Medieval Prejudice Against Jewish People

Religious prejudice isn’t a new concept. The idea didn’t begin with the birth of Christianity or the birth of Islam. The idea that prejudice has been a societal norm since the beginning of civilization would not be too far of a stretch. Prejudice is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, “injury or damage resulting from some judgment or action of another in disregard of one's rights; especially, detriment to one's legal rights or claims.” This essay will explore the medieval prejudice against the Jewish people and the modern prejudice against the Jewish people, by use of The Devil and The Jews: The Medieval Conception of the Jew and Its Relation to Modern Anti-Semitism by Joshua Trachtenberg and class discussion topics. The basis of
these claims on the origins of medieval prejudice is found in Joshua Trachtenberg’s book, The Devil and The Jews: The Medieval Conception of the Jew and Its Relation to Modern Anti-Semitism. There are several ideas and theories as to how anti-Semitism began and continued throughout the ages, to the last major anti-Semitist action, the Holocaust, which took place from 1933-1945. One theory is due to the position of the Jewish people as heretics. They all should have converted in the First century, as Jesus was preaching, crucified, and resurrected. However, they did not and being a member of a religion that is a deviation from the one Truth, the Jews became viewed as heretics. The idea became inherited heresy, that although the Jews knew the truth and believed it, the Jews continually turned against the Truth. Another theory dates back to ancient times and is the idea that the Jewish people are magicians or sorcerers. While it is believed that there were extremely few, if any, instances in which Jewish people were witnessed practicing sorcery, it is an integral part of “the Jew,” the concept the Christians held about the Jewish people as a whole.
The fact that this idea dated back as far as it did, made it fact, and allowed for the easy manipulation of ideas to make the Jews an “other.”
In order to continue a prejudice, the group being prejudiced against must be designated as an “other,” a group that is different than the majority and poses a threat to the foundations of society, whether rational or not. The following are reasons that made the Jewish people an “other” and allowed the continuation of anti-Semitism for the centuries after medieval Europe. One reason for the continuation of anti-Semitism is the anxiety that plagued medieval Christians. These people were dealing with the incoming Monguls and Terks and the plague, which was killed at least one-third of the European population during its reign of terror. There was a need for a scapegoat, a group of people to place the blame of the crisis that were taking place, and that scapegoat was the Jews. New ideas came about that the Jews were poisoning the wells, magicians, and trying to kill the Christians. In The Devil and The Jews: The Medieval Conception of the Jew and Its Relation to Modern Anti-Semitism, Joshua Trachtenberg states on page 57, “But
the Jewish addiction to magic was traced back generally to Moses himself (not without biblical warrant, be it admitted), who was included among the most famous magicians of all time.” This idea was widely believed and traced back to ancient times. The idea of the Jewish sorcerer began the myth about Jewish doctors. Most doctors of the time were Jewish and it was widely believed that if a Jewish doctor saved someone of their aliment, they had done so through magic or sorcery. However, if the patient died while on the watch of the Jewish doctor, the doctor had let the patient die because the patient was a Christian and Jews hate Christians and want to witness their demise. Another claim about the Jews were their ritualistic murders revolving around Christian blood. One of the more important Jewish holidays is Passover, which occurred when the Jews were in Egypt serving as slaves. The tenth and last of the plagues that God inflicted on the people of Egypt was the death of the firstborn son, and by placing the blood of an unblemished lamb on the door frame, the Angel of Death would Passover the home, leaving those inside untouched. The idea was that the Jews would use the blood of Christians to hold a ritualistic murder, either for God or Satan. A fourth idea about the Jews, was the idea that the Antichrist would be born from them. The idea was that Satan and Jewish harlot would beget a child and that child would lead the Jews against Christianity and destroy all that Christianity stands for and all who practice it. The commonality of all of these claims is the idea that the Jews are destroying Christendom and Christianity. The medieval anti-Semitism was rooted in fear of a religion and people the Christians did not fully understand and anxiety at all of the societal crisis that were occurring in the time period. This caused a hypocrisy of the Christian people and dehumanization of a people that were made into an “other” group because they didn’t fit within the realm of Christianity, the ruling principle power of the Middle Ages.
However, this type of action and thinking was not left in Medieval Europe.
The thought processes continued and provided undertones throughout the beginning of the modern world. As rational thought was proposed and technology was developed, life improved for those living in Europe. Widespread war was mostly avoided until the summer of 1914 and after World War I, also known as the War to End All Wars, and The Great War, most of Europe was left in shambles, especially Germany. Germany’s economy was experiencing terrible inflation and due to their loss, was also given the blame for the war, which included the reparations to pay for all of the grief and destruction caused by The Great War. During this low point was when one of the most notable leaders in history rose to power, his name, Adolf Hitler. Due to the national humiliation left in the wake of World War I, the Germans felt it necessary to blame someone, anyone. Obviously the Germans didn’t lose the war because they ran out of supplies and their people weren’t starving because they couldn’t produce enough food to feed their population. All of these terrible things happened because the Jews sold them out. The Jewish people caused the fall of Germany and because of that, the Jews needed to pay for the terror they caused. The only way to make the Jewish people pay is to exterminate them because they were a well-educated people that controlled a significant portion of the funds in Europe. This reasoning led to the horror of
the Holocaust, which began in 1939. Through the use of class discussion topics and The Devil and The Jews: The Medieval Conception of the Jew and Its Relation to Modern Anti-Semitism by Joshua Trachtenberg, this essay explored medieval and modern anti-Semitism sentiments and provided an explanation for cause and continuation of the belief. While prejudice is not a new concept to civilization, it can be battled and is still being battled, however, as anti-Semitism sentiments may be dying down, there are other sentiments that aren’t and are becoming ingrained in the thought processes of millions. Prejudice will continue to be a problem that needs to be fought, as those who see themselves as superior continue to act as though they are and convince others to do as well.