|
The Jewish people over time experienced periods of benign toleration followed by rulthless suppression. Anti Semitism became a prominent aspect of European life during the Medieval Era. Throughout the Medieval era Jews were the target of persecution by the Catholic Church. The history of the Jews and the extent of perscution has varied widely from country to country. Many states expelled the Jews entirely. The most famous such event was Spain's expulsion of the Jews (1492). Other countries also expelled the Jews, including England. There were a few islands of toleration, the most prominent being the Netherlands. Historically Islam was more tolerant to Jews and o ther Christian sects than the Catholic Church. In the late Medieval era, Jews in Poland and Russia were the target of horific pogroms. Only in the 19th century did Jews begin to gain full civil rights in Western Europe. The most horific explosion of anti-SEmitism was the NAZI attempt to eradicate European Jewery during World war II. After the War anti-Semitism declined, a trend based on having witnessed what anti-Semitism can lead to. In more recent years, however, anti-Semitism has become a growth industry around the world, including Europe. In the Arab world fired by the Palentinian-Israeli conflict, anti-Semitism has become a uesful scapegoat for Arab leaders who have poorly managed their countries. [Timmerman]
The Roman supression of the Jewish revolt was brutal. Thousands of Jews were killed. Thousands more were brought to Rome and other cities and sold as slaves. Other Jews migrated on their own. This began the Jewish diaspora throughout Europe and North Africa, much of which was part of the Roman Empire. The Jews driven from or fleeing Palestine attempted to set up communities in the new lands where they settled. They attempted to maintain their religion and cultural heritage while living as a minority. Cultures have varied as to hw minorities were treated and many varied over time. Thus Jews in many countries experienced long periods of varying degrees of toleration punctuated by terrible violence. Many European countries expelled them. These expulsions did not occur at the same time. Thus there were always places in Europe where Jews could live even during the times of terrible violence, such as the Crusades and plague epedemics. There are many factors involved in the enduring phenomenon of anti-semitism, but perhaps most important is their existence over time as a minority and their decesin not to assimilate in the countries where they lived.
Jewish communities existed outside of Palestine before the Roman supression of the Jewish Revolt and exile of the Jews. Rgere were Jewish communities in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and in the Levant. Not a lot, however, is known about their size abd origin. The Romans regarded the Jews as religious zealots. Caligula came cloes to launching a major campaign against them. The Jews were, however, a recognized religion, affirded some status within the Empire. The Romn exile of the Jews spread them in large numbers throughout the Empire. Some were brought to Rome and other Roman cities as slaves. Others migrated on their own. It was, however, the Jewsish offshhot, Chritisanity, which was targeted by the Empire. Jewish communities also attempted to supress the Christians in their midst, especially when preaching in or near religious gatherngs. Paul writes of persecuring Christians until is revelation on the Road to Damascus. He then describes how he was himself beaten by Jews when talking in any synagogue. [Acts of the Apostles] The early center for Chrstianity was Greece and Asia Minor. This in part probably reflected the existence of Jewish communities there. Jewih animosity toward Christians gradully abated as Christianity thanks to Paul expanded among the Gentiles. The Jewish community no longer became the center of Christian prostelizing. The relationship between Jews and Christians began to change gain with Consantine's conversion. Constantin by edict made Christians the religion of the Empire (312 AD). Then the Church gradually changed from an oppressed religion, to the dominant religion seeking to use the power of the Roman state to supress rival religions.
