Harjot Singh

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Rise of Anti-Semitism in Konitz

there is so much activity at any given time, so all we can do is wonder what the future holds. Similarly

there is an aura of mystery with the past as well. If time is not recorded, we are left trying to grasp it

while it disappears from us. It's important to know our history because as the great philosopher George

Santayana said, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Mankind has

made many mistakes that should never be repeated and one such shameful event is the Holocaust. It

took place in World War 2, where 5-6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazi government of

Germany, alongside millions of Slavs, Russian POW, Poles and people with disabilities. This blatant

anti-Semitism (prejudice against Jews) did not occur suddenly. It has always remained in the heart of

Europe since the beginning of the previous millenium, as Helmut Walser Smith has written in his book

The Butchers Tale. Smith describes many causes for anti-semitism, the riots that have taken place

against the Jews but the book mainly focuses on the violence triggered by ritual-murders. These

murders were said to satisfy some religious requirement and the Jews were unfairly accused for

hundreds of years for these murders by the Christian majority population in Europe. This pattern held

true in the town of Konitz where the racial tension between the Jews and the Christians peaked after the

murder of Ernst Winter, a 19-year-old Christian student. There are many reasons for why the Jews were

unjustly made the scapegoats for the murder, which Helmut Walser Smith, through the use of

analogous cases, expertly explains how the anti-Semitism riots in Konitz was affected by racial tension,

the German state and crowd psychology.

Firstly, the Racial tension between the Jews and the Christians was the key catalyst that sparked

the fiasco in Konitz. The origin of these accusations started from a work of Thomas of Monmouth, The

life and Passion of Saint William the Martyr of Norwich written in 1150. It describes the murder of a

young boy in Norwich, England in 1144 as a symbolic crucifixion. This work was most likely a work

of fiction says the historian Gavin Langmuir (Smith, 79). But books were in short supply in those days

and monks were respected learned men, so it was easier for people to believe them about the fictious

ritual-murders as the monks were the higher authority. That lead to many more ritual-murder

accusations for the next century and the only one who benefitted from these was the real murderer. In

addition to the accusation of ritual-murder, the Jews were also accused of using Christian blood in 1235

where the Jews in Fulda, Germany were accused of taking blood from 5 Christian boys and leaving

them to burn. These charges were overturned in the spring of 1236, when Emperor Frederick II brought

together a commission of converted Jews who denied that they ever used Christian blood for any ritual.

They went further and added that they were forbidden by the Torah and Talmud to consume any kind

of blood (Smith, 81). This event shows the growing distrust of the Jews in Germany founded on

nothing but rumours. Although there were a few decades of peace in between the tumultuous times, the

Christian fear of the Jews never died out. So the stories continue while plays about Jesus Crucifixion

happen every year at easter. This is what Smith says happened after the plays, Suffused with religious

meaning, the riots thus enacted a form of ritual vengeance. Let his(Jesus) blood be on us(Jews) and

on our children, the crowd cries out in Matthew 27:25. The plays connected the Christian community

of the present to its foundational moment in the past. (Smith, 147). The blood drinking Jews rumors

spread from Fulda throughout Europe and have become scary stories that parents tell their kids at night.

These play and stories plant seeds of doubt in the Christians minds to not to trust the Jews. In 1900
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Konitz, the seeds have already been planted all they need is one person to grow the doubts in the rest

and this is how race was a key factor in the riots of Konitz.

Secondly, the German state was responsible for the riots not getting out of control. Smith says,

In contrast to their forefathers in earlier centuries, the people of Konitz in the summer of 1900 did not

intend actually to murder the Jews of their hometown, but as the intensity of their social drama

deepened, they ignited a fire that called forth a history of purification, expulsion, and murder (Smith,

150). The west Prussians were generally law-abiding citizens, but recent events made them all

unpredictable. The Jews were legitimately worried they would be torn from their beds at night and the

only thing that saved them was the Prussian army (Smith, 14). The Berlin government wasted no

resources trying to calm the town down by sending their best inspector, Johann Braun. This shows the

dedication the German state applied for the upholding of law and order in Konitz. In fact, in other

towns as well the Prussian military saved the Jews from more attacks (Smith, 97). This information

gives credence to the notion that the German state was effective in their role to control the riots. Smith

also compared the German state in 1900 and the German state in 1939 in this excerpt, In 1900,

imperial Germany safeguarded the rule of law and ensured the protection of its citizens, including the

Jews. Four decades later, the Third Reich attempted to annihilate the Jews... In this Hobbesian

perspective, the state remains the only barrier between us and the hatchets of our neighbors... (Smith,

143). It shows the decency and integrity of the German state to protect all its citizens. Even though

they did not find the real killer, the administration in 1900 did very well compared to the Nazis.
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Thirdly, crowds can influence people to take actions that in normal circumstances be

unthinkable. Smith references the anthropologist Victor Turner who states that crowds or riots have a

temporal structure with 4 stages- breach, crisis, redressive action, and reintegration (Smith, 148).

Initially, the breach stage represents mild rioting with stones and jeers thrown. Then, crisis occurs when

an external factor threatens the riot such as the Prussian army in Konitz. This leads to the redressive

action, where the oppressed defend their homes and hide and finally reintegration is when the rioters go

back to their previous lives. Most riots follow this pattern, These models and psychological theories are

well used by Smith in his book to explain the events of Konitz in 1900. They provide a reassurance that

riots, however chaotic they may be, can be understood and potentially calmed down. Another theory

put forward by a Berlin neurologist named Albert Eulenburg proposed that falsification of memory can

be artificially brought about in susceptible persons or even in a larger unit of individuals (Smith, 134).

The falsification of memory can provide troublesome testimonials in court and was the reason Moritz

Levy was sent to jail. While these interactions lead the citizens of Konitz to unwillingly being lead

astray from reality, socializing at the local tavern willingly lead them astray. Socializing at the tavern

was the Facebook of their time. They got their news there, they talked about politics, and the ongoings

of the town. The people were very much influenced by their peers, and people only surround

themselves with those who think alike. More than just the quality of beer separated the taverns of

Konitz. One could discern differences by looking at the newspapers they displayed. Since February,

Khn would have undoubtably hung the Staatsbrgerzeitung, clamped into a wooden spine, on the wall

for guests to read, pass along and discuss. One could also tell taverns apart by their clientele. (Smith,

51). These places for discussion were as popular then as they are now and they are still influencing us

in ways we cant imagine.

In conclusion, Smith brilliantly used historical precedents to explain how anti-Semitism riots

were influenced by race, slowed by the State and incited by crowds. He also utilized the work of many

philosophers to build a profile of how riots take form. Their form, their substance is all talked about by

Smith in detail. He uses many sources such as past papers, historical accounts, work from

psychologists. This type of analysis is important in a historical study because of its sensitivity and how

far in the past it is. One disadvantage of Smiths use of drawing analogies is that not all events are the

same. There are countless variables that go on in a day, the people, the unpredictability of it, it's almost

impossible to understand the past completely. We can hope to draw a web, put pieces together and

attempt to look at the big picture.

Bibliography

1. Smith, Helmut Walser. A Butchers Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town. New York:

W.W. Norton, 2003