Comment by hutzlibu

"They were living in peace with their neighbors for hundreds of years, and then their neighbors turned on them and massacred them."

Progroms were not exactly a new thing in europe, but frequently happened over the centuries. The 19. and beginning of the 20. century was rather a quite peaceful episode, with jews getting equal citizen rights etc. but the hate did not go away, as can be seen, once the Nazis took over.