Antisemites' Petition

The Antisemites' Petition (German: Antisemitenpetition) was a petition initiated in 1880–1881 by German antisemites of the Berlin Movement (Berliner Bewegung). It was addressed to the imperial chancellor and Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck, demanding the rescission of essential equality laws for Jews in Germany.

The primary initiators were Karl Friedrich Zöllner, a professor of physics and astronomy in Leipzig, along with Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg, Bernhard Förster, Paul Förster, and Ernst Henrici.[1][2] Early signatories included the prominent Berlin court chaplain Adolf Stoecker, the Chemnitz publisher Ernst Schmeitzner, and the composer and conductor Hans von Bülow.[3]

Demands

The petition called for the restriction of the constitutional equality of Jews that had been established in 1869 for the North German Confederation and in 1871 for the German Empire. This was justified by alleging economic exploitation and the supposed social and racial decomposition of the "German national body" (Volkskörper) by Jews. Therefore, it argued that their penetration into key social positions must be prevented. The specific demands were:[4]

  1. Removal of Jews from the civil service and the army; curbing their influence in the judiciary (specifically excluding them from judgeships).
  2. Prohibiting the employment of Jewish teachers in elementary schools, and allowing them in higher schools and universities only as exceptions.
  3. Resumption of official statistics on the Jewish population.
  4. Restriction of Jewish immigration from Austria-Hungary and Russia.

Debate in the Prussian House of Representatives

At the request of the left-liberal deputy Albert Hänel, the Antisemites' Petition was debated in the Prussian House of Representatives on November 22 and 24, 1880. Contrary to hopes, the government did not condemn the petition; it merely stated its intention to maintain the legal status of equality for religious denominations in civil matters. This avoided taking a stance on antisemitic administrative practices or agitation.

Except for the left-liberals, no other parliamentary faction condemned the antisemitic campaign. While most defended legal emancipation, they attributed the agitation to the alleged misconduct of Jews themselves. Ludwig Windthorst, leader of the Centre Party, could only speak "for himself" when he disapproved of the proceedings against Jews. The leader of the Conservatives, Ernst von Heydebrand und der Lasa, spoke sharply against the Jews, while the Free Conservatives and National Liberals remained reserved.[5]

Eugen Richter, leader of the German Progress Party, directly confronted Stoecker, accusing him:

This is precisely the particularly perfidious aspect of the entire movement: while the Socialists turn only against those who possess economic wealth, here racial hatred is nurtured... which can only end with [the individual] either being killed or sent across the border."[6]

Collection of signatures and submission

The initiators intended the signature collection to take on the character of a plebiscite.[7] Between August 1880 and April 1881, antisemites claimed to have collected 267,000 signatures (the actual number was likely at least 225,000).[7]

The agitation of Adolf Stoecker and the academic influence of professors like Heinrich von Treitschke activated many students. By early 1881, the "Association of German Students" (Vereine deutscher Studenten) was formed in Berlin, Halle, and Breslau as a result of these committees.[7] The petition saw strong support in the conservative rural regions of Prussia (especially East Elbia), whereas support remained low in Northern, Western, and Southern Germany. Stoecker signed the petition, whereas Treitschke did not.[8]

Consequences

Agitation surrounding the petition led to violent riots in Neustettin. On February 18, 1881, the city's synagogue was burned down, and in 1883, several local Jews were put on trial, falsely accused of setting fire to their own synagogue.[9]

In response, 75 representatives of German intellectual life (including Theodor Mommsen, Johann Gustav Droysen, and Rudolf Virchow) published the "Declaration of Notables" (Notabeln-Erklärung) in 1880, protesting against the "revival of an old delusion."[10]

On April 13, 1881, the petition was submitted to the Reich Chancellery. Bismarck ignored it, and Count Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode stated that the government would not change the legal status of equality.[9] However, the petition was a partial success in gaining public attention. From 1884, Prussia pursued targeted expulsions of Jewish Poles based on Jus sanguinis (blood right), leaving them as foreigners under special law.[11]

References

  1. ^ Kampe, Norbert (2014). Studenten und »Judenfrage« im Deutschen Kaiserreich. p. 23. doi:10.13109/9783666357381.23. ISBN 978-3-525-35738-5.
  2. ^ Jensen, Uffa (2005). Gebildete Doppelgänger. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 272. ISBN 3-525-35148-8.
  3. ^ "Antisemitenpetition (Kapitel Kaiserreich)". Deutsches Historisches Museum.
  4. ^ Zumbini, Massimo Ferrari (2003). Die Wurzeln des Bösen: Gründerjahre des Antisemitismus: Von der Bismarckzeit zu Hitler. Vittorio Klostermann. p. 427. ISBN 978-3465032458.
  5. ^ Hamburger, Ernest (1968). Juden im öffentlichen Leben Deutschlands – Regierungsmitglieder, Beamte und Parlamentarier in der monarchischen Zeit 1848–1918. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). pp. 134–136.
  6. ^ Böhlich, Walter. Der Berliner Antisemitismusstreit. pp. 255 f.
  7. ^ a b c Jochmann, Werner (1985). "Struktur und Funktion des Antisemitismus 1878 bis 1914". In Strauss, Herbert A.; Campe, Norbert (eds.). Antisemitismus – Von der Judenfeindschaft zum Holocaust. Frankfurt: Campus Verlag. p. 113. ISBN 3-593-33464-X.
  8. ^ Weissmann, Karlheinz (1998). Der nationale Sozialismus. Ideologie und Bewegung 1890–1933. Herbig. p. 80.
  9. ^ a b Goerlich, Franz, ed. (1880). Die Judenfrage im preußischen Abgeordnetenhause. Wörtlicher Abdruck der stenographischen Berichte vom 20. und 22. November 1880. Breslau.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Liebeschütz, Hans (1967). Das Judentum im deutschen Geschichtsbild von Hegel bis Max Weber. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck). pp. 341 f.
  11. ^ Jaecker, Tobias (March 2002). "Judenemanzipation und Antisemitismus im 19. Jahrhundert".

Further reading

  • Hamann, David (2023). Ein Billett von Brody über Berlin nach New York: Organisierte Solidarität deutscher Juden für osteuropäische jüdische Transmigrant*innen 1881/82 (in German). Berlin / Boston. pp. 76–240. ISBN 978-3-11-106362-1.
  • Hamburger, Ernest (1968). Juden im öffentlichen Leben Deutschlands – Regierungsmitglieder, Beamte und Parlamentarier in der monarchischen Zeit 1848–1918 (in German). Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck).
  • Wawrzinek, Kurt (1927). Die Entstehung der deutschen Antisemitenparteien 1873–1890 (in German). Berlin.
  • Weidemann, Thomas (1993). "Politischer Antisemitismus im deutschen Kaiserreich. Der Reichstagsabgeordnete Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg und der nordhessische Wahlkreis Fritzlar-Homberg-Ziegenhain". In Bambey, Hartwig (ed.). Heimatvertriebene Nachbarn. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Juden im Kreis Ziegenhain Schwalmstadt (in German). pp. 113–184.
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