Religious (Christian) antisemitism: the medieval roots
For centuries before any 'race' theory existed, Jews were persecuted across Europe on religious grounds β this is the deep background the exam expects you to know.
Antisemitism is far older than the Nazi Party, older than Germany itself. For most of European history it took a RELIGIOUS form, and it was found right across the continent.
The core religious charges
- The 'Christ-killer' charge (deicide) β the false accusation that Jews collectively were responsible for the death of Jesus. This libel was repeated for centuries and used to justify hatred and violence.
- The blood libel β the monstrous and entirely false claim that Jews murdered Christian children to use their blood in religious rituals. It first appeared in medieval England (Norwich, 1144) and spread across Europe, sparking massacres.
- Jews were also accused of 'poisoning wells' and blamed for disasters such as the Black Death (1348-49), leading to mass killings.
Persecution in practice
- Expulsions β Jews were expelled from England (1290), France (repeatedly), and Spain (1492). Whole communities were uprooted.
- Ghettos β Jews were forced to live in separate, often walled, districts (the term 'ghetto' comes from Venice, 1516) and faced restrictions on the work they could do.
- Pogroms β organised, often violent, attacks on Jewish communities, frequently tolerated or encouraged by authorities.
Why this matters for the exam This long history shows that hostility to Jews was a deep, widespread European inheritance, NOT a German invention. When a historian writes about 'centuries of Christian hatred', you should be able to support or test that claim with this knowledge. But note carefully: religious antisemitism in principle offered Jews an 'escape' β conversion to Christianity. The later RACIAL version would not, because it defined Jewishness as unchangeable 'blood'.
- Religious antisemitism = persecution on the grounds of Jewish faith (the 'Christ-killer' charge, blood libel).
- It was Europe-wide and centuries old: expulsions (England 1290, Spain 1492), ghettos (Venice 1516), pogroms.
- Jews were scapegoated for disasters such as the Black Death (1348-49).
- Crucial distinction: religious hatred allowed 'escape' through conversion; later racial hatred did not.