Christianity was one of many competing faiths within the Roman Empire. The Empire was extrenely tolerant concerning religion. The Romans did not impose their Gods upon conquered peoples. And both Romans and subject people were free to chose one of the many relgious sects that competed for the faithful. Christianity was one of the few such scects that were viciously persecuted, in part because their insistence on one god denied both the Roman Gids and the Emperor's divinity. In this atmpsphere the Christianity which developed out of Judism became at first strained and then hstile. This was not inevitable. Christianity was a first nutured with Judaism. Christ himself nd the appotles were all ews. And the Church fathers accepted the Jewish holy texts as part of the Bible. Major concepts within Judasim were acceopted by the Church fathers, including bodily resurectiins, divine judgement, and messianic redemption. [Fredriksen] As Christians split from Judaism they clashed over interpretation of religious texts and competiton for converts. This ultimately to Christian condemntion of Judaism. The Church did not move just against the Jews. Breaking from the Roman traditon of tolerance, the Church moved against ll other religions and sects. With Constantine the status of Christianity changed. Eventually the Church was able to command the coercise power of the Roman state. All other faiths except Judaism were completely supressed. The Jews hd their defenders. The most notable was St Augustine Augustine f Hippo. He argued that the Jews shold not only be tolerated but should be unimpeded in the practice of their faith. ugustine wrote, "By the evidence of their own scriptures, they bear witnessfor us that we have not fabcated the prophecies about Christ." [St. Augustine]
Throughout the Medieval era Jews were the target of persecution by the Catholic Church. The history of the Jews and the extent of perscution has varied widely from country to country. Some countries tolerated Jews over long period. One such country was Spain, in part because of the Muslim influence. In some countries Jews were welcomed, and they enjoyed long periods of peace with their neighbors. The Cristan Church after Constantine's converion becan to percecute other religions in an effot to eradicate paganism. Here with the authority of the state they largely succeeded. Church leaders debated about the Jews. Some wanted to supress them with forced conversions. Augustine argued that they should not be supressed, but rather living in a state of poverty and degradation would be an example of thise who refused the Christian faith. The Germanic ibvasions of the 5th and 6th cdnturies destroyed the Roman state and the implements of supression. This resulted in a period of relative tolerance for Jews in the West. Grdually as the the European kingdoms formed the Church again began to acquire the means of percecution. Charlemagne's toleration of the Jews and the Islamic influence in Spain resulted in an eraof relative tolerane. Church authorities, however, preached against the Jews and over time became less and less tolerant. With the Crusades an era of terrible persecution began with variatins from country to county. Jewsof course did not share the Christian belief that Jesus was the Son of God. The Church which became increasingly powerful, even challenging the authority of the Holy Roman Emperor grew less ad less tolerant. The Church preached that the Jews (rather than the Romans) were responsible for Jesus' death. The Church took the position that Jews were attempting to undermine Christianity. The paiting here of Jews descecrating the Holy Eucraist is an example (figure 1). The Church also depicted Judiasm as evil. Here rumors such as the Blood Libel became widespread.
Economic factors were also important in the development of Europen anti-semitism. Here they were also tied to the Church because the Church so dominated Europen life. European rulers, often under Church influence, plced restrictions on Jews, excluding them from certain professions and preventing them from owning land. This meant tht Jews developed as an urban population and became concentrated in ceratain jobs. Often the guilds developing in Europen cities, prevailed on authorities to restrct Jewish activity to limit competition Because Jews unlike most Europens were literate, they were prominant in professions like medecine. And because the early Church did not permit usury (charging interest on loans), Jews became prominant in finance--a key factor as the Europen economies with the Renaisance began to grow. And this helped to increase their unpopularity and create the sterotype as grasping and money loving. Some princes would involve Jews in tax collecting.
Historically Islam was more tolerant to Jews and o ther Christian sects than the Catholic Church.
The anti-Semitism propagated by the Church became more and more intense, especially after the passing of Charlemagne and his empire. A factor here was the rising influence of the papacy and an oincreasing desire to purify Chrisendom. This strongly affected public thought which was also influenced by Jewish involvement with usury. Hatred of Jews took a terrible violent turn with the onset of the Crusades. The Partiarch in Byzantium forwarded repots to Rome of Muslims attacking Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem and defiling Christian holy places, especially the Church of the Holy Sepulcher--perhaps the most revered Christian sanctuary. Pope Urban II already addressing problems of intra-Christian Feudl conflicts decided that a Christian crusade aginst the infidel Muslims could both reduce the levcel of violence in Europe, but reclaim Jerusalem from the infidels. The result was the First Crusade (1095). This was the first of a series of Christian Crusades against the Muslims to regain the Holy Land. Crusading nobles fired by Christian preaching and the lure of booty begn a military campaign under the sign of the cross to liberte the Holy Land. This was a time of great religious passion in Europe. The Church reigned supreme throughout much of Europe. Other factors fueld the religious upsurge, including the turbulent times, Feudal coblicts, crop failure, famine, and plague. Many in these calamities saw the hand of God. Before the advent of modern science, superstion and religion dominated the popula mind. Many saw the Crusades as wy of appsing an apparently rathful God. Pope Urban promised salvation to the Crusaders who would fight the offending Muslims. Many Christian clerics saw little difference between the Jews of Europe and the Myslims. One monk taught, "First avenge the crucified, then go off to fight the Turks.” Crusding bodies moving from various parts of Europe along with local mobs targetted Jewish communities as they marched to the Holy Land. Reports suggest that almost all of Frrance's Jews were murdered, accepted those who convrted. Christian clerics did not interfere. It seemed only logical that Crusaders should not leave infidels at home as they went off to distant klands to fight the infidel. The abbot of Cluny asked this very question, why Christians should travel to "the ends of the world to fight the Sarcens, when we permit among us other infidels a thousand times more guilty toward Christ than the Mohammedans?” Of course not only religious passions were at play, but the Crusaders who killed Jews and despoiled Jewish communities profited handsomely from the resulting booty. [Weiss, p. 15.] There were futher attacks on Jews resulting from the subsequent Crusades. A major factor here was the route of the crusading armies.
