Episode 10: A 16th Century Flame War

Johannes Reuchlin, *Augenspiegel*, Tübingen : Thomas Anshelm, 1511.
The "Augenspiegel" is the famous defense of the Christian humanist scholar Johannes Reuchlin against the attacks of the anti-Jewish agitator Johannes Pfefferkorn, a convert from Judaism. LBI Library, r 450 Herz R 25.

In the Holy Roman Empire in the early 1500s, there was a campaign to burn all Jewish books. A legal scholar named Johannes Reuchlin wrote a pamphlet called Augenspiegel that convinced the powers-that-be that these texts had historical and scholarly value. Historian and author Erika Rummel joins Mark to tell this remarkable tale, which features everything from political power grabs to bribery to a Middle Ages version of a flame war.

LBI Presents is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York | Berlin and Antica Productions.

Hosted by Mark Oppenheimer.

Executive Producers include Laura Regehr, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producer is Emily Morantz. Associate audio editor is Cameron McIver. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson.

In the LBI archive, there is a very old book. It’s small and light. The paper is yellowed, but soft and thick, almost like fabric. And the title page features a faded woodcut print of a pair of eyeglasses. The book is called Augenspiegel.

Mark Oppenheimer

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Episode 10 Transcript

Terezin, Starving People by Norbert Troller

Historian Anna Hájková joins Mark to discuss the complexities of life at Theresienstadt, including class structure, the barter system, and most importantly, food.

Welcome to Exile, a podcast about Jewish lives under the shadow of fascism. Narrated by award-winning screen and stage actor, Mandy Patinkin. Beginning February 14th, new episodes every Tuesday.

A collection focused on the famous Renaissance controversy between the Christian Hebraist Johannes Reuchlin and the anti-Jewish agitator Johannes Pfefferkorn.

“Burning Words” is a dramatization of the 16th-century controversy between the humanist scholar Johannes Reuchlin and Johannes Pfefferkorn, a convert from Judaism who sought to burn Jewish books.

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