Białystok pogrom
Białystok pogrom | |
---|---|
Location | Belostok, Russian Empire (modern-day Białystok, Poland) |
Date | 14–16 June 1906 |
Deaths | 81–88 |
Injured | 80+ |
Perpetrators | Russian soldiers and Black Hundreds |
The Belostok (Białystok) pogrom occurred between 14–16 June 1906 (1–3 June
The Białystok pogrom was one of a series of violent outbreaks against Jews between 1903 and 1908, including the
Background
At the beginning of the 20th century, Białystok was a city with a predominantly Jewish population. In 1897, the Jewish population numbered 41,900 (out of about 66,000, or about 63%).
In the summer of 1904, an eighteen-year-old anarchist, Nisan Farber, stabbed and seriously wounded Avraam Kogan, the owner of a spinning mill, as he walked to the synagogue on Yom Kippur. On October 6, Farber threw a bomb into a police station, injuring several policemen inside. Farber himself was killed by the explosion.[4]
On February 21, 1905, the district's Chief of Police, Yelchin, was killed, and on June 8 the city's new Police Chief, Pelenkin, was wounded by another bomb blast. In July 1905, two police officers were wounded by a bomb thrown by Jewish anarchist Aron Elin (Gelinker).[5] In the same year, police officers Mozger, Moneshko and Barancevich were killed and eight other policemen were wounded.
As a consequence of the violence, martial law was declared in Białystok in September 1905, which lasted until March 1906. After martial law was lifted, the series of assassinations and acts of terror began anew. On March 4, the police officer Kulchitsky was killed, followed by the killings of gendarme officer Rubansky, and NCO Syrolevich, who were killed on March 18. In May 1906, police officer Sheyman was killed by anarchists.[5] Later, the policemen Zenevich and Alekseychuk were wounded, three privates of the Vladimir infantry regiment were wounded and the
These events led to a demoralization and disorganization of the police in the city. Between the years 1905 and 1906 there were seven police chiefs. The police did not enter Surazh Street, which was considered a stronghold of anarchists.[5]
On 11 June 1906 the Police Chief of Białystok, Dierkacz, was murdered, most likely on the orders
On 14 June, two Christian processions took place; a
The violence
Once the shots were fired, the violence began immediately. Mobs of thugs, including members of the Black Hundreds, began looting Jewish owned stores and apartments on Nova-Linsk Street. Policemen and soldiers who had earlier followed the Orthodox procession either allowed the violence to happen or participated in it themselves. The first day of the pogrom was chaotic. While units of the Czarist army, brought to Białystok by Russian authorities, exchanged fire with Jewish paramilitary groups,[13] thugs armed with knives and crowbars dispersed throughout the main areas of the city to continue the pogrom.[12] Some Jewish sections of the city were protected by self-defense units, usually organized by the labor parties, which moved against the thugs and looters.[11] They were in turn fired upon by Czarist dragoons. Thanks to the Jewish self-defense units several working class sections of the city were spared the violence and thousands of lives were saved.[8]
In the following two days the attacks on people and property became more systematic and directed, resembling a coordinated military action more than a spontaneous outbreak of violence. Marauding mobs and tsarist soldiers broke into many Jewish homes and either killed people on the spot or dragged them outside to murder them. It was only at the end of the third day that Stolypin, the Minister of Internal Affairs, instructed regional governors and mayors to suppress the pogrom.[14] The violence ended abruptly upon the withdrawal of Russian troops from the city.
Causes and effects
During the course of the pogrom 88 people were killed, including 82 Jews, although some sources list a higher number of 200.[15] A total of 169 shops and houses had been plundered, among them the largest stores in the city. The pogrom was the subject matter of many news reports and articles, including a special manifesto issued by the Polish Socialist Party condemning the occurrence.[16]
Russian authorities tried to blame the pogrom on the local Polish population in order to stir up the hatred between two ethnic groups (both of which generally opposed the Tsar). However Jewish survivors of the violence reported that the local Polish population had in fact sheltered many Jews during the pogrom and did not participate in it.
Monument to the victims
The victims of the pogrom were buried in a mass grave in the Bagnowka cemetery
References in literature
The pogrom is mentioned in
Veronia Schanoes' novella Burning Girls includes a fictionalized account of the pogrom.
See also
- Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–1907)
- Melech Epstein who fought in the pogrom as a member of the Jewish self-defense force
- Siedlce pogrom
- Symphony No. 13 "Babi Yar" by Dmitri Shostakovich (referred to in 1st movement)
References
- ^ "Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok". UWB Official website. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Encyclopedia Judaica: Bialystok, Poland". Jewish Virtual Library.
- ^ Samuel Joseph, "Jewish immigration to the United States, from 1881 to 1910", Columbia University, 1914, pgs. 65-66, [1]
- ^ Peter Medding. Jews and violence: images, ideologies, realities.
- ^ a b c Anarchist Almanac. 1909. Archived 2011-11-29 at the Wayback Machine (Russ.)
- ^ P.Korzec, Pogrom Białostocki w 1906 and political repercussions, "Rocznik Białostocki", t. III, Białystok 1962, page. 149 - 182.
- ^ a b Michał Kurkiewicz, Monika Plutecka, "Zapomniane pogromy" (Forgotten pogroms) Nowe Państwo 4 (364), Winter, 2006, [2] Last accessed 3/30/09
- ^ a b c David Sohn, “The Pogrom Against the Jews” from the Bialystoker Memorial Book, 1982, [3] Archived 2009-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Yaacov Ro'I, “Jews and Jewish life in Russia and the Soviet Union”, Routledge, 1995, pg. 136, [4]
- ^ Yaacov Ro'i, "Jews and Jewish life in Russia and the Soviet Union", Routledge, 1995, pg. 138 [5]
- ^ a b c d e Sara Bender, “The Jews of Białystok during World War II and the Holocaust, pg. 16 [6]
- ^ a b Simon Dubnow, Israel Friedlaender, “History of the Jews in Russia and Poland”, Avotaynu Inc, 2000, pg 484, [7]
- ^ Yaacov Ro'I. Jews and Jewish life in Russia and the Soviet Union. Pg. 137. [8]
- ^ a b Ascher, Abraham Ascher, “The Revolution of 1905: A Short History”, Stanford University Press, 2004, pg. 149 [9]
- ^ Sarah Abrevaya Stein, “Making Jews Modern”, Indiana University Press, 2004, pg. 113 [10]
- ^ Resolution of the workers of Białystok, condemning the Białystok pogrom (1906), Wikisources, Polish Wikipedia [11]
- ^ Samuel Joseph, Jewish Immigration To The United States From 1881 To 1910, READ BOOKS, 2008, pg. 66 [12]
- ^ Bagnowka cemetery video
- ^ "Bialystok (Bagnowka) - Grodno Guberniya Poland Imaging Project". Shtetlinks.jewishgen.org. 2008-08-10. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ Bialystok, Oficjalny Portal Miejski (Official Municipal Portal of Białystok), "Cmentarz Żydowski (ul. Wschodnia)", [13] Archived 2011-10-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Bagnówka". Bagnowka.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
- ^ "BABI YAR By Yevgeni Yevtushenko". Remember.org. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
External links
Media related to Białystok pogrom at Wikimedia Commons