37 pages • 1 hour read
Helmut Walser SmithThe Butcher's Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Smith explains the growth of antisemitism as rooted in Christian thought and attitudes, both in the Catholic Church and later in the Protestant churches. By the evidence of the book, did the churches play a large role in propagating antisemitic prejudice in 1900, or had antisemitism become more a social than religious problem?
Smith advances some psychological theories to explain antisemitic attitudes—e.g., the idea that medieval Catholic fears about Jews profaning the Eucharist were a form of self-projection. Do you find these theories convincing? Do they make his book more interesting, strengthen it, or weaken it?
Among the officials and journalists involved in the investigation are a number that are scornful of the ritual murder tale and antisemitic prejudice in general; these include Zedlitz, Braun, and Mayor Deditius. How much power and influence do these figures have?
Discuss the reasons why Jews were convenient scapegoats for murders in European towns. Why did the ritual murder myth persist for so many centuries, despite their being no concrete evidence for it?
One of the claims of antisemites during the case is that the police officials were being paid off by the Jewish community. Do you find that the facts bear this impression out? How accommodating were the officials toward the Jewish population?
Think about the behavior of the antisemitic mobs and their use of chants, slogans, and specific types of violence. In what other historical periods were similar mob techniques used against various groups?
Discuss the significance of the legends of Simon of Trent, Andreas Oxner (the legend of Judenstein), and the “good Werner.” How were these murder cases used to fuel antisemitic sentiment?
What was the reaction to the papacy and Vatican officials to rumors of Jewish ritual murder?
Discuss the ways in which Konitz changed after the Winter case. Consider political and social changes.
In your opinion, based on the facts as Smith presents them, who seems the most likely to have been the murderer: Gustav Hoffmann, Adolph Lewy, or Bernhard Masloff?
