On Christmas eve of 1959, the newly consecrated synagogue of Cologne was daubed with antisemitic slogans and swastikas. While this act was strongly denounced throughout the political spectrum, it triggered a wave of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany and beyond during the beginning of the following year. The article argues that the sociopolitical discussions on anti-Semitism conducted 60 years ago established patterns of debate that still shape present discussions. Fundamental contradictions of post-fascist society become visible within these patterns of debate. We outline six aspects: the contradiction between the legacy of National Socialism on the one hand and
the acknowledgment of Jewish life within Germany on the other; the authoritarian handling of expressions of anti-Semitism; the inferiorization of the perpetrators; the pedagogization of societal contradictions; the dethematization of anti-Semitism; and protest against anti-Semitism as a medium for the critique of society.