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The Proskurov pogrom took place on February 15, 1919, in the town of Proskurov (now Khmelnytskyi) during the Ukrainian War of Independence,^[1] which was taken from Bolshevik control by militants claiming to be Haidamacks. In mere three and a half hours at least 1,500 Jews were murdered,^[2] up to 1,700 by other estimates,^[3] and more than 1,000 wounded including women, children and the elderly.^[2] The massacre was carried out by Ukrainian People's Republic soldiers of Ivan Semesenko. They were ordered to save the ammunition in the process and use only lances and bayonets.^[2]

One witness writing of the violence said "It is impossible to image what happened here on Saturday, February 15, 1919. This was not a pogrom. It was like the Armenian slaughter."^[4] Samosenko was executed in 1920. At the time, it was claimed that Semesenko was executed for organizing pogroms. However, modern historians concluded that he was instead shot for dissent against Symon Petliura.^[5]

History

According to historians Yonah Alexander and Kenneth Myers the soldiers marched into the centre of town accompanied by a military band and engaged in atrocities under the slogan: "Kill the Jews, and save the Ukraine."^[2] The pogrom was initiated by Ivan Samosenko following a failed Bolshevik uprising against the Ukrainian People's Republic in the city.^[6]

The mention of pogrom was brought up during the Schwartzbard's trial in Paris, France. Reportedly, the evidential proof of an order by Ukrainian People's Republic head Symon Petliura himself was discussed during the proceedings. The actual cable was burned by a Jew fearing death. According to Canadian historian Henry Abramson the cable is probably a forgery "Given the repeated publications condemned by Petliura of pogroms".^[6]

A few days later, the Red Cross representative in Proskurow witnessed Semosenko's verbal report to Petliura, admitting to killing 4,000 Jews, which nevertheless remained unconfirmed.^[2] The town of Proskurov was renamed Khmelnytskyi in 1954 during the Stalinist era, in spite of the fact that Bohdan Khmelnytsky himself committed a terrible pogrom there against the Jews already in the 17th century.^[7]

Notes

^ David Alan Chapin; Ben Weinstock (2000). The Road from Letichev: The History and Culture of a Forgotten Jewish Community in Eastern Europe. Writer's digest. pp. 506–508. ISBN 0-595-00667-1. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Yonah Alexander; Kenneth Myers (2015). Terrorism in Europe. Rutlege Library Editions, RLE: Terrorism & Insurgency. Routledge. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-1-317-44932-4.
^ John Doyle Klier; Shlomo Lambroza (2004). Pogroms: Anti-Jewish Violence in Modern Russian History. Cambridge University Press. p. 381. ISBN 0-521-52851-8.
^ Bemporad 2019, p. 4.
^ Війна з державою чи за державу? Селянський повстанський рух в Україні 1917-1921 рр. Харків: Книжковий клуб сімейного дозвілля: Likбез. Історичний Фронт. 2017. pp. 137–140.
^ ^a ^b (in Ukrainian) Proskurivsky pogrom. Petliura's fault? by Henry Abramson, Ukrayinska Pravda (25 February 2019)
^ Judith Pearl Summerfield (2015). A Man Comes from Someplace: Stories, History, Memory from a Lost Time. Springer. p. 194. ISBN 978-94-6300-190-8.

Sources

Bemporad, Elissa (2019). Legacy of Blood: Jews, Pogroms and Ritual Murder in the Lands of the Soviets. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-19-046648-0.