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Persecution Perpetuated: The Medieval Origins of Anti-Semitic Violence in Nazi Germany*

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Voigtländer, Nico, Voth, Hans-Joachim·2012·The Quarterly Journal of Economics
DOI 10.1093/qje/qjs019
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Abstract

How persistent are cultural traits? Using data on anti-Semitism in Germany, we find local continuity over 600 years. Jews were often blamed when the Black Death killed at least a third of Europe’s population during 1348–50. We use plague-era pogroms as an indicator for medieval anti-Semitism. They reliably predict violence against Jews in the 1920s, votes for the Nazi Party, deportations after 1933, attacks on synagogues, and letters to Der Stürmer . We also identify areas where persistence was lower: cities with high levels of trade or immigration. Finally, we show that our results are not driven by political extremism or by different attitudes toward violence.

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Metadata

Authors
Voigtländer, N., & Voth, H.-J.
Venue
The Quarterly Journal of Economics
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2012-07-26
Volume
127
Issue
3
Pages
1339-1392
ISSN
  • 0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
  • 1531-4650
DOI
10.1093/qje/qjs019
OpenAlex
W2890919688
Cited by
737
References
0
FWCI
181.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
bronze

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