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Preface.

Gentle Reader!

That the capital trial is not difficult to learn, but very costly and laborious to conduct in all manner of cases, is felt most keenly in important criminal prosecutions of well-trained thieving Jews. After all, it usually requires much time, effort and expense not simply to follow the right trail and, once this has been accomplished, it costs much money and skill to apprehend such evildoers, especially in foreign and remote locations. This is followed by costly and laborious extraditions, arduous interrogations, and extensive correspondence in order to acquire all of the necessary evidence as well as witness interrogations without which no criminal prosecution can proceed in a reasonable period of time. And in all of this one often finds among the defendants such obdurate minds that would rather tear out their own veins than admit to the truth; not to mention how the entire Jewish people tend to plot in all conceivable ways to wrest their thieving coreligionists from the hands of justice. How often one has encountered all of these and other immemorial obstacles in the present-day work of criminal prosecution, before arriving at the predetermined final goal, namely the proper exploration of the truth, and some execution of justice. For one cannot boast any more of the present criminal trial for the violent burglary of the local gold and silver manufactory than that the ultimate goal has been achieved to a certain degree and in a few points; especially since not only are most of the Jewish arch-thieves charged still walking around free at this time, much to the disruption of common safety, but also that there has been no possibility to replace the stolen goods. In the meantime, the present criminal investigation has cost more than several thousand reichstaler, and the only benefit thus far is that so many previously unknown acts of Jewish larceny have been discovered, and the thieves themselves deterred at least for a time from continuing their thievery. Similarly everyone, especially learned men, should now be looking to reach out their hands to one another with their hard-won and precious experience and knowledge: Thus the author has felt himself moved to have the present work printed, especially to the benefit of foreign criminal courts, all the more so as the documentary Designationes he has already edited have already borne so many fruits, namely that a large number of notorious Jewish thieves discovered during the investigation here have been arrested and charged in Kassel, Fulda, Bamberg, Mannheim, Hanover and other towns. For this reason, any justiciar charged by the territorial authorities with investigating and punishing the harmful vice of larceny finds in this work reliable judicial and documentary information of how to lay a solid foundation in future cases with half the work and less expense. For many arch-thieves are characterized most accurately herein and their wicked deeds recorded by the courts, so that an investigating judge who gets his hands on one or the other of these fellows at some point no longer has to reinvent the wheel and waste much time and expense on a laborious preparatory investigation. There can be no doubt that those who make use of this book and acquaint themselves with its contents, will, quite unnoticed, attain such clear insight into how to notice primo intuitu whether a Jewish defendant, or any Jew for that matter, is a thief (achprosch) or an honest man. At the very least, the book presents to any judge the notable characteristics and indicators among the persons described and shows him how to avoid deeming an innocent man guilty and a guilty man innocent, and consequently how to distinguish Jewish tricks and excuses from truth and certainty.

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Accordingly, the present Jewish Gang Leader differs from all other such books in which, long ago, other large gangs of thieves and robbers and their abuses and the subsequent investigations and executions of judgements were described in detail. Then, to touch but briefly on this difference, for one thing, this book presents a gang of thieves and robbers composed solely of Jews, of which one previously scarcely believed in the possibility, let alone the reality. For another thing, we will learn that this gang of Jewish thieves was second to none for its furious attacks and malicious acts, and in many instances surpassed all others in this; given that, thirdly, the facta committed by these Jews were so important and varied that other thieves, including Christians, will scarcely outdo them. Moreover, and fourthly, it is remarkable that many among this gang have plied the trade of thievery for twenty, thirty, forty and more years, and have either dissipated all suspicion through their deceptions, or successfully eluded the most severe investigations against them through astonishing obdurateness. As to the style and intentions of other published histories of thieves and robbers, most of them are written by clerics for the purposes of education, admonition and improvement, so that one might recognize the divine judgement passed upon the children of darkness and avoid such disgrace, sin and vices. Now all of this may have its uses and may contribute far more persuasively and powerfully to the improvement of some nefarious persons than the most zealous penitential sermons. Such intentions and labor, however, are likely to prove as efficacious against these thieving Jews (who do not consider stealing from a Christian to be a sin, but rather find themselves praised, honored and called virtuous among their own nation) as an attempt to wash a Moor white. Viewed in this light, the present book was not written merely to encourage Christians and Jews to abandon the vice of theft, fear God and devote themselves to a quiet and honorable way of life in the world, although anyone might find much occasion to form such conclusions. Instead, the primary purpose of this book consists chiefly of convincing all fellow Christians quite clearly and for their better awareness, of what they need to do in common intercourse, trade and dealings with the Jewish people. How difficult it is to avoid their importuning. And how, in contrast, to eradicate the harmful achproschen, or arch-thieves. Also what must be observed particularly when prosecuting them. Just as, however, all estates, high and low, clerical and secular, have to deal with Jews in various activities, or use them to implement their intentions, no one will believe that this book has been written to please legal scholars and judicial officials alone. Rather, one may say without any boasting that anyone may profit from reading it. The country noblemen who possess the Jus recipiendo Judaos either themselves or from the neighborhood, and are sometimes accustomed to encouragement from this people, will become a bit more attentive when reading this Jewish Gang Leader, and not grant every Hebrew such free access and protection. Since merchants, and all those who engage in trade with Jews, cannot easily avoid them, and will find reasonable occasion to pay closer attention to the eyes and fingers of these birds of prey, and not make any contract the proof of which ultimately depends upon a Jew’s oath. Otherwise, the entire content of this book will show that all those who have had the misfortune to be robbed by these skilled arch-thieves, and despite all their efforts and expense have never succeeded in recovering anything of their stolen goods; and thus all those who, all endeavors notwithstanding, find themselves in future befallen by such a misfortune, are kindly advised to get over the loss and put it out of their minds, so as to avoid throwing good money after bad.

By the way, it is desirable that the prosecutions of Jews currently taking place in other localities also be publicized in printed documentary form, or communicated to criminal courts in other jurisdictions, since this appears to be the most certain means of breaking the necks of the nefarious pack, or at least of undermining as far as possible their further evil deeds. In closing, however, we entreat the gentle reader to judge this work with the same fairness of mind as the author evidences in sincerely seeking to serve his fellow Christians, and in the process turns his attention to the promotion of truth and salutary justice in all respects.