The Erfurt massacre refers to the massacre of 100 Jews in Erfurt

Erfurt

Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, on March 21, 1349. The massacre, like many others that occurred in Germany at the time, was in response to accusations that the Jews were responsible for the outbreak of the Black Death

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

 which had caused the death of millions of Europeans during the mid 14th-century. Many set fire to their homes and perished in the flames. Some sources claim as many as 3,000 were killed in the violence. Those who survived were expelled from the city.

Among those reputed to have been martyred was prominent Talmudist Alexander Suslin

Alexander Suslin

Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen was a prominent 14th century rabbinic authority born in Erfurt, Germany. He was one of the most important Talmudists of his time. He flourished in the first half of the fourteenth century. He was rabbi first in Cologne and Worms, and then moved to Frankfort-on-the-Main...

.