On this date… 9 January 1349
Jews massacred in Basel
These days, Basel is known as the birthplace of legendary tennis player (GOAT, anyone?) Roger Federer. It is also considered the cultural capital of Switzerland, as it hosted the first ever art museum open to the public, the Kunstmuseum way back in 1661, and now has almost forty other museums. It is home to Switzerland’s oldest university, founded in 1460, and was once the safe haven for such figures as Erasmus of Rotterdam, the Holbeins, Carl Jung, and Frederich Nietzsche. Nestled in northwestern Switzerland on the Rhine and near the borders of France and Germany, the city evokes European charm.
Long before any of that, however, it was a more imposing place. Especially for Jews. On 9 January 1349 nearly the entire Jewish population of Basel – reports vary from anywhere between 50 to 600 people – was massacred by the townspeople who thought Jews were poisoning wells and responsible for the Black Plague.
Anti-Semitism and scapegoating Jews has a long history throughout Europe. They had variously been accused of causing earthquakes, practicing witchcraft, and worshiping the Devil, amongst other dastardly deeds. The Catholic Church was particularly harsh in its treatment, passing laws that banned Jews from owning land, working as weavers, shoemakers, carpenters, miners, and bakers. Additionally, Jews were required to wear a yellow badge at all times. They were shunned into separate quarters of life, both physically and spiritually.
After the bubonic plague arrived in 1347, the European population plummeted. Again, numbers vary, but anywhere from a quarter to half of all Europeans died – general estimates are between 20 and 50 million people, though some articles place the number as high as 200 million. Understandably in the midst of a global pandemic, people were scared for their lives (sound familiar, anyone?).
Amidst the fear and death, people sought answers and tried casting blame. Much of that turned towards Jewish populations. After all, if they were in league with the Devil already, why not believe that they would cause a disease that killed indiscriminately and caused horrible black pustules all over the body. This despite the fact that in late 1348 Pope Clement VI cleared the Jews of any responsibility for the plague, so Jewish persecution continued.
In early 1349 community leaders across the region along the Rhine rounded up Jews and began a series of pogroms. The Jewish residents of Basel were packed into a small building on an island on the Rhine and burned to death. In the following weeks other massacres occurred in Strasbourg (France) and Freiburg (Germany). Later, Jews were either exiled or burned in Augsburg, Nurnberg, Munich, Konigsberg, Regensburg, Worms, Cologne, and more.
The largest Jewish community in Europe at the time was in Mainz. There, the Jewish community defended themselves against the violent mob and killed over 200 Christians. Retribution came swiftly, however, as on 24 August 1349, the Mainz Christians killed an estimated 6,000 Jews.
In Basel, and the other communities that mobbed Jews, the local Christian leaders declared that no Jews would be allowed to live in the cities for decades or centuries. For Basel, except for a brief period in the late 14th century, that proved true. It wasn’t until more than four centuries later, in 1805, that Jews would return to live in Basel. Today, there are several Jewish communities that help make Basel one of northern Europe’s thriving cultural centers. Sometimes forgiveness takes a long time.