Blood Libel: Blood Libel is an accusation that Jews killed Christian children, the usual “motive” being that Christian blood is needed for jews to make matzos, a food cooked at Passover. Blood Libel typically involved a Christian or government official finding a dead Christian child, and accusing a jew or group of jews of murdering the child for jewish rituals or matzo cooking. Historically, blood libel accusations have occurred after unexplained deaths of children, and the jews were used as a scapegoat for the killings. The first known instance of blood libel occurred in Norwich, England in the twelfth century, when a young boy was found dead and a Christian monk accused jews of killing the boy to reenact the crucifixion. At first, people …show more content…
The Dreyfus Case began after French Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a jew, was accused and convicted of treason. Dreyfus was sentenced to life and was imprisoned in French Guinea on Devil’s island. Five years later, in 1896, French Army Major Ferdinand Esterhazy was identified as the real traitor, and was brought to trial for Dreyfus’ crimes. Ferdinand was acquitted after a two day trial, and Dreyfus was charged with more crimes involving the falsification of documents. Information involving Dreyfus’ framing began to spread, but a cover up began. In 1899, Dreyfus had another trial in France that split the people into those in favor of him, and those against him. That trial resulted in another conviction, but Dreyfus was given a pardon and freed. Later, Dreyfus was reinstated as a general after it was revealed that all accusations against him were false. The case was so drawn out because of the antisemites in France wanting Dreyfus convicted, and they were willing to cover up details of the case in order to do so. These sort of events would repeat themselves throughout the next several years, as well as into World War Two, as jews were framed for crimes they didn’t commit, and were convicted, imprisoned, and sometimes even
One of the turning points of the war was in 1777, when the British surrendered at Saratoga with over 5,500 troops. After General Horatio Gates and General John Burgoyne came in conflict, but the latter understood that supplies were lackluster, they had to surrender. This battle would result in France entering the loop of the war and siding with the Americans, attacks from out of Canada would be secured and New England isolation would be all prevented because of this battle.
At a time of loss, the German people needed a reason to rebuild their spirits. The Jews became a national target even though Hitler’s theory could not be proven. Even as a Jew, he accused the Jews people for Germany’s defeat in order to rally the people against a group of people Hitler despised. The story-telling of the Jews’ wickedness distracts the Germans from realizing the terror Holocaust. Millions of Jewish people died because Hitler said they caused the downfall of Germany. Innocent lives were taken. The death of millions mark the rise of Hitler. He sets the stage for the largest massacre in
The play “Doubt” by John Patrick Shanley began with a sermon by Father Brendan Flynn, a well liked and enlightened neighborhood priest, who says, "Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty". (Shanley 6) Sister Aloysius Beauvier is a strict traditional nun, who was declared to protect and secure St. Nicholas Church School. Father Flynn seems to be the protagonist in the play and Sister Aloysius is the antagonist. The whole play, sister Aloysius Beauvier suspected Father Flynn of molesting a 12-year-old boy named Donald Muller, who is the first African-American student in the St. Nicholas Church School. I think that Sister Aloysius’s overreacting, because Father Flynn is innocent. In the middle of these two characters, Sister James is a young and innocent teacher who wants to be neutral between the conflict of Sister Aloysius and Father Flynn.
In March 11, 1900 in a German town called Konitz the severed body parts of a human were discovered. Almost immediately, the blame fell on the Jewish. As Smith points out, anti-Semitism had been on a steady decline, and the anti-Semitics were looking for ways to revitalize the movement. The murder was an opportunity for anti-Semitics revive their movement. After the identity of the body was discovered to be Ernst Winter, the Staatsburgerzeitung, an anti-Semitic newspaper, printed several articles focusing on Konitz. Using unverified accounts from people in the town, it claimed that the murder was a ritual murder that had been carried out by the Jewish. The use of fear mongering was affective because the paper was a Berlin based paper so distribution was wide, and news of the murder traveled far. A crucial facet of the rise of anti-Semitism was due to anti-Semitic newspapers taking stories such as the Ernst Winter murder and using them to promote their cause. One of Smith’s sources, the Preuβische Jahrbṻcher, had a printed article written by Heinrich von Treitschke who was an historian; in which one of his quotes was “The Jews are our misfortune.” His article was what later spurred the German population’s turn from liberalism a...
