Anti-Semitic Bigotry as Chronicled by Historical Medals

2015·6.7 MB·English

by  Benjamin Weiss

TheJournal of Israel ai/idJewish History ai/vd Numisi/watlcs
volume 4 No. 1 ,jaru/tary February March 2015"
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Published by the American Israel Numismatic Association, Inc.
“The Shekel” - The American Numismatic Association’s 2013 & 2014
‘‘Outstanding Specialty Numismatic Publication ”
The
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TheJournal of Israel and Jewish Historyand Numismatics
VOLUME XLV1I1 NO. (NO. 259)
1
MARCH
JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015
ANDREW PERALA, EDITOR
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
5
HOLOCAUST
MONEY
DONATED
6
COMMEMORATIVE COIN
U.S.
HONORS
JONAS SALK,
PIONEER RESEARCHER, LIFESAVER
8
ANTI-SEMITIC MEDALS
THROUGH
HISTORY,
A CHRONICLE OF SUFFERING
BY BENJAMIN
WEISS. 12
Charles Steinmetz, electronic
is
GENIUS, ELIGIBLE FOR THE JEWISH
American hall of fame?
By Mel Wacks 39
2
9
ANTI-SEMITIC
BIGOTRY
CHRONICLED
AS
BY
MEDALS
HISTORICAL
U,
BY BENJAMIN WEISS PARE
I
BIGOT: Aperson who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or
her own opinions andprejudices; especially one who regards or treats
the members ofa group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and
intolerance. Merriam-Webster.com 2013
HISTORICAL
the question still remains as to the
BACKGROUND
root causes of anti-Semitic atti-
Why
hile prejudice exists towards tudes: have they existed for
many religious and ethnic centuries, and how have they been
groups, over the ages bigoted acts passed on from generation to gen-
against the Jews have been among eration? This article will attempt to
the most prevalent, severe and examine this issue using historical
unrelenting. This intolerance has medals as a backdrop and primary
manifested itself from the relatively source of information.
inconsequential, such as slurs, Although the word anti-Semitism
insults and distribution of anti-Se- did not exist prior to the race theory
mitic paraphernalia (Eisler, 2014), of the th century, the sordid his-
1
to the devastating, including confis- tory of anti-Semitic acts and of
cation of property, expulsion from using Jews as scapegoats goes back
countries, and mass slaughter. hundreds ofyears and has taken
Volumes have been written about many forms: religious, economic,
anti-Semitism and its effects, but
Continued
12
JEWS BURNED AT THE STAKE:
Between 1348 and 1351 Bubonic
plague swept through Europe, kill-
ing about one-third ofthepopula-
tion. Although it is now known that
it is a bacterial disease carried by
ratfleas, at that time Jews were
accused ofcausing theplague in
order to destroy Christianity. This
accusation spread through many
cities in Europe, inciting thepeople
to burn thousands ofJews at the
stake. The illumination at righ,from
a medieval manuscript, depicts
Jews (identified by the mandatory
yellow Jewish badge andJewish
hat) ofRavensburg being burned at
the stake during theplague in 1348.
LuzemerSchilling, 1515; (Eban, 1984
Burgerbibliothek, Lucerne
Continued
social, racist, ideological and
cultural. As many ofthe popu-
lace were illiterate at the time, modem
tion of Jews in the times
various art forms, such as paintings, ofNazi Germany during the Holo-
drawings and in some cases med-
caust are well documented (Fried-
als were often used to spread these
lander, 1997; Holocaust 2014),
calumnies.
but these more recent events have
Among the more common types
a history oftheir own, in that the
of slanders against the Jewish
murder and mass relocation of Jews
community throughout the ages
have taken place not only in early
were the false accusations that
and mid-20th century Germany but
they caused wide-spread diseases
in virtually every country in Europe
and other natural or man-made
for more than a millennium (Ober-
disasters. An example of one such
man, 1984).
charge is that Jews were respon-
Indeed, a chronological survey of
sible for the Black Death, which
anti-Semitism shows that anti-Se-
killed as many as 200 million peo-
mitic acts occurred throughout the
ple in Europe during the fourteenth
world and encompassed dozens and
century, and for which Jews were
dozens ofperiods, dating from the
blamed and many burned alive. BCE
third century through to the
These and a multitude of other
present time [see A BriefChronolo-
false accusations ofJews have
gy ofanti-Semitism (web.archive)].
resulted in oppression and abuse
These atrocities are often reflected
ofthe Jewish community almost
in historical medals designed and
beyond
belief.
