State and the National Reality), the work for which he became best known.

KEYWORDS:
Azevedo Amaral; Anti-Semitism; Totalitarism; Civilization