Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library

A child of Christian blood, murder and conspiracy in Tsarist Russia : the Beilis blood libel, Edmund Levin

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

A child of Christian blood

bibliography

857663732

Edmund Levin

murder and conspiracy in Tsarist Russia : the Beilis blood libel

On March 20, 1911, a 13-year-old boy was found stabbed to death in a cave on the outskirts of Kiev. Four months later, Russian police arrested Mendel Beilis, a 37-year-old father of five, and charged him not only with Andrei's murder but also with the Jewish ritual murder of a Christian child. Despite the fact that there was no evidence linking him to the crime, and that he had a solid alibi, Beilis was imprisoned for more than two years. As a handful of Russian officials and journalists diligently searched for the real killer, the rabid anti-Semites known as the Black Hundreds created a frenzy throughout Russia. The incompetent trial brought Russian liberals to Beilis's side, as well as an array of international supporters. The jury's split verdict allowed both sides to claim victory: they agreed with the prosecution's description of the boy's wounds--a description implying a ritual murder--but they determined that Beilis was not the murderer. After the fall of the Romanovs in 1917, a renewed effort to find Andrei's killer was not successful.--From publisher description

"Why should I be afraid?" -- "The vendetta of the sons of Jacob" -- "A certain Jew Mendel" -- "Andrusha, don't scream" -- "You are a second Dreyfus" -- "Cheberyak knows everything" -- "Who is a hero?" -- "The worst and most fearful thing" -- "Yes, a Jew!" -- "We have seen the killer" -- "Gentlemen of the jury!" -- "The smell of burning, blood, and iron"