The persecution and extermina- Continued
13
Continued Jew becomes an easy scapegoat and
issued to purposely vilify the Jew- this no doubt fed interest in the kind
ish community. of anti-Semitic medals produced
Indeed, anti-Semitic medals are by Christian Wermuth and Johann
probably the most common and Christian Reich in the 8th century.
1
most notorious of all the medals To judge from the numbers and va-
that have been minted for spread- riety - with many carrying graphic
ing religious hatred, a topic that illustrations - they clearly found a
has been considered in great detail ready market, distributed as they
by Daniel Friedenberg in his book, much have been through a network
Jewish Medals: From the Renais- ofretail outlets.” (Christopher Ei-
sance to the Fall ofNapoleon mer, personal communication).
(1503-1815), and Bruno Kirschner “In general, it is likely most of
in his work, Deutsche Spott-Medai- the Kornjudenmedaillen ofthe 17th
llen AufJuden, in which dozens of and 1 8th centuries were made as
anti-Semitic medals are chronicled. popular souvenirs and were sold by
On these medals, Jews are some- their artist/manufacturers, such as
times depicted as causing natural Wermuth and Reich.
calamities such as famine, plague, They incorporated prejudices and
etc. Often they are portrayed as iconographic references to popular
demonic, non-human creatures or beliefs then current which would
profiting financially from the mis- have resonated with the purchasers,
fortunes of others. In different peri- presumably wealthy peasant land-
ods ofhistory Jews were forced to owners and merchants concerned
convert to Christianity, and ifthey with hard times, famines, rising
did not their properties were seized costs of living etc. To judge from
and their persons expelled, tortured the number of specimens available
or murdered. Medals were made to in the later collector’s market plac-
support these statements as well. es, they were made in substantial
While it is generally known when quantities, likely many hundreds
and by whom anti-Semitic medals rather than fewer than a hundred, or
were made, it is difficult to deter- tens of thousands.
mine definitively why they were In several cases, the dies for their
manufactured, how many were manufacture survived for many
whom
struck, to were they distrib- years and were sometimes re-used
uted and what was their impact. into the 9th century, by which
1
A
few of the author’s colleagues time the purchasers would have
graciously offered their opinion on been secondary collector types. For
these matters as follows: example, some Kornjudenmedaillen
“At times of economic strife such were made in iron, a technique that
as famine or general misfortune, the
Continued
14
manufacturers during the 17th
Continued
We
and 8th centuries. know, for
post-dates their 694 date by a cen- 1
1
example, that Christian Wermuth
tury or more.” (Ira Rezak, personal
communication). issued a list called a “specification,
“Some medals were officially which was a price list ofthe medals
he had for sale.” (Christian Stoess,
sanctioned, others were privately
personal communication).
commissioned and still others were
commercial undertakings aimed at Even if there were a limited num-
ber of such medals distributed, by
collectors or designed to appeal to
giving them to individuals of influ-
the wider public. Often those that
ence - the merchant class, aristoc-
were issued as a commercial enter-
prise reflected the biases and poli- racy, nobility, clergy - these medals
would nevertheless have had a
tics ofthe medalists. Estimating the
And
significant impact. their in-
numbers struck is very difficult, but
tent was clear; medals were issued
it is probably reasonable to assume
either to support the denigration of
that mintages were in dozens or
the Jews or to memorialize their
hundreds with just a few exceptions
being much higher. This is based on vilification. Examples of some of
the few instances where we know these, shown below, are the subject
ofthis discourse.
mintages and comparing the rela-
tive rarity of others.
