Antisemitism in Galicia: Agitation, Politics, and Violence against Jews in the Late Habsburg Monarchy by Tim Buchen

The role of rumors in the emergence and diffusion of pogroms

“…In the case of the wave of violence against Jews in Galicia in 1898, rumors of the emperor's permission were used to convince the peasants that participation was without risk, but certain doubts about the truth of the rumor seem to have persisted among them. The initiators in Lutzca attempted to dispel these by saying that they would act together; “Do not argue and all go together, after all, it is allowed” (Buchen, 2020: 137 and 139). So people tried to convince each other that it was permissible to attack the Jews.…”

“…Horowitz describes rumors to mobilize accomplices as a “pickup game” (2001: 266ff.). In order to exert coercion to join in, agitators try to threaten hesitant bystanders that anyone who did not support those who were moving against the Jews would have his house set on fire (Buchen, 2020: 145) 17…”

“…Doubts were pushed aside by the desire to exercise violence against Jews and to enrich themselves with their property, which was apparently so strong that permission to act in this way was read out of all kinds of events, for example, that preparations were being made in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska shortly before Pentecost 1898 for a celebration of the 100th birthday of the famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz. This went so far that the barely literate peasants interpreted the letters and color of corresponding notices as an indication of the coming violence (Buchen, 2020: 122). To increase the credibility of a rumor based only on hearsay, the actors either referred to high‐ranking persons, such as functionaries or church representatives (as the pope), or argued that they had seen a written, sometimes even official source.…”

“…These rumors of bribery were also unintentionally confirmed by the behavior of local Jews, who, for example, supplied Cossacks who whipped arrested violent offenders with alcoholic drinks afterwards (Aronson, 1990: 85). However, Christian policemen could also be declared “Jews” by rumor in order to explain their behavior, while other rumors wanted to see the behavior of the police as a sham, since they did not really intervene vigorously, and yet other rumors claimed the opposite that the gendarmes had disobeyed the order not to shoot (Buchen, 2020: 126 f.). Aronson sees this confirmed by the fact that when the police or military intervened, the crowd dispersed at the respective location, but only to continue their looting elsewhere, as if the forces of order were only concerned with ending the violence at one location, but not with ending the pogrom itself (1990: 84).…”

“…In studies on single pogroms, but especially in analyses of waves of pogroms, the central role of rumor communication in the run‐up to, but also in the spread of pogroms has been emphasized time and again (Aronson, 1990; Horowitz, 2001: 74–88; Nonn, 2002: 55–95; Buchen, 2020: 120ff.). The role of rumors as an “essential part of the riot process” has also been analyzed in theoretical works on this type of collective action in riots and pogroms (Horowitz, 2001: 74, Bergmann, 2020: 67–73).…”