2008 Woodie Awards
The Sorry Truth
Eisner's Life's Work Tells It As It Is
Dylan Kurlansky
Issue date: 8/31/05 Section: Arts & Culture
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Author: Will Eisner
Genre: Non-Fiction/History
Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Inc.
Every year, we read the following maxim in the Passover Hagadah: "It was not a single individual who rose up against us. Rather, in every generation there are those who rise up against us to annihilate us." The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a prime example of this reality. It is the single most virulent piece of anti-Semitic propaganda written in the last few centuries. Will Eisner's The Plot deftly lays out the background behind this farce. He traces the book's development from when its idea was just a kernel in an anti-Semite's eye - long before it was actually written - through to the present day.
The Plot takes the reader on an immense voyage through the previous two centuries and across continents - from Europe, to the Middle East, and even to America. The story's history begins in France in 1878 with the authoring of A Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu. It was written in 1864 by Maurice Jolly, a French author, and targeted Louise Napoleon III, the self styled emperor of France at the time. Jolly's intent was that the readers of his book would liken Napoleon III to the infamous schemer, Machiavelli. Jolly hoped that once the readers realized the dictator's "dark and evil plans," they would rise up and incite rebellion amongst the people. The author of The Protocols used the Dialogue as the basis for his malevolent work.
In addition to informing the reader of the history behind The Protocols, Eisner devotes a sizable portion of his book to demonstrating that some parts of the book are clearly copied from a preexisting source. One of Eisner's most explicit examples that conclusively proves that The Protocols was partially based on the Dialogue is discussed on page 80 of The Plot. A close reading of the following two paragraphs yields many similarities.
Dialogue: In summation: You make the laws 1. in the form of proposition to the legislative body. 2. in the form of decrees. 3. in the form of senatorial decrees 4. in the form of general regulations 5. in terms of resolutions at the council state 6. and finally in the form of a coup d'etat.
Protocols: This, then, is the program of the new constitution. We shall make right, law and justice 1. in the guise of proposals to the legislative corps 2. by decrees of the president under guise of general elections, of orders of the Senate and of resolutions of the State