As the home of intellectuals often at some remove from the consequences of their theories, and in betrayal of their purpose, universities have often become the welcoming soil for extremism, such as in National Socialist Germany, Fascist Italy, Soviet Russia, and elsewhere. Consider the following unfortunate though paradigmatic account of an institution that has lost its way:
The national government had introduced a system of preferences similar in effect to the lapsed quotas this university had once implemented to “diminish the Jews.” Famously complex racial laws (in which people were ridiculously broken down into fractions) were instituted to favor some, and therefore, predictably given a limited number of places, disfavored others. After their adoption, in the ten years prior to the now-familiar events described below, the number of Jewish students was decreased by 60%.
Mere reduction of numbers was not all. Reacting to the course of events at home and abroad, many among the administration, faculty, and students simply targeted and harassed Jews. Swastikas, a toppled menorah, graffitied slogans, and the shattered windows of a Jewish student center were only part of the campaign.
For example, in the esteemed faculty of law, an officially sponsored speaker dwelt upon his fantasy of murdering Jews, claiming that some Jews eat the organs of their