Odessa pogroms

, the casting of the corpse of Gregory into the Bosporus The 1821 pogrom was a fairly serious riot, but was minimized and even dismissed by Jewish communal leaders and intellectuals, despite it killing, wounding, and damaging the homes and businesses of Jews. During the Greek War of Independence Jews tended to support the Ottomans, and after Turks killed Gregory V of Constantinople, Odessa, which had been a major anti-Ottoman revolutionary hotbed, received Gregory's remains for burial. A large number of Greek immigrants recently arrived from Constantinople joined the funeral and spread rumors that the Jews participated in Gregory's death. Jews were accused of using Christian blood for ritual purposes. After the ceremony, Greeks attacked Jewish homes and businesses, shattering windows, smashing doors, and beating Jews with sticks in three Jewish neighborhoods. Russian authorities warned Jews to stay at home, but not everyone listened. Heinrich Zschokke witnessed the pogrom and reported several casualties. Russian antisemites joined forces with the Greeks, and casualties numbered 17 and over 60 wounded. == 1849 ==

Riots reoccurred in August 1849 due to supposed Jewish disrespect during a procession from St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. It was reported that Jews refused to doff their caps as ordered by the Odessa chief of police. 15,000 rubles of damage were done and shops were sacked and looted in the Jewish quarter. This was a local event and did not attract attention elsewhere. ==1859==

Greek religious fanaticism again reared its head in 1859. This was the first pogrom to receive major journalistic attention. Jews were accused of killing a Christian child in a ritual murder. Rumors that Jews had desecrated the Greek Orthodox Church and cemetery led to the participation of many Greek sailors and dockworkers in the 1859 pogrom, and incited antisemitism. ==1871 ==

s distributed of him, that "people of a different faith" were going to steal his remains and stop them from being repatriated to Athens. Another thinker who became doubtful of Jewish-Russian relations was Leon Pinsker. In an influential article for the Russian language Jewish publication, Den, published in 1877 after being censored at the time, Orshansky wrote: The pogrom altered the intellectual landscape, and spurred Jewish national consciousness among Odessa thinkers such as Pinsker and Moshe Leib Lilienblum. Governor-General Prince proposed further restricting Jews from leasing rural estates, blaming them for the unrest, although his proposal was rejected. The pogrom increased emigration to the United States, and from Eastern to Western Europe, and made Jews there more aware of the refugee situation. The Franco-Prussian War, which ended in 1871, had interfered with access to ports in Europe and international travel. A few thousand Jews arrived in America from Russia every year starting in the 1870s. The American consul, Timothy Smith, mirrored Russian prejudices and wrote: "As a race [Jewish people] are unproductive, averse to labor, occupying themselves from preference as go betweens, engaged in all manner of 'commerce.'" In response to the 1871 pogroms in Odessa, Eugene Schuyler sent a memo to the U.S. State Department in 1872 identifying restrictions on most Jewish movement, property ownership, and work in Russia, writing, "the Hebrew population has a natural tendency to exploit the population in the midst of which it is settled. Now, since the spread of Slavonophile and ultra-Russian ideas, it is not unusual to find strong liberals and democrats, who are animated with the feelings of the Middle Ages toward the Hebrews, and even some of the prominent journals... are constantly attacking them." File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 1.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 2.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 3.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 4.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 6.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 7.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 8.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 9.png File:Vakhrenkov Odessa pogrom 1871 10.png ==1881 ==

'' which encompasses Odessa city center and the Moldavanka Jewish neighborhood The 1881 attacks exceeded the 1871 pogrom in their scope and brutality. According to the police chief's report, 528 houses sustained broken windows, 335 apartments were looted, 151 shops vandalized, and 401 shops looted, with a total amount of 10 million rubles in damage. Rumors were spread of a tsar's order to attack Jews. Some pogromists claimed they were celebrating the anniversary of the 1871 pogrom. When Gessia Gelfman, the one Jewish woman involved in the assassination plot, was spared execution as a humanitarian act and a concession to the popular opinion in the West at the time, it was attributed to Jewish "trickery" and "cunning" to avoid punishment for their "misdeeds." The press spread rumors and antisemitic opinions, but were rarely censored or otherwise reined in. The pogroms spread along highways, rivers, and rail lines in a continuous fashion, with Odessa as a source of concentration. The state institutions only intervened when it was more than Jewish lives or homes being threatened. In the 1881 and 1905 pogroms, many Greek houses were destroyed by Russian antisemites as well. Jewish self-defense as in Odessa was the exception not the rule. In response to circulating rumors and the history of antisemitism in Odessa, Jewish students organized recruitment, procurement of weapons, and training, but it arrived too late. They were only able to have one day of preparation before the pogroms broke out May 3, 1881. Like the 1871 pogrom, the 1881 pogrom disillusioned Jewish intellectuals of the haskalah who had to reconcile the reality of antisemitism. The pogrom rattled the comfortable complacency of Odessa's upper class Jews, suggesting that assimilation did not improve their conditions. This pogrom cemented Pinsker's view that Jewish integration would not be possible. These laws created a foundation for a police state. The belief that Jews themselves were responsible for the pogrom was a result of widespread anti-Jewish sentiment among the bureaucracy, which then prompted the government to respond slowly, which prompted a conspiracy theory that the government was behind the pogroms. The government did nonetheless eventually feel threatened by, and feared for its stability from, the pogroms, and at last tried to quell the unrest and restore order. Almost 2 million Jews left the Russian Empire for the United States, Western Europe, Latin America, and Australia in the aftermath of the 1881–1882 pogroms. The British consul observed that Jewish shopowners and moneylenders filled a critical economic role and improved the lives of peasants in a high risk area, without whom they might be unable to obtain financing or necessities at all, or certain goods at reasonable prices. "Were the Jews to leave South Russia its trade would entirely collapse." ==1886==

Anti-Jewish riots also occurred in 1886. Several hundred rioters verbally and physically assaulted Jewish pedestrians near the Kulykove Pole railroad station after a post-Easter religious and civic feast, and proceeded to go through town breaking windows. Two Jewish shops were destroyed, with looting and damage to houses. == 1900 ==

A serious pogrom that killed and wounded Jews, and damaged Jewish homes and businesses, also occurred in 1900. ==1905 ==

The 1905 pogrom of Odessa was the worst anti-Jewish pogrom in Odessa's history. Between 18 and 22 October 1905, ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, and Greeks claimed over 400 Jewish victims and damaged or destroyed over 1600 Jewish properties. Historians such as Weinberg and Lambroza believe the police and hospital figures were likely an underestimate, with a range of estimates from likely over 800, to over 1000 killed, and approximately over 2000 or even up to 5000 wounded. Background and causes Odessa had become the country's most important port city, home to banks, brokerage houses, sugar refineries, and other factories, and also had a vibrant intellectual culture that reflected cosmopolitan Europe. In the 1897 census, Jews made up 34.41% of the city's population, surpassed only by the ethnic Russian plurality at 45.58%. Other ethinic groups included Ukrainians (9.38%), Poles (4.29%), Germans (2.48%), and Greeks (1.26%). , consolidated their ranks to counter revolutionary and liberal movements. These groups viewed the anti-government opposition as a threat to the autocracy and Russian national identity. Their newspapers and leaflets blamed minorities such as Poles, Armenians, Georgians, and especially Jews, for the social and political unrest, calling on Russians to "beat the Jews, students and wicked people who seek to harm our Fatherland". Inadequate policing contributed to the rise of the far-right. "Riot specialists", some of whom enjoyed official support, opportunistically exploited tensions to channel violence toward Jews. The tsar also provided funds to the extremist groups. Fear of a pogrom in April 1905 prompted the National Committee of Jewish Self-Defense to urge Jews to arm themselves and protect their property to try to deter potential pogromists by threatening to fight back. Although a pogrom did not take place until October, fear of one re-emerged in June when Jews were declared culpable for instigating shootings as well as fires at the port. On 13 June 1905, Cossacks shot several striking workers. The next day, large groups of workers stopped working and attacked police with rocks and guns. The battleship Potemkin, whose crew had mutinied on 14 June, arrived in Odessa that evening. Thousands of Odessans went to the port to see the battleship and support the mutinous sailors. During the afternoon of 15 June, the unruly crowd began to raid warehouses and set fire to wooden buildings in the harbor. Chaos ensued when the military tried to suppress the unrest by cordoning off the harbor and shooting at the trapped crowd. Strikes, disorder, and the arrival of Potemkin resulted in the deaths of nearly 2,000 people at the Port of Odessa. An antisemitic pamphlet called Odesskie dni ("Odessan Days") was distributed soon after the violence at the harbor, accusing Jews of responsibility for the tragedy. Odesskie dni demanded restitution from Jews, disarmament, and a general search of Jewish residences. Although the events of June did not immediately cause a pogrom, the antisemitic environment had been intensified, setting the stage. During the Potemkin incident, Odessa was placed under martial law by Alexander von Kaulbars, and lifted in August despite Neidhart's opposition. The government gave universities autonomy, which intensified their political activism, and Neidhart's petition for further powers was turned down by the government, which he later cited as an excuse for his slow action. Evidence exists that during the 1905 pogrom, the army supported the mob: The Bolshevik Piatnitsky who was in Odessa at the time recalls what happened: "There I saw the following scene: a gang of young men, between 25 and 20 years old, among whom there were plain-clothes policemen and members of the Okhrana, were rounding up anyone who looked like a Jew—men, women and children—stripping them naked and beating them mercilessly... We immediately organised a group of revolutionaries armed with revolvers... we ran up to them and fired at them. They ran away. But suddenly between us and the pogromists there appeared a solid wall of soldiers, armed to the teeth and facing us. We retreated. The soldiers went away, and the pogromists came out again. This happened a few times. It became clear to us that the pogromists were acting together with the military." Sergei Witte wrote that he tried to get the tsar to stop the pogroms, but the tsar was silent, or blamed the Jews, and that the pogroms enjoyed support from the top. Witte said that Dmitri Feodorovich Trepov was a dictator who encouraged pogroms. Witte publicly condemned the violence. Economic antisemitism '' Growing antisemitism and resentment triggered by the changing place of Jews in Odessa's economy helped create an environment conducive to violence. The perception of Jews as an economic threat fueled Russian participation in the pogroms, and encouraged Russians to scapegoat Jews for their problems. Many Russians, facing limited employment opportunities and lower wages, became frustrated and believed they were being exploited by the growing Jewish population. They blamed Jewish population growth in Odessa, which increased from 14% (14,000 of 100,000) in 1858 to 35% (140,000 of 400,000) in 1897. They developed a largely incorrect perception that Jews possessed great wealth and power due to their growing influence on certain industries, particularly in commercial trades. Jewish-owned brokerage houses grew to manage the majority of the city's export trade. 13 of the 18 banks that operated in Odessa had Jewish board members and directors. Approximately half the members of the city's three merchant guilds were Jewish. While some Jewish-owned firms were successful, the majority of Jews in Odessa were impoverished. The perception that the growing Jewish capitalist population was "exploiting" Russians was exaggerated in the popular belief. Odessa's population growth levelled off in 1897, and the majority of enterprises under factory inspection in Odessa were owned by foreigners and Russians, who employed primarily Russian workers. In 1911, Jews owned 17 percent of real estate parcels, while non-Jews controlled about half of large enterprises. Most Jews barely made ends meet as shopkeepers, second-hand dealers, salesclerks, petty traders, domestic servants, day laborers, workshop employees, and factory hands. A 1902 study estimated that almost 50,000 Jews were destitute, another 30,000 lived under the poverty line, and in 1905, nearly 80,000 Jews needed financial aid to purchase matzah for Passover, indicating that considerably more than half of Odessa's Jews were living in poverty. This further radicalized the crowd. The rioters killed pregnant women giving birth along with their midwives in a maternity hospital and attempted to rape others. A little under 10% of the deaths were women, four of whom were among the self-defense brigades. The American consul to Russia sent a telegraph back home: "the Russians attacked the Jews in every part of town and a massacre ensued. From Tuesday till Saturday was terrible and horrible. The Russians lost heavily also, but the number of killed and wounded is not known. The police without uniform were very prominent." The worst rioting took place October 19–21. The violence spread from the city center to the suburbs and nearby villages. The rioters were well-organized and targeted neighborhoods with contingents of pogromists proportional to their size. Rather than working to protect Jews and restore order, plainclothes policemen and soldiers looked on or joined in the massacre. Though they suffered many casualties and ultimately were vanquished, Jewish self-defense forces successfully defended some neighborhoods. Neidhardt, Kaul'bars, and the Kuzminskii investigation On 21 October, after much of the pogrom was over, the city governor , and the commander of the Odessa military garrison, A. V. Kaul'bars, appeared in the streets. They instructed the rioters to disperse and go home. Neidhart's and Kaul'bars' prior inaction became a controversy, and led to Neidhart's resignation, though he was not otherwise reprimanded. Aftermath and response called "לקדושים" La-Kedoshim, "To the Holy Ones," or "To the Martyrs," which was written as a graveside poem to victims of violent anti-Jewish riots in Odessa, references the scapegoat of Yom Kippur] "306 souls were brought to this grave. All are victims of the pogroms in the three dark days: 3, 4 and 5 of Marcheshvan 5666. [18-20 October 1905] May their souls be bound in an everlasting bond". The pogrom caused approximately 3.75 million rubles in property damage, ruined 1,400 businesses, and forced 3,000 families into poverty. The Odessa Jewish Central Committee to Aid the Victims of the Pogroms of 1905 collected 672,833 rubles from Jews in Odessa and abroad to aid those hurt by the pogrom. In total, the committee assisted 2,499 affected families. "People ... have heard with great regret the stories of the sufferings of the Jews in Russia", remarked Secretary of State Frederick T. Frelinghuysen. In 1882 a meeting in New York counted Hamilton Fish, Joseph H. Choate, Edwards Pierrepont, William M. Evarts, as attendees, and a letter written by John W. Foster. In Philadelphia George Sharswood, the governor, spoke at a meeting, and in Congress a joint resolution was passed in support. The pogroms also inspired outrage among philosemitic gentiles in Britain. Between 1880 and 1883 The Times published 13 articles, plus additional notes and reports, protesting the pogroms. Lord Mayor of London John Whittaker Ellis held a meeting at Mansion House, London in 1881 with distinguished MPs and intellectuals in attendance, to protest and to raise funds. He was supported by liberals and conservatives alike such as Matthew Arnold, John Lubbock, James Martineau, Benjamin Jowett, James Bryce, Edward Stanley, and John Hubbard, with Frederic Farrar publishing articles. Joseph Savory the subsequent lord mayor in 1890 again held a meeting "to express public opinion upon the renewed persecution to which millions of the Jewish race are subjected in Russia under the yoke of severe and exceptional edicts and disabilities". This meeting was attended by Lord Tennyson, Walter Besant, Thomas Huxley, John Bright, and Lord Curzon. Even in Australia, public meetings in support of the pogroms with fundraising were held in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney, with notable support from George Frederic Verdon and William Bede Dalley. Charles Stewart Smith, the British Consul, later wrote that such was the prevailing lawlessness that for many months the streets continued to be unsafe. Armed robberies were everyday occurrences. Six months after the pogrom he wrote in a private letter: "Crime continues in odious intensity. The 'Black Crow' robberies have subsided, but bombs are thrown and assassinations occur far too often. A surgeon friend tells me that formerly in the Town hospital they used to receive one or two stabbing cases every week; now there are one or two a day." Jewish immigration to the US increased by around one quarter the next year. The Mendele Mocher Sforim Museum opened in downtown Odessa in 1927, containing images of the 1871 and 1905 pogroms. The tsarist authorities never authorized the museum or allowed the monument to be erected, or pogrom art to be shown, but the Bolsheviks used it as an opportunity to highlight their defeat of the brutal autocracy. == 1918–1920 ==

During the aftermath of the Bolshevik revolution and the Russian Civil War, marauding soldiers targeted uncontrolled violence against Jews. A 1919 report indicated that Jewish Odessans joined a Red Army regiment which was 80–85% Jewish, according to the report to protect themselves from pogroms, and that Russians had reportedly refused to join what they pejoratively called a "Yid regiment." The report claimed the members were that of the lumpenproletariat and that the regiment should be transferred away from the front, as it was counterrevolutionary and demoralizing. In some cases the Jewish volunteers sent to the front from Odessa were murdered by their own "comrades" or confronted by antisemitic ordeals and humiliations. The Soviet Head Committee, seeing its authority undermined by the pogrom movement, took measures such as dispersing units "inclined toward pogroms" and creating special Jewish battalions and reorganizations, and reserve units to act on pogroms. In addition to the Jewish volunteer army regiments, Jewish militias including student-run self-defense continued to be active in Odessa. Connections to the Black Hundreds and antisemitic press continued into the 1920s and 1930s, such as in the Volunteer Army, whose members promoted a Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy theory. In 1920, Russian colonel terrorized and plundered Jews in Odessa, where he proclaimed, "They close the churches, they tear down our holy icons." The Soviet Cheka was also blamed on Jews which incited violence. One Jewish soldier, Sholem Schwarzbard, survived the 1905 pogrom in nearby Balta and later joined an anarchist regiment in Odessa. After he observed atrocities perpetrated by the White Army in 1919, he joined the "International Brigade" to fight Symon Petliura and ultimately assassinated him. Although he took responsibility, he was acquitted after the director of YIVO, Elias Tcherikower testified on his behalf about the atrocities. ==See also==