The famous axe murders of Fall River in 1892 shocked everyone for years and many believe that it was Lizzie Borden or was it? Lizzie Borden is accused of killing her parents with an axe. Many believe that she committed this crime but was never caught. I believe that Lizzie Borden is guilty of killing her parents. Lizzie had a rocky relationship with her stepmother before and a week before the murders Lizzie got into an argument with her father and stepmother. When police searched the house there was no sign of anyone who had tried to break into the Borden house on the day of the murders and Lizzie was the only one in the house
As fragile relations between Konitz-residing Christians and Jews increasingly began to deteriorate, rumors and speculation that Winter had fallen victim to ritual murder by local Jews, set the ball in motion for a virulent anti-Semitic nature characteristic of Imperial Germany. This anti-Jew sentiment would further be sensationalized by rumors, political movements, and the biased, fabricated newspaper reports of the
Throughout The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town, the murder of Ernst Winter in Konitz is very much a reflection of the overall attitudes of many Europeans during the early 20th century. It was clear that once the anti-Semitic attitudes started to become prominent in society, they spiraled out of control and started to take over entire communities. The Jewish people were blamed for crimes they did not commit, were excluded from society, and suffered from acts of violence and hate speech. Wild stories began to be spread all over town and people started to believe everything they heard, even if there was no substance behind it. This caused lots of problems in Germany, as well as Europe in general, since many people got
Salem 1692, two girls ,Betty Parris, age nine, and her eleven year old cousin Abigail Williams, had a dream. They wanted to be the best actors in the village. They worked very hard to do that and they got twenty people killed. Betty and Abigail were Puritans and they are not supposed to lie or they would end up with the devil in the afterlife, but it seemed like they didn’t care. That’s why we ask, why were people blaming the innocent for being witches in Salem, 1692? The Salem Witch Trials were caused by two poor, young girls who acted possessed. There were also other people who took the risk of lying and accused other people. Most of the accusers were under the age of twenty and woman. The little girls caused the Salem Witch Trials hysteria by pretending to be possessed. Most of the accusers were poor and lived in the western part of the town.
Frida Scheps was a Russian-Jewish immigrant living in France. Her father was an Engineer who fled to Palestine to pave the way for Frida and her mother. Frida mentions in her testimony that a young sixteen year old boy, Adolphe tried to help them get their documentation; proven difficult because of increase of demand. Frida and her mother could not escape France prior to German’s occupation. Stuck in France, Ms. Scheps wanted to protect her child’s life by placing her in a Catholic covenant, Chateau de Beaujeu. Persecution of the Jews of France began in 1940, but by 1942, the Germans began rounding up Jews and shipping them to various death camps in Poland. An estimated 300,000 Jews lived in France prior to the invasion, between 19...
If you have been in a History class you have probably heard of an event that happened after World War Two called the Nuremberg Trials. These trials were conducted by the United States. Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson was appointed to lead the trials (Berenbaum). During these trials they charged with Crimes against the Peace, War crimes and Crimes against Humanity (Berenbaum). Many major Nazi leaders committed suicide before officials could hang them or before even being caught. The famous Doctor Goebbels killed his children then him and his wife committed suicide (Berenbaum). Only twelve out of the twenty-two who stood trial were hanged, twelve, while the rest just got prison time. Besides major Nazi officials, Physicians were put on trial, the people who were part of the mobile killing squads, Concentration camp officials, Judges and Executives who sold concentration camps Zyklon B. You can expect that they had many excuses, but m...
Approximately 6 million Jews and 5 million other people starting from the year 1933 were killed. They were put to death. There was one main person responsible for all of this.
The massacre of the Jews during the hail of Hitler was much like the Salem witch trials; both used blame, during the witch trials if someone in the town didn’t like someone they could say they used witchcraft, and they’d be tortured. Just like during the Holocaust, the Jews didn’t do anything wrong but they still got blamed for events they didn’t do, and they were punished, tortured, and killed every day. The witches and the Jews couldn’t explain their selves; they were mistreated, and had no rights like the regular people. Also, the groups were led by one power to exterminate the people being accused, the council led the witch hunt in Massachusetts, and Hitler led the genocide of the Jews. Ultimately, Hitler was successful with the genocide of the harmless Jewish people in Germany, the council in Salem wasn’t as successful, the council tortured and killed many innocent people.
The epoch of Medieval European history concerning the vast and complicated witch hunts spanning from 1450 to 1750 is demonstrative of the socioeconomic, religious, and cultural changes that were occurring within a population that was unprepared for the reconstruction of society. Though numerous conclusions concerning the witch trials, why they occurred, and who was prosecuted have been founded within agreement there remains interpretations that expand on the central beliefs. Through examining multiple arguments a greater understanding of this period can be observed as there remains a staggering amount of catalysts and consequences that emerged. In the pursuit of a greater understanding three different interpretations will be presented. These interpretations which involve Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe,” Eric Boss’s “Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe,” and Nachman Ben-Yehuda’s “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th centuries: A Sociologist’s Perspective,” share various opinions while developing their own theories. The comparison of these observations will focus upon why the witch trials occurred when they did, why did they stop when they did, why did the witch trials occur when they did, and who was persecuted and who was responsible for the identification and punishing of witches.
This investigation is centered on the question “To what extent did racism and anti-Semitism affect the court case of The People V Leo Frank?” The essay focuses on the effect of racism and anti-Semitism against Leo Frank, a Jew from Brooklyn, during and after the trial where he was found guilty. It discusses these forms of racism and anti-Semitism in context of the time period of the court case, from 1913 to 1915. The paper discusses the portrayal of the court case in the papers as well as the public view and their actions, such as the lynching of Leo Frank without any repercussions or charges. The sources used in this investigation were newspapers from this time, court records, as well as other information found in the 1913 Leo Frank Case and Trial Research library as well as in academic Journals. The investigation also references An Unspeakable Crime by Elaine Marie Alphin.
mysteries which occurred in 1953 was the electrocution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg under the Espionage Act. They were convicted for giving the secret information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. The anti-communist sentiment that characterized the Cold War and McCarthyism led to their trial and execution. Even though there is some evidence of the Rosenbergs' guilt, numerous facts which were discovered after the death of Ethel and Julius argue more convincingly that they were innocent victims of Cold War hysteria.