Conditional protection · Austria · Thirteenth century–1421
A ruler’s protection proved reversible when religious exclusion became a campaign of persecution.
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Thirteenth century–1421
Conditional protection · Vienna’s first community is destroyed
A ruler’s protection proved reversible when religious exclusion became a campaign of persecution.
Jewish Vienna before the catastrophe
Medieval Vienna had an established Jewish community, with a synagogue and communal institutions. Jewish residents were part of the city’s economy and religious landscape. Their security nevertheless depended on ducal protection. A local history of belonging could be overturned by the authority that supposedly guaranteed it.
The duke turns against the community
In 1420, Duke Albrecht V ordered the arrest of Jews in his territories. Expulsion, coercion and execution followed. Religious accusations helped frame the persecution, while ducal authority made it enforceable. Jews were treated as a collective danger rather than as individuals entitled to ordinary protection.
The Vienna Gesera
The persecution of 1420–1421 destroyed Vienna’s medieval Jewish community. Its synagogue was demolished. The event later became known as the Vienna Gesera. It was a rupture created by decisions and violence, not proof that Jews had lacked roots in the city or could never have belonged there.