"Böhmischer Zirkel" und "typischer Charakterzug der slavischen Kriminalität". Zur Ethnisierung von Kriminalitätsdiskursen im Deutschen Kaiserreich und in der Habsburgermonarchie

The image of the ethnic deviant other is present today in many ways: for example in deep-rooted perceptions of Roma as habitual criminals or in jokes about Polish car thieves. This article examines ethnically based criminalization using the historical example of two regions: the eastern provinces of Prussia and the Bohemian Lands. It intends to uncover mechanisms and interpretative patterns through which outside images of particular ethnic groups were associated with notions of criminality, and thus served to construct groups of criminal "others". With this purpose in mind, the article analyzes discourses and regional social practices in relation to criminality.