The Antisemites' Petition () was a petition initiated in 1880âÂÂ1881 by German antisemites of the Berlin Movement (Berliner Bewegung). It was addressed to the imperial chancellor and Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck, demanding the rescission of essential equality laws for Jews in Germany.
The primary initiators were Karl Friedrich Zöllner, a professor of physics and astronomy in Leipzig, along with Max Liebermann von Sonnenberg, Bernhard Förster, , and Ernst Henrici. Early signatories included the prominent Berlin court chaplain Adolf Stoecker, the Chemnitz publisher Ernst Schmeitzner, and the composer and conductor Hans von Bülow.
The petition called for the restriction of the constitutional equality of Jews that had been established in 1869 for the North German Confederation and in 1871 for the German Empire. This was justified by alleging economic exploitation and the supposed social and racial decomposition of the "German national body" (Volkskörper) by Jews. Therefore, it argued that their penetration into key social positions must be prevented. The specific demands were:
At the request of the left-liberal deputy Albert Hänel, the Antisemites' Petition was debated in the Prussian House of Representatives on November 22 and 24, 1880. Contrary to hopes, the government did not condemn the petition; it merely stated its intention to maintain the legal status of equality for religious denominations in civil matters. This avoided taking a stance on antisemitic administrative practices or agitation.
Except for the left-liberals, no other parliamentary faction condemned the antisemitic campaign. While most defended legal emancipation, they attributed the agitation to the alleged misconduct of Jews themselves. Ludwig Windthorst, leader of the Centre Party, could only speak "for himself" when he disapproved of the proceedings against Jews. The leader of the Conservatives, Ernst von Heydebrand und der Lasa, spoke sharply against the Jews, while the Free Conservatives and National Liberals remained reserved.
Eugen Richter, leader of the German Progress Party, directly confronted Stoecker, accusing him:
The initiators intended the signature collection to take on the character of a plebiscite. Between August 1880 and April 1881, antisemites claimed to have collected 267,000 signatures (the actual number was likely at least 225,000).
The agitation of Adolf Stoecker and the academic influence of professors like Heinrich von Treitschke activated many students. By early 1881, the "Association of German Students" (Vereine deutscher Studenten) was formed in Berlin, Halle, and Breslau as a result of these committees. The petition saw strong support in the conservative rural regions of Prussia (especially East Elbia), whereas support remained low in Northern, Western, and Southern Germany. Stoecker signed the petition, whereas Treitschke did not.
Agitation surrounding the petition led to violent riots in Neustettin. On February 18, 1881, the city's synagogue was burned down, and in 1883, several local Jews were put on trial, falsely accused of setting fire to their own synagogue.
In response, 75 representatives of German intellectual life (including Theodor Mommsen, Johann Gustav Droysen, and Rudolf Virchow) published the "Declaration of Notables" (Notabeln-Erklärung) in 1880, protesting against the "revival of an old delusion."
On April 13, 1881, the petition was submitted to the Reich Chancellery. Bismarck ignored it, and Count Otto zu Stolberg-Wernigerode stated that the government would not change the legal status of equality. However, the petition was a partial success in gaining public attention. From 1884, Prussia pursued targeted expulsions of Jewish Poles based on Jus sanguinis (blood right), leaving them as foreigners under special law.