| "Moreover, we do not know to this day which devil has brought them (Jews) here...like a plague, pestilence, pure misfortune in our country." Martin Luther, About the Jews and Their Lies, 1543
Jewish communities existed continuously in Europe for over 2,000 years. Many of these communities were older than the countries in which they existed. Nevertheless, as the countries of Europe developed, Jews were rarely given complete citizenship status. At best they were tolerated as guests. Their social and religious distinctiveness made them persistent targets for persecution; and such persecution, in turn, intensified the cohesiveness of Jewish communities.
Family injured during pogrom in Minsk Mazowiecki, June 1936. CL:YIVO. NY |
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Conjuring the devil from blood secured through "ritual murder." (Paris, 1575) CL:Historien Om Et Image. (Copenhagen. 1978) |
The emergence of Christianity as the ominant religion in Europe intensified the persecution of Jews. Since both the religious and political life of Europe became organized around the Christian faith, Jews were seen as outcasts, the deniers and "killers" of Christ. For millions of European Christians, for over 1600 years, the hatred and persecution of Jews was religiously sanctioned. antisemitism intensified during the l9th and 20th century industrialization of Europe as Jews participated more directly in European economic and social life.
By 1933, the patterns of economic, social, and personal persecution of uropean Jews were well established. Nazi racial antisemitism and propaganda amplified and manipulated these patterns, ultimately adding one deadly tenet--that all Jews must be eliminated.
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