ANTI-SEMITIC,
“Generally medals were a fairly
SLANDEROUS MEDALS
expensive luxury, which few could
RELATED TO CULTURE
afford and fewer still could appre-
ciate due to low rates of literacy
Grain Jew (Korn Jude) Medals
and education. Another limitation
As Friedenberg points out, one of
was on the technical side, since the
the first ofthese anti-Semitic med-
striking of medals, especially in
high-relief, was labor-intensive and als was reported in the early 1 6th
century in Germany. These medals
dies were vulnerable to breaking
depicted, on the obverse, the Jew
(as demonstrated by the several die
varieties of some common med- riding on a sow, and on the reverse,
the face of a devil with horns, rep-
als of the period).” (Hedley Betts,
uncommon
resentations not in the
personal communication).
Many ofthe medalists ofthat pe- medieval period (Lipton, 2014).
By the end ofthe 17th century a
riod, including Christian Wermuth,
more common type of anti-Semitic
worked as entrepreneurs. They sold
medal made appearance. These
the medals to private and public cli- its
were the so-called “Korn Jude”
ents on their own initiative. There
(Grain Jew) medals. Most ofthese
must have been a good market for
the medals made by anti-Semitic were struck in Germany and were
Continued
15
A Korn Jude (Grain Jew) Medal by Christian Wermuth, Germany, 1694, Silver struck
mm
medal, 36 Ref: Friedenberg, p 3; Kirschner 54/18; Wohlfahrt 95035; Weiss
Benjamin Weiss Collection
Continued These medals were not subtle in
issued in various forms over a their design or meaning. The med-
period of some 80 years. Appar- als Wermuth made usually depicted
ently they were engraved largely, if on the obverse a figure carrying on
not exclusively, by only two men: his back a sack of grain on which is
Christian Wermuth (1661 to 1739) perched a devil opening the mouth
and later by Johann Christian Reich of the sack, thereby allowing the
(1740 to 1814). grain to pour uselessly onto the
Generally, Korn Jude medals were ground.
distributed coincident with periods So that there should be no misun-
ofrising food prices and famine derstanding these devices, the leg-
and were designed to perpetuate the end clearly identified the figure as
myth that the Jews were to blame DU KORN IUDE (You Grain Jew),
for these hardships and to portray with the legend below translated
Jews as diabolic speculators, par- as “Famine Time” or “Expensive
Time.”
ticularly in grain crops.
To set the stage for the first of The reverse, invoking the power-
these medals we will consider, in ful instrument of Scripture, shows a
1694, heavy rains and a grasshopper grain sifter inscribed with a quota-
plague swept throughout Germany. tion taken from the Old Testament:
Food prices increased, speculation Proverbs, XI. 26, indicated in the
rose and the starving people blamed exergue (Exergue: An area on the
the Jews. This provided the raison lower portion of many medals be-
d’etre for the issuance of one of the neath a horizontal line that sepa-
prototypical Korn Jude medals. rates it from the principal design of
Continued
16
Kornjudenmedaille “Grain Jew’’ Medal ofWoman and Grain Peddler by Johann Chris-
tian Reich, Germany, 1772, Struckpewter or similar, 38 mm. Ref: Kirschner-28 (vari-
ant); JM-118 Brettauer-1905. Image courtesyAlex Ben-Arieh
;
Continued from a larger, heavy Jewish grain
the medal and which usually con- peddler. The peddler is carrying the
tains lettering or symbols related obligatory sack of grain on which
to the subject ofthe medal), and rides the figure ofthe devil, cutting
translated as “He That Withholdeth a hole in the sack, causing grain
Grain, the People Shall Curse Him: to spill on the ground. The reverse
but Blessing Shall Be upon the shows the usual grain sifter with a
Head of Him That Selleth it.” legend from Proverbs 11.26.
