Plague Suspicion Fueled Jewish Massacres

Jewish communities reportedly had lower death rates during the 14th century Black Death partly because of better hygiene and their isolation in ghettos. Some Christians took the difference as proof that the Jews were conspiring, and accused them of deliberately poisoning wells so as to destroy European civilization. Mobs attacked Jewish settlements all over Europe, destroying 60 major and 150 smaller communities in over 350 massacres by 1351.

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