As an unpopular minority in an age when superstitin was wide spred, Jews were commonly blaned for calamities. This was especially the case when the Black Deah struck Western Europe. The Plague descimated Europe, killing perhaps a third of the population. It killed both Jews and Gentiles, but Christians blamed the Jews and there were many instances of Jews being attavked during this period.
The Holy Office of the Inquisition was founded in the Medieval era by the Church to enforce orthodoxy. This became known as the Roman Inquisition. The primary target were Christian heritics and not Jews. As Jews were not Christians, they could not be accused of heresy. As Isabella and Ferdinand were completing the Reconquista they established a separate body, the Spanish Inquisition which became infamous for torturing and buring suspected heritics. Jews came under the perview of the Inquisition after Isabella and Fedinanded issued an expullusion order (1492). Jews that agreed to convert could stay in Spain. But little effort was made to minister to those who converted who became known as confesos or Marannos. Many continued to pracive Judiasm in secret. They thus became guilty of heresy and were persued zealously by the Spanish Inquisition. The Roman Inquisition was revived by te Reformtion (1517). The Congregation of the Holy Office controlled the Roman Inquisition (1542). Their primary target was suspected Protestants in the Papl States, but Marranos were also targeted.
Jews wre expelled from many European countries. In these countries, anti-Semitism continued even without Jews. The most famous such event was Spain's expulsion of the Jews (1492), in pat because for ceturies the Jews had played such an important role in Spain and had been tolerated by both Islmic and Christian rulers. Other countries also expelled the Jews, including England.
There were a few islands of toleration, the most prominent being the Netherlands.
Martin Luther began the Reformatin when he nailed his 95 Thesis on the church doorat Wittenberg (1517) His attempt to reform the Church land return it to to a more pure Christianity led to a massive schism in Christianity and acentury of religious conflict. The Jews were not a major concern. He was particularly dusturbed by the selling of indulgences. The Jews did not, however, escape his attention. Luther does not appear to have been epecially anti-semitic in his early writings, a least in te context of the day. Luthur at first thought that the Jews would see the light and convert to Lutheranism, but he gradually realized that Jews were no more interested in his preeching than Catholicusm. He began writing hateful messages about Jews (1543). This change of mind is not fully understood. The early Luthur was an idealist. He was horrified with the social passions he un;eashed, especially the Peasant Rebellion. He came to accept the importance of secular authorities having the power to supress such uprisings. Perhaps he also decided it could be used to supress wht he saw as wring thinking such as Judiasm. Another factor may well have been his increasing obsessin with the devil as he grew older. He seems to have nightmares about the Devil trying to attck him. And in Luthur's mnd Judiasm was little short of devil worship. Other important Protestant leaders, such as John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, were more tolerant than Luther. They tended to focus more on their doctrinal disputes when the papacy. The same spirit of toleration did not occur in Catholic Europe. The Catholic Church struck back at the Reformation with the Counter Reformation. As so often in history, the Jews were caught between the two Christian movements. A series of Renaisance popes had been very tolerant toward the Jews. This changed with the Counter Reformation. A series of popes strucj out against not only Protestants, but any other group that was not Catholic, including the Jews. Jews and Morranos in the Papal states were targetted. There were buring of apostates and Jews not expelled were confined to ghettos. Over time Jews benefitted from the Reformation, especially in Protestant Europe. So many Protestant sects developed that no one denomination dominated. And out of the multi-plicity of denominations a spirit of toleration developed which gradually was extended to Jews, although anti-semitism did not disappear.
