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Robert Prager
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Robert Prager
Robert Paul Prager (February 28, 1888 – April 5, 1918) was a German immigrant who was lynched in the United States during World War I due to growing anti-German sentiment. Prager initially worked as a baker in southern Illinois before taking up work as a laborer in a coal mine. He eventually settled in Collinsville, a hub for mining activity.
During a period of heightened anti-German hostility, Prager applied for membership in the Maryville, Illinois, local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America but was rejected. Following this rejection, he angered local miners by posting copies of a letter around town in which he criticized the union's local president and expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision.
A mob of 200 to 300 men forced Prager from his home in Collinsville, making him walk barefoot and wrapped in an American flag along Main Street, where he was beaten and harassed. Although the police initially took him into custody, the mob regained control, seizing him from Collinsville City Hall and accusing Mayor John H. Siegel of being pro-German. Unable to find tar to carry out a tarring and feathering, as had been done to other victims, the mob's leaders instead used a rope to hang Prager to death at a prominent bluff outside the town.
Eleven men were tried for Prager's murder, but all were acquitted. Rumors circulated that Prager held socialist beliefs, which were viewed with suspicion at the time. Members of the mob alleged that he was planning to blow up the coal mine, but no evidence supported these claims, and Prager had not been charged with any crime.
Robert Paul Prager was born on February 28, 1888, in Dresden, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1905 at the age of 17. Initially working as an itinerant baker, he was sentenced to a year in an Indiana reformatory for theft. By the time the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, Prager was living in St. Louis, Missouri.
Prager demonstrated strong patriotism for his adopted country. The day after President Wilson's war speech on April 2, he filed his first citizenship papers to begin the naturalization process. He registered for the draft and attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy, as aliens were promised citizenship upon successful military service. Prager also displayed an American flag from his window at all times. When his St. Louis landlord objected to the display, Prager reported him to the police.
Prager was rejected by the Navy for medical reasons. After briefly living in various towns in Missouri and Illinois, he settled in Collinsville, southern Illinois, in the late summer of 1917. He initially worked as a baker for an Italian named Lorenzo Bruno. In early 1918, attracted by the high wartime wages miners were earning, Prager began working as a laborer at the Donk Brothers Coal and Coke Company Mine #2 in nearby Maryville. However, he was denied permanent membership in the United Mine Workers of America Local 1802, possibly due to his argumentative personality or suspected socialist beliefs.
In 1918, coal mining was the economic backbone of Collinsville, with seven mines operating in and around the city. Over half of the city's male working population was employed in the mines. The industry also attracted itinerant miners, many of whom lacked familial ties to the community. A significant portion of the miners were immigrants or had at least one immigrant parent, with most originating from European countries.
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Robert Prager
Robert Paul Prager (February 28, 1888 – April 5, 1918) was a German immigrant who was lynched in the United States during World War I due to growing anti-German sentiment. Prager initially worked as a baker in southern Illinois before taking up work as a laborer in a coal mine. He eventually settled in Collinsville, a hub for mining activity.
During a period of heightened anti-German hostility, Prager applied for membership in the Maryville, Illinois, local chapter of the United Mine Workers of America but was rejected. Following this rejection, he angered local miners by posting copies of a letter around town in which he criticized the union's local president and expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision.
A mob of 200 to 300 men forced Prager from his home in Collinsville, making him walk barefoot and wrapped in an American flag along Main Street, where he was beaten and harassed. Although the police initially took him into custody, the mob regained control, seizing him from Collinsville City Hall and accusing Mayor John H. Siegel of being pro-German. Unable to find tar to carry out a tarring and feathering, as had been done to other victims, the mob's leaders instead used a rope to hang Prager to death at a prominent bluff outside the town.
Eleven men were tried for Prager's murder, but all were acquitted. Rumors circulated that Prager held socialist beliefs, which were viewed with suspicion at the time. Members of the mob alleged that he was planning to blow up the coal mine, but no evidence supported these claims, and Prager had not been charged with any crime.
Robert Paul Prager was born on February 28, 1888, in Dresden, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in 1905 at the age of 17. Initially working as an itinerant baker, he was sentenced to a year in an Indiana reformatory for theft. By the time the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, Prager was living in St. Louis, Missouri.
Prager demonstrated strong patriotism for his adopted country. The day after President Wilson's war speech on April 2, he filed his first citizenship papers to begin the naturalization process. He registered for the draft and attempted to enlist in the U.S. Navy, as aliens were promised citizenship upon successful military service. Prager also displayed an American flag from his window at all times. When his St. Louis landlord objected to the display, Prager reported him to the police.
Prager was rejected by the Navy for medical reasons. After briefly living in various towns in Missouri and Illinois, he settled in Collinsville, southern Illinois, in the late summer of 1917. He initially worked as a baker for an Italian named Lorenzo Bruno. In early 1918, attracted by the high wartime wages miners were earning, Prager began working as a laborer at the Donk Brothers Coal and Coke Company Mine #2 in nearby Maryville. However, he was denied permanent membership in the United Mine Workers of America Local 1802, possibly due to his argumentative personality or suspected socialist beliefs.
In 1918, coal mining was the economic backbone of Collinsville, with seven mines operating in and around the city. Over half of the city's male working population was employed in the mines. The industry also attracted itinerant miners, many of whom lacked familial ties to the community. A significant portion of the miners were immigrants or had at least one immigrant parent, with most originating from European countries.