An Accidental Anarchist: How the Killing of a Humble Jewish Immigrant by Chicago's Chief of Police Exposed the Conflict Between Law & Order and Civil Rights in Early

It was a bitter-cold morning in March, 1908. A 19-year-old Jewish immigrant traversed the confusing and unfamiliar streets of Chicago - a one-and-one-half hour journey - from his ghetto home on Washburne Avenue to the luxurious Lincoln Place residence of Police Chief George Shippy. He arrived at 9 a.m. Within minutes after knocking on the front door, Lazarus Averbuch lay dead on the hallway floor, shot no less than six times by the chief, himself.
What happened is still not known.
This is the most comprehensive account ever of an episode that stunned Chicago and won the attention of the entire country. It does not "solve" the mystery as much as it places it in the context of a nation that was unsure how to absorb the many immigrants flowing into its borders. It attempts to reconstruct the many different perspectives and concerns that comprised the drama around the investigation of Averbuch's killing.

Walter Roth is a senior partner in the law firm of D’Ancona & Pflaum in Chicago. He is president of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society and has written many articles for Chicago Jewish History, the Sentinel, and JUF News.