Strasbourg Pogrom
A violent mob attacks the Jewish quarter in Strasbourg, burning homes and synagogues while terrified families flee or hide. City officials either participate or turn a blind eye as accusations of well
Setting
Jewish Quarter, Strasbourg, France - Narrow cobblestone streets lined with half-timbered houses, their wooden beams blackened by smoke. The synagogue stands at the center, its doors broken open. Snow-covered rooftops contrast with the orange glow of fires.
Characters
Rabbi Jacob
primary
A man in his late 60s with a long, well-kept white beard and deep-set, sorrowful brown eyes. His face is lined with wrinkles that speak of both wisdom and hardship. He has a slightly stooped posture from years of study and prayer, but there is a quiet strength in his bearing.
Mob Leader
primary
A burly blacksmith in his late 30s, with a barrel chest and arms thick from years of hammering iron. His face is ruddy from the cold and exertion, with a broken nose that sits crookedly above a thick, unkempt beard. His knuckles are scarred, and his dark eyes burn with fanatical fervor.
City Official
secondary
A middle-aged man of average height with a slight paunch, thinning gray hair, and a neatly trimmed beard. His face is lined with the wear of years spent in bureaucratic duties, and his sharp, calculating eyes betray no emotion.
Baker's Wife
secondary
A woman in her early thirties, slight of frame with sunken cheeks from years of hardship. Her dark hair, streaked with premature gray, is hastily covered by a tattered shawl. Her brown eyes are wide with fear, and her hands tremble as she clutches her children.
Young Apprentice
background
A gaunt teenage boy, around 15 years old, with a wiry frame and sunken cheeks. His hands are rough and calloused from labor, and his fingernails are dirty. He has a patchy beard just starting to grow, and his hair is unkempt, falling into his eyes.
Dialog
Rabbi Jacob
Good magistrate, by what law do you permit this violence? The Lord sees all, and His justice will not be mocked.
Mob Leader
Law? Your poisoners' tongues twist words like serpents! Burn 'em out!
City Official
The city cannot be held responsible for... outbreaks of popular sentiment.
Rabbi Jacob
As it is written: 'Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are stronger than I.' Will you be remembered as their instrument?
Mob Leader
Enough rabbi-talk! The wells don't lie - where's your precious Lord now?
City Official
Perhaps... if your people had paid the special levy for plague protection...
Rabbi Jacob
We pay with our lives today. May God forgive you, for history will not.