Protestant

The idea

The Reformation changed Christian relationships to scripture and authority. Some thinkers hoped Jews would convert; disappointment sometimes hardened into hostility.

The recurring move

Jews could be treated as symbols inside Christian argument: proof of error, stubbornness, or corruption depending on the polemical need.

Germany · Luther’s call for persecution

In 1543, Martin Luther called for measures including burning synagogues, destroying Jewish homes and restricting livelihoods. His religious authority gave these demands a powerful voice. The Reformation had not ended Christian anti-Judaism. In 2015, Germany’s Protestant church explicitly repudiated this legacy and acknowledged the harm of its later reception.

• Evangelical Church in Germany · Luther’s anti-Jewish writings and the church’s 2015 reckoning

About this Tree

The taxonomy is adapted from JewHateMap. Each topic includes a sourced country story. Connections help explain related ideas; they do not establish an inevitable chain of events.