Sunday, November 1, 2026
9:45 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Temple Israel
130 Riverside Drive
Dayton, OH 45405

The 1919 Ethnic Map of New York City: Antisemitism and Plans to Suppress a Judeo-Bolshevik Uprising during the First Red Scare
Fred Krome, Professor of History, University of Cincinnati Clermont College
In 1919, a map of New York City was published in which a color code identified the various ethnic clusters of immigrants that made up Gotham inhabitants. Unknown to many at the time, and long since forgotten by anyone but antiquarians and the occasional historian, was the context behind the creation of the map, which was completed under the auspices of current and former members of the Military Intelligence Division of the U.S. Army. Indeed, the map was part of a proposal entitled “Plan for the Protection of New York in the Case of Local Disturbances.” In effect, this was a War Plan to deploy National Guard along with Federal Troops to put down an anticipated domestic uprising led by a cabal of Jewish communists. This talk will examine the historical context of the map, and the war plan, which were an integral part of the first “Red Scare” (1919-21) in U.S. history. It was in this period that the linkage between Jews and Bolsheviks was first asserted (the common term was Judo-Bolshevism) that would cause so much misery in the years to come.

$10/person. Click here for more information and to RSVP.