Almost a century later, between Though working about 80 years
1770 and 1772, there was another later, Reich produced medals with
period of famine and high inflation iconography similar to that pro-
in Germany, in which hundreds of duced by Wermuth, apparently ap-
thousands ofpeople in Bohemia pealing to the same audiences and
and Saxony starved to death. Again customers.
the Jews were blamed and corre- Reich produced more such med-
sponding medals were issued, those als or jetons (a jeton is a token or
now produced largely by Johann small, coin-like medal) with the
Christian Reich. Like Wermuth, same basic theme, one ofwhich is
Reich also made several varieties of shown on next page. As with others
KORNJUDE
such medals, often in of this period, on this medal a Jew-
base metals and no less virulently ish grain peddler is seen, carrying
anti-Semitic than those ofWermuth. on his back a sack spilling grain
One of which, struck in 1772, is on the ground. On the sack sits a
shown above. On the obverse we homed, goat-like devil. The ped-
see a small figure of a housewife dler is walking toward the jaws of a
with raised arms imploring grain
Continued
17
Corn Jew - Expensive Time by Johann Christian Reich, Germany, 1772, pewter (?)jeton,
29 mm. Ref: Brettauer-1908; Friedenberg 120; Kirschner-24, variant.
Image courtesyAlex Ben-Arieh
Continued ants of the obverses and reverses of
toothed, alligator-like monster, rep- Du Korn Jude medals were struck, i
resenting hell. The legend reads in the particular devices and inscrip-
AKORNIUD VER ZWE-
German,
tions dependent upon whether graip
UND GEH ZUM
IFEL (with the crops were plentiful or scarce.
words disappearing into the mouth In years of famine, such as in
of a monster/hell). The meaning is 1694 and 1772, the reverse inscrip-
interpreted as: “Grain Jew: Despair tion implied that the Jews were
and Go to Hell.” (Geh zum Teufel hoarding grain (see above). In other
is a common German expression years, such as in 1695, when grain
that amounts to “go to hell.”) The was plentiful, Korn Jude medals
word “Teufel” not shown but
is were modified in order to continue
is suggested by the image of the the calumny against the Jews even
mouth of hell (in the form of a re- in times when there was an abun-
bus) and its rhyme with “Zweifel.” dant harvest and grain was less
(A rebus is an allusional device that expensive.
uses pictures to represent words or In these cases, on the obverse,
parts of words). instead of Famine Time the medal
The exergue below reads was now stamped in German Inex-
THEUREZEIT
1772 (“Expensive
pensive Time.
Time 1772”). On the reverse is a A gruesome Inexpensive Time
horizontal grain sifter with an in- medal was struck in 1695. On the
scription translated as: “Fear God” obverse is a scene showing in the
and the same biblical saying as on background a rich cornfield and
the others of this type of medal. bam with a nesting stork on the
Over the years still more vari-
Continued
18
Hanging Korn Jude (Inexpensive Time) medal by Christian Wermuth: Germany, 1695.
Silver struck medal, 34 mm. Ref: Friedenbergp. 5; Kirschner 25
Image courtesy Busso Peus Nacht
Continued medals ofthis type were inscribed
roof. In the foreground is a Jew on the obverse with the usual DU
hanging from a fruit-laden tree, KORN IUDE (You Grain Jew).
with the devil securing a rope Kirschner suggests that the mean-
around his neck. On the bam is ing ofthe medal is that the Jew is
LUC
inscribed 12, referring to a wishing for a fruitful harvest, but
chapter in Luke, Chapter 12, in that the grain should still be expen-
which Jesus relates the Parable of sive so he could make exorbitant
the Rich Fool: “...There was a rich profits.
man whose land produced a boun- Another example of an “Inex-
tiful harvest. He asked himself, pensive Time” Kom Jude medal
‘What shall I do, for I do not have is shown on the next page. This
my And
space to store harvest?’ piece, stmck in 1772-1773 shows
he said,” ‘This is what I shall do: I a Jew with stacks of grain, ignor-
shall tear down my bams and build ing the pleas of a woman. The
larger ones. There I shall store all legend (translated) reads, “Poverty
my
grain and other goods...’ Is Weeping While the Grain Jew Is
In the exergue is inscribed: Laughing.”
WO[H]LFEILEZEIT
(Inexpensive The reverse shows the Jew hang-
Time) 1695. The reverse shows ing from a tree with a grain harvest
a grain sifter, with the inscription in the background, the legend,
again that attacks covetousness, the again taken from Scripture to give
exact same sentiment and iconogra- it more impact, reading “Avarice Is
phy as on the medal issued in times the Root ofAll Evil.”
of famine, the first medal depicted Several variants ofthese types
in this article. In all cases, the of medals were issued during the
Continued
19