Postcards From The End Of The World

Examines four sensational cases of child battering and murder in Vienna in 1899 which dominated the newspapers of the time. Pp. 100-113, "The Eternal Senseless Vilification of the Jews, " surveys antisemitic agitation prevalent in the Austrian Empire and in Vienna at the same time, especially the accusation, trial, and acquittal of Leopold Hilsner for ritual murder in Polna, Bohemia. Discusses the muted reaction in the press, especially in the "Neue Freie Presse" which appealed for attention to child abuse rather than to the "eternal senseless vilification of the Jews." Discusses the reactions of Theodor Herzl and Karl Kraus to the antisemitic agitation, and the later impact of Viennese antisemitism on Adolf Hitler.