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Laurinská Street, Bratislava, where Jews were attacked

The Partisan Congress riots were attacks on Jews in Bratislava and other towns in the Slovak part of Czechoslovakia between 1 and 6 August 1946. After World War II, former Slovak partisans were often appointed as administrators of property and businesses that had been confiscated from Jews by the previous regime. In May 1946 a law mandating the restitution of these was passed and antisemitic leaflets and attacks on Jews increased. A national congress of former partisans was held in Bratislava on 2–4 August 1946. Rioting began on 1 August and occurred over six days (scene of one attack pictured). Despite police attempts to maintain order, ten apartments were broken into, nineteen people were injured (four seriously), and the Jewish community kitchen was ransacked. Attacks and riots occurred in other Slovak towns. The contemporary press played down the involvement of partisans. In response, the government launched a crackdown on antisemitic incitement and suspended restitution to Jews. (Full article...)

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On this day

August 1: Lughnasadh and Imbolc in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, respectively

Joseph Priestley

902 – Led by Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid forces captured the Byzantine stronghold of Taormina, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley (pictured) liberated oxygen gas, corroborating the discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, a pair of benefit concerts organised by Ravi Shankar and George Harrison for refugees of the Bangladesh genocide, took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1991 – U.S. president George H. W. Bush delivered a speech in the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev warning against independence from the Soviet Union.

Andrew Melville (b. 1545)
John Lester (b. 1871)
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This historical depiction of the coat of arms of Tennessee was illustrated by the American engraver Henry Mitchell in State Arms of the Union, published in 1876 by Louis Prang. The coat of arms includes the Roman numeral "XVI", referring to Tennessee being the 16th state to join the Union. The plough, wheat sheaf, and cotton plant in the top half of the shield illustrate the importance of agriculture to the state's economy, while the flat-bottomed riverboat in the bottom half represents the importance of commerce. This design also appears on the Tennessee state seal.

Illustration credit: Henry Mitchell; restored by Andrew Shiva

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