Only in the 19th century did Jews begin to gain full civil rights in Western Europe. The French Revolution left in its wake both liberal ideas and nationalistic passions. The two threads had very different impacts on Jews. As liberal ideas spread, Europen countries began to abolish anti-semetic laws. Spain finally abolished the Inquisiton.
Countries by the late-19th century had begun to change secular lawsand fully enfranchise Jews. This did not end anti-Semetic thought. Supression continued in the Papal states and anti-Semetic thought continued strong within the Church.
Anti-Semitism remained pronounced in many countries, especially among highly nnalistic and often Catholic sections of society. Support for Socialist parties among Jews also alientated mationslist and traditionalist elements.
And a new form of anti-semitism apeared--racial prejudice. The race factor had nave been totally absent, but until the 19th century anti-semitism as primarily a religious matter. Countries that expelled Jews had often allowed them the option of converting. In the 19th century race prejudice became increasingly pronounced. Here a factor was the acquisition of African and Asian colonies. Europeans increasingly began to see the white race as superior. And racist theorists in some countries excluded the Jews from the national racial body. This became particulartly prevalent in Germany. These anti-Semites defined Jews as not only a religious group, but a racial group. The mainstram trend, however, was for toleratioion and enfranchismen, although a kind of genteel anti-Semitism remained pronounced.
Anti-Semitism took two divergebt paths. Jews that did mot assimilate were criticised for being different. Jews that did assisilate were often criticised for doing too well in business and academia.
The Russian Tsars had barred Jews from their domains. There are instances when Russian armies conquering lands held by Lithuania and Poland would kill the Jews they found. The Russian exclusion of Jew dramatically changed with the Polish partitions (18th century) . Polish kings had encouraged Jews to settle in the kingdom. Thus the acquisition of a large part of Poland brought many Jews within the Tsar's domaines. Large numbers of the Jews of Eastern Europe were unassimilated. The Tsars in the 19th century wre confronted with two major problems. One was the demand for a more liberal regime and the kind of representative government as enjoyed in he West. The other was the desire for increased autonomy on the pat of the various nationalities making up the Empire. the assasination of Tzar Alexander II brouht repression. As Western Europe moved toward assimilation and emancipation, Eussia moved in a very different direction. Tzar Alexander III initiated efforts to Russianize minority populations. And in an effort to deflect the increasing unpopularity of Tzarist absolutism, he promoted a vicious anti-Semitic campaign. Tzarist police fabricated the widely destributed the Proticols of the Elders of Zion to enflame passions against the Jews. Terrible pogroms targetted Russian Jews. The result was that Jews fled Russia in large numbers, many entering the swell of immigrants seeking refuge in Germany and the United States.
The most horific explosion of anti-Semitism was the NAZI attemp to eradicate European Jewery during World War II. The most cataclysmic action against the Jews was of course the Holocaust during World War II. The Holocaust was a crime without presidence in modern history. The NAZIs targeted the Jews for death camps. Many were killed by SS Einsatzgruppen in large-scale actions at first in Poland and than on a larger scale in the Soviet Union. Others Jews were concentrated in Ghettos for slave labor and eventual dispatch to the death camps. Tragically it was not just the Germans involved, but in many countries the local population led by Fascist groups were all to willing to
participate in the robbery and killing. Jewish children were among the first to be killed by the NAZIs. They had no economic value which could be exploited. They also were the seed for the future of the Jewish people. The NAZIs also saw them as a force for future retribution if they were not killed. The NAZIs are estimated to have murdered over a million Jewish children. One can not forget the images of the starving Jewish children on the Warsaw Ghetto whose parents had been killed. A great body of litterature exists on the Holocaust including the experiences of the children.
After the War anti-Semitism abated, a trend based on having witnessed what anti-Semitism can lead to. In more recent years, however, anti-Semitism has become a growth industry around the world, including Europe. In the Arab world fired by the Palentinian-Israeli conflict, anti-Semitism has become a uesful scapegoat for Arab leaders who have poorly managed their countries. [Timmerman]
Augustine. City of God.
Fredriksen, Pauka. Augusrine and the Jews: A Christian Defense if Jews and Judauism
Paul. "Acts of the Apostles".
Timmerman, Kenneth R. Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America (Crown Forum, 2003), 370p.
Weiss, John. Ideology of Death.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Main Jewish pages]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
