Talk:Hep-Hep riots

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No Jews killed during the hep during the Hep-Hep-riots 1819[edit]

The statement "Many Jews were killed" in this article is not correct. I am currently very busy revising the German-language Wikipedia article [1] and have already published my own article on the Hep-Hep riots: “The Hep-Hep riots belong in history lessons” [2]. The excesses of violence in 1819 in about 90 places inside and outside the German Confederation were extreme, but no Jews were killed. In Würzburg there were two dead on August 3rd and 4th, 1819: A soldier shot an attacker, the next day a craftsman shot a soldier. This can be read in the German-language Wikipedia article. I also made an extensive list of the locations of the Hep-Hep riots there. [3]. Eleonore Sterling explained already in 1969: "In the midst of this noise and furious spectacle after the murder of the Jew in effigy, after the destruction of his property and desecration of his holy places, the rampaging mob but suddenly stop: the living people are not touched by anyone. – At that time the Jews still escaped with their lives”. [Sterling, Eleonore: Judenhass. Die Anfänge des politischen Antisemitismus in Deutschland (1815–1850). überarbeitete und erweiterte Ausgabe, Frankfurt am Main 1969, p. 163]

Therefore, in my opinion, it would make sense to change the sentence "Many Jews were killed": "Many Jews beaten and injured". CPallaske (talk) 10:20, 21 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

References:

The two standard works on hep-hep riots are:

  • Werner Bergmann: Tumulte ― Excesse ― Pogrome: Kollektive Gewalt gegen Juden in Europa 1789–1900 Wallstein 2020, ISBN 978-3-8353-3645-2
  • Stefan Rohrbacher: Gewalt im Biedermeier. Antijüdische Ausschreitungen in Vormärz und Revolution (1815–1848/49), Campus Verlag, Frankfurt/Main 1993

The current introductory text of the German Wikipedia text in English translation: The Hep-Hep riots of 1819 were a wave of violent excesses against the Jewish inhabitants of many cities and towns in the German Confederation and beyond its borders, especially in Denmark. The violent excesses began in Würzburg, where pogrom-like conditions prevailed for several days in early August 1819. The anti-Jewish riots attracted great public attention and were imitated by many others in the weeks that followed. Further serious riots occurred in August 1819 in Frankfurt am Main, in cities in Upper Franconia and Baden, as well as in Hamburg, and then in Copenhagen and Gdansk in September. According to current research, 23 serious and 64 minor riots and incidents from 87 locations have survived, which occurred in a decentralized manner and were not coordinated.

There were no Jewish fatalities in the Hep-Hep riots, though in Würzburg on August 3 and 4, 1819, an attacker and a soldier were killed in shootings. In numerous places Jews were attacked and beaten up, synagogues vandalized or stores and homes damaged, looted and their windows broken. Elsewhere, there were minor riots, billboard attacks or death threats. The police, military and government authorities were often hesitant in dealing with the riots in the initial phase, but from October onward they took vigorous action against emerging unrest.

The riots were the "first widespread persecution of Jews since the Middle Ages"[1] and "the most significant wave of anti-Jewish riots in the early 19th century."[2] More broadly, they were the largest ever supraregional riot in the German Confederation in the Restoration period until the 1848 Revolution. Triggered by the incipient emancipation of Jews under Napoleonic rule, they are considered an outgrowth and consequence of Christian anti-Judaism, but also the first beginnings of anti-Semitism. The main protagonists of the riots mentioned in the sources are those who locally disapproved of the social advancement of the Jews, i.e. members of the middle class such as merchants or craftsmen, as well as often a rioting mob of mostly younger, violence-prone people from the lower class.

Although some intellectuals who opposed Jewish emancipation supported and incited the riots, revolutionary fraternity members were more sporadically involved. The Hep-Hep riots were often interpreted contemporarily as organized revolutionary activities and therefore had a decisive influence on the course of the negotiations of the Carlsbad resolutions, which took place at the same time. In today's public culture of remembrance, the Hep-Hep riots hardly play a role, even though numerous scholarly studies on the events have already appeared. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CPallaske (talkcontribs) 12:25, 23 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Missing link[edit]

There is a "missing link" on this page - i.e. an explanation of "why" the riots began. The below quote from [4] here seems to help.

While Rhenish Bavaria enjoyed the liberty dating from the French occupation, in the other parts of the country the edict of 1813 remained in force. In 1819, when the first Bavarian Diet assembled, the larger congregations sent prominent men to Munich, under the leadership of Samson Wolff Rosenfeld, rabbi in Uehlfeld and Bamberg, author of many pamphlets on "Emancipation," to work for the complete enfranchisement of the Jews; and their efforts were not altogether unsuccessful. The delegates themselves expressed the desire for a revision of the laws governing the Jews, and the Diet promised compliance with their request. Unfortunately, however, the succeeding Diet allowed itself to be influenced by the "Hephep" cries of Würzburg, which spread over all Franconia and beyond the frontiers of Bavaria; and it declared, May 13, 1822, that the time for the emancipation of the Jews had not yet arrived. Statistics of the day show that of 53,402 Jewish souls, there were 252 families supporting themselves by agriculture, 169 artisans, and 839 factory hands.

The connect is explained more clearly in Levy, Richard (2005). Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia Of Prejudice And Persecution, Volume 1. pp. 298. (see link in article). Oncenawhile (talk) 20:24, 20 June 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Another question which has come up - some sources such as Amos Elon's quote in the article and the diaries of Bernhard Cahn (the authors of a book on his famous diaries note that he did not mention the riots / pogrom [5]) suggest that not all sections of German Jewish society were impacted by the events. Does anyone have a source which explains this? Oncenawhile (talk) 09:07, 22 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

RfC[edit]

Light bulb iconBAn RfC: Which descriptor, if any, can be added in front of Southern Poverty Law Center when referenced in other articles? has been posted at the Southern Poverty Law Center talk page. Your participation is welcomed. – MrX 16:46, 22 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]