Obrigkeitliche Verordnung und Gebrauchsvorschläge dienstamer Mittel gegen die Hornvieh-Seuche Polizey-Anstalten – “Official Regulations and Recommendations for the Use of Effective Remedies Against the Cattle Plague” issued by the administrative authority in Frankfurt – including antisemitic regulations prohibiting the entry of Jews, described as “disease carriers” into the cattle fields of Frankfurt and its surroundings. Frankfurt am Main, 1777. In German.
Among the many regulations established, addressing attempts to prevent the spread of diseases transmitted by animals (primarily cattle), appear antisemitic clauses stating that Jews are carriers of disease, since they are said not to keep their distance from sick cattle and often present themselves as cattle doctors in the stables of German towns: “Among other precautionary measures, such as preventing the entry of the sick into the country, it is also important that people who handle sick cattle not be allowed to enter the stables, where most often are found veterinarians, blacksmiths, and Jews . It is not uncommon for people who offer treatment to animals to wander through the countryside, offering their services and boasting to unsuspecting farmers of their so‑called successful treatments, or even rushing into stables uninvited, examining the animals and engaging in all sorts of deceit in order to earn a few coins. Such people are doubly despicable and truly dangerous. For, on the one hand, it seems their resources amount to little or nothing, and thus the costs are wasted in vain ; on the other hand, one of them may have just come from a place where cattle mortality is at its height, placing a person in clear danger of bringing the disease to his own herd instead of finding relief. Jews who deal with cattle are to be excluded in the same manner and kept away from the stables, for it cannot be known whether they have recently been in contact with sick cattle, and thus might spread the disease to an entirely healthy place…”.
In addition, the regulations explicitly prohibit hosting outsiders in the stables, forbid driving cattle to communal pasture, and ban the import of milk, butter, or cheese from areas affected by disease. They also include guidelines on how to clean the cattle, preferred feeding practices during illness, instructions for isolating diseased animals from others in their vicinity, and more.
At the end of the 18th century, the Frankfurt am Main region and its surroundings were struck by a deadly cattle epidemic, most commonly identified as an outbreak of rinderpest, a highly contagious viral disease that devastated herds and caused widespread mortality. This outbreak was considered a serious economic and social threat, as cattle were a major source of milk, meat, and employment. Local authorities, including the Frankfurt city council, implemented a series of emergency regulations—these included quarantines of infected areas, restrictions on the movement of wagoners and cattle traders, and the destruction of herds suspected of carrying the disease. As noted, the regulations also warned against allowing Jews into the fields, claiming they were unhygienic and spread disease.
16 pages. Thick paper. Good to very good condition.
