A Murder in Lemberg: Politics, Religion, and Violence in Modern Jewish History »

Michael Stanislawski is Nathan J. Miller Professor of Jewish History at Columbia University, where he also serves as Associate Director of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and Chair of the Interdepartmental Program in Yiddish Studies. His books include "Autobiographical Jews and Zionism" and the "Fin de Siecle".

"Michael Stanislawski's Murder in Lemberg is an extraordinarily interesting jewel of a book. It is a good read and an exciting story. More important, this in-depth account of an 1848 murder case and its legal aftermath allows Stanislawski to get at the heart of many important issues in nineteenth-century Eastern European Jewish history, especially the pace and extent of modernization and religious reform, the reaction against reform, and the relationship of Jews to government. It is a tour de force of analysis and insight."--Marsha Rozenblit, University of Maryland

"This well-written book uses the case of the murder of the reform rabbi of Lemberg in 1848 as a prism through which to analyze the evolving character of the Jewish community in Austrian Galicia and their relationship with the authorities and the other ethnic-religious groups there. It is somewhat reminiscent of Jan Gross's Neighbors and Helmut Walser Smith's The Butcher's Tale in that it provides the general context of the murder in a succinct and informative manner and delves into its intricate details and subsequent investigation. This makes for interesting reading and a fresh look at a region and period that are not well covered."--Omer Bartov, Brown University

Publishers Weekly

Murder, intrigue, media spotlight, community in-fighting, police coverup, judicial malfeasance. O.J. Simpson? Jon-Benet Ramsey? No, it's the poisoning of Rabbi Abraham Kohn and his family by a fellow Jew, Abraham Ber Pilpel, in 1848, in the Ukrainian city of Lemberg (now Lviv). Stanislawski, professor of Jewish history at Columbia, uncovers a forgotten story as his fascinating book details the events surrounding the murder of the reformist (but not Reform) Rabbi Kohn and his four-year-old daughter (four other family members survived) after Pilpel sneaked into their kitchen and poured arsenic in the family's soup. While the twists and turns of the case make a compelling narrative, Stanislawski has a far more important story to tell. The assassination of Kohn was the result of roiling religious and political tensions between Lemberg's Orthodox community, which remained loyal to the Hapsburg empire, and Rabbi Kohn, allied with those demanding independence as revolution spread across Europe in 1848. While there is too much on Lemberg Jews' communal affairs for most readers, Stanislawski tells his story with a sharp eye for detail and plot, with the historical context and analysis that students of Jewish history will appreciate. (Feb.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Introduction     1
The Murder and Its Background
Galicia and Its Jews, 1772-1848     9
Lemberg and Its Jews, 1772-1848     18
A Reform Rabbi in Eastern Europe     34
Rabbi Abraham Kohn in Lemberg, 1843-1848     52
Revolution and Murder     65
The Investigation, Sentence, and Appeal
Abraham Ber Pilpel, Murderer?     81
The Indicted Co-Conspirators     97
Magdalena Kohn v. the Austrian Empire     107
Conclusion     112
Afterword     121
Acknowledgments     129
Notes     131
Bibliography     143
Index     149