Assailants on the Bench for the Accused: Cases of Violence against Jews at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries at the Regional Criminal Courts in Brno (Brünn) and Uherské Hradištì (Ungarisch-Hradisch)
Assailants on the Bench for the Accused: Cases of Violence against Jews at the Turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries at the Regional Criminal Courts in Brno (Brünn) and Uherské Hradištì (Ungarisch-Hradisch)

Summary/Abstract: This study analyzes cases of violent criminal acts against Jews that went before regional criminal courts in Brno and Uherské Hradištì. Specifically, it deals with cases that were deemed to be acts of public violence under the Penal Code on Crimes, Misdemeanours and Trespasses Act 117/1852 of the Imperial Statute Book. Court records are one of the sources that help to clarify the frequency, form and nature of these violent acts. The study seeks to outline the typology of these cases; above all, it underlines the fundamental difference between violence committed by individuals and collective violence. Particular attention is paid to mass attacks against Jews at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, especially in 1899. It also considers the political and social contexts of the time in order to help explain the assailants’ motivations. In addition, it constructs a social profile of a typical perpetrator of acts of public violence against Jews. In this way, it contributes to the discussion of the nature of the antisemitism of that period.

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