What Brought on Such Anti-Semitism In Germany

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                

 Martin Luther (a German monk)  Martin Luther (1483–1546) was a German professor of theology, priest and seminal leader of the Reformation who really started anti-Semitism big time.

At the end of the Middle Ages, most large Germany cities had banished Jews.  The 16th century began with only the population of Jews found in Frankfort-on-Main and Worms.  Local Barons did maintain a few Jews who transacted business for them. 

Judensau on the Wittenberg Church, built 1300–1470. The imagery of Jews in contact with pigs or representing the devil was common in Germany.

The Protestant Reformation seemed to offer Jews some improvement   The Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) refers to the widespread religious, cultural, and social upheaval of 16th-century Europe that broke the hold of the medieval Church, allowing for the development of personal interpretations of the Christian message and leading to the development of modern nation-states.  However, Martin Luther, around the age of 35,  after trying to subjugate Jews to his Protestant religion, gave up and became most anti-Semitic.  

 Luther's attitude toward Jews changed over the course of his life.  Luther denounced Judaism and called for harsh persecution of its followers, so that they might not be allowed to teach. In a paragraph from his On the Jews and Their Lies he deplores Christendom's failure to expel them. Moreover, he proposed "What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews":

• "First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools ... This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians ..."
• "Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed."
• "Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them."
• "Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb ..."
• "Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside ..."
• "Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them ..."
• "Seventh, I recommend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow ... But if we are afraid that they might harm us or our wives, children, servants, cattle, etc., ... then let us emulate the common sense of other nations such as France, Spain, Bohemia, etc., ... then eject them forever from the country ..."

 

On the Jews and Their Lies was a "blueprint" for the Kristallnacht. Shortly after the Kristallnacht, Martin Sasse, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Thuringia, published a compendium of Luther's writings; Sasse "applauded the burning of the synagogues" and the coincidence of the day, writing in the introduction, "On November 10, 1938, on Luther's birthday, the synagogues are burning in Germany." The German people, he urged, ought to heed these words "of the greatest anti-Semite of his time, the warner of his people against the Jews."                                                                  

Differences over religion and Imperial authority were important factors in causing the 30 Years War, most contemporary commentators suggest its scope and extent were driven by the contest for European dominance between Habsburg-ruled Spain and Austria, and the French House of Bourbon.

Luther's On the Jews and Their Lies in 1612  was used to stir up hatred against the Jews of Frankfurt. Two years later, riots in Frankfurt saw the deaths of 3,000 Jews and the expulsion of the rest.

The Jewish population did better by the 17th century after the 30 Years War (1618-1648) because a large number of German states became competitive;  vying with one another in petty magnificence. The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history.  Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, or disease, while parts of present-day Germany reported population declines of over 50%. 

The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) affected Jews in both positive and negative ways:  Jews were persecuted and refugees were massacred in cities like Mainz and Frankfurt. Legal codes also stripped Jews of their German citizenship, which paved the way for their deportation to concentration camps and ghettos.    The Thirty Years War led to a general disruption of Jewish life. Many ghettos were sacked 

by marauding soldiers, and enormous fines and forced contributions were imposed on the

 various Jewish communities. The Jews did not participate in the fighting, but they suffered

 from both sides.  At the same time a small number of Jews profited considerably from this 

war. In those days there had not yet developed any commissary department to provide for the 

needs of the various armies. The equipment and food for men and animals were supplied by

 private individuals on a contract basis. The rulers, from the emperor on down, frequently 

entrusted the job of finding supplies and sending them to wherever necessary, to any Jew 

who had shown financial skill in other matters. Such Jews now became the official

 purveyors for the royal courts. The Jews were the only group to remain neutral in a war

 with an avowed religious motivation. They could also be trusted to conduct business with

 fellow Jews on the other side of the line. In this way, a small number of Jews became 

wealthy and influential. They could help pay the fines and contributions imposed upon

 their home communities, and very often their influence in high quarters protected the very 

lives of their fellow Jews.                               

Needless to say, I have distant relatives that were such royal court helpers of finance.  My  

father and his brother were not benefiting from such a connection in this generation.

Reference

https://www.worldhistory.org/Protestant_Reformation/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_and_antisemitism

https://images.shulcloud.com/590/uploads/Media/Malka-Morris/THEJEWSOFGERMANYANDAUSTRIA.pdf (THE JEWS OF GERMANY, AUSTRIA, BOHEMIA, AND MORAVIA 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES)