In November 1918, a pogrom took place in Lviv. Poles started the wave of robbery, arson and murder of Jews. Why?
The beginnings of the reborn Polish state were marked not only by political and armed conflicts with neighboring countries over establishing borders, but also by internal unrest. The country from which the new Poland was to emerge was a country of gigantic civilization, legal and economic differences. Society was polarized. Ethnic tensions and disputes were part of everyday life, for example in Galicia, where the Jewish population was attacked several times in 1918.
From hand to hand
This is what happened in Lviv. On November 1, 1918, the Ukrainians seized most of the public buildings in Lviv and proclaimed the creation of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. A confrontation with the Poles was inevitable. In the first period of the fighting against the army, recruited from Ukrainian soldiers originally serving in the Austrian army, stood up against the Polish inhabitants of Lviv and conspirators from the Polish Military Organization . A total of about 700 poorly armed people.
Despite the staff shortages, within a dozen or so days, the Poles managed to displace the Ukrainians from the most important parts of the city after heavy fighting. Young people made up a large part of the Polish forces. The armament largely came from Austrian warehouses, which we managed to seize.
Jewish district in Lviv after the pogrom
The Ukrainian Army of Halych suffered heavy losses. The number of killed is estimated at 550. On November 20, Polish military relief from Przemyśl finally reached the city - 1228 soldiers and 140 officers, and 8 guns under the command of Lt. Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski. After the day of fighting, the Ukrainians withdrew from the city.
"Wake up" accusations
The rejection of the enemy caused euphoria, but also accusations against the Jews living in the city were raised. "Wake up" - a Polish magazine created during the fights for the city. The Jewish diaspora has formally declared neutrality. In view of the increasing common banditry (caused, among others, by the release of criminals from prisons by Ukrainians and Austrians), a Jewish militia was established to guard the order in the district inhabited by the diaspora population.
According to "Pobudka", the Jewish militiamen were supposed to support the Ukrainians. There are reports of witnesses. Journalist Franciszek Salezy-Krysiak reported that the Jewish militia not only informed the Ruthenians of Polish activities, but also shot soldiers . The case was presented in the same way by the commander of the defense of Lviv until the arrival of the regular army - Czesław Mączyński. He claimed that the Jewish militia regularly took part in the fighting on the Ukrainian side.
Jeweler robbery
On November 22, the pogrom was ignited by an attack by Polish soldiers on Zipper's jewelry store in the Market Square. The machinery of robbery and violence has started. The riots lasted two days. During them, Jews were attacked, shops were robbed and demolished, and the Przedmiejska Synagogue and the Beit Chasidim Synagogue were burned down. On November 23, military summary courts were introduced in Lviv. For those caught in robbery, plunder, murder and rape, they were to pass the death penalty.
Jolanta Żyndul's book “Żydzi i Piłsudski. Selection of sources for the history of Polish-Jewish relations in the interwar period ", which has just been published by the ŻIH Publishing House.
On November 24, order was restored. Three people who committed the robberies and crimes were sentenced to death. A total of 79 people were sentenced - most to less than 18 months in prison. Interestingly, there were 46 women among the inmates. 55 people were Catholic.
The number of deaths in the Lviv incidents was estimated very differently. According to the Jewish Rescue Committee, there were at least 73 of them. The American Morgenthau report mentions 64 dead. According to Czesław Mączyński, 27 Jews were killed directly during the pogrom and 14 people were injured. The pogrom hit mainly Jewish merchants. Over 500 stores were robbed.
The reaction of the West
The Lviv pogrom turned out to be a serious image problem for the fledgling and fighting for the state border. The case received wide publicity in the West. At the beginning of 1919, representatives of the Jewish minority from Galicia wrote in their proclamation about the situation of constant danger and unequal treatment of Jews. They demanded action by the authorities guaranteeing Jews full civil rights. Jolanta Żyndul, author of the book Żydzi i Piłsudski. Selection of sources for the history of Polish-Jewish relations in the interwar period , quotes their words:
(...) today there are two men at the head of Poland, who actually hold the government of souls of the entire nation. The Chief of State, Commander Piłsudski and the Head of the Government, Master Paderewski, have the necessary authority in the nation, and this trust that the serious slogan they issued, based on the national interest, will surely find a full response in Polish society.
The graves of the pogrom victims
It will find a sound when a specific communication action is combined with the issuance of the password (...). This will calm the mind (...) and create an atmosphere in which no pogroms can arise , and the Polish State will gain whole ranks of bourgeois collaborators who, especially in the fight against Bolshevism, can render services that are simply extraordinary.
On October 3, 1919, the American government mission report on the Lviv events was published. It was coldly received by the Jewish diaspora in the US. The local media did not mention the conclusions of this report, and the representatives of the Jewish community decided that it was whitewashing Poles. The report emphasized that the Polish military and civilian authorities were not the initiator of the incidents, but tried to contain them. In turn, the report by Jadwin and Johnson indicated that the issue of anti-Jewish excesses was deliberately exaggerated by German propaganda, which thus sought to discredit the reborn Poland.
Collaboration?
Opinions on the support of the Ukrainian side by the Jewish inhabitants of Lviv were common at that time. Capt. Czesław Mączyński wrote in his memoirs that the Jewish militia were "an army allied with the Ukrainians, fighting under the guise of neutrality". The people's politician Maciej Rataj, who was present in Lviv at that time, assessed the situation in a similar way. However, he emphasized that there is no justification and consent for aggression and banditry by the perpetrators of the later incidents:
It is true that during the 22 days of fighting in the streets of Lviv, Polish hearts had gathered a lot of righteous and justified indignation towards Jews who, by proclaiming neutrality, generally took the side of the Ukrainians not only with sympathy, but also with active help (...). All this is true, but the robberies that were perpetrated by the rabble who