Final answer:
European Jews faced centuries of persecution, with accusations of deicide, economic restrictions, and stereotypes of greed. Their treatment varied at times, but increased anti-Semitic sentiment by the late 1800s led to the Holocaust, where the Nazis systematically executed millions of Jews.
Step-by-step explanation:
Persecution of Jews in European History
The treatment of European Jews throughout history has been characterized by widespread persecution, expulsion, and segregation initiated as early as the mid-twelfth century. During the Medieval period, Jews faced numerous hardships, including accusations of deicide (the killing of a god), which in this case referred to the death of Jesus Christ, and blame for various societal crises such as plagues and famines.
Jews were often restricted in their economic activities, typically barred from owning land or marrying Christians, and were relegated to professions like money-lending, peddling goods, and sharecropping, partly due to Christian prohibitions against usury.
This limitation in occupations contributed to stereotypes of Jewish greed. The situation for Jews fluctuated with occasional periods of relative tolerance; however, these were often followed by renewed incidents of forced conversions, massacres, and the establishment of ghettos, as seen in Venice in 1516. Cases existed where rulers, such as Louis the Pious, granted Jews freedoms, highlighting the variances in their treatment throughout different regions and times.
By the late 1800s, anti-Semitic sentiment again surged across Europe, particularly among the lower middle class swept up in nationalist fervor. This prejudice culminated tragically with the rise of the Nazis and the systemic extermination of Jews during the Holocaust, where millions of Jews experienced unimaginable suffering in ghettos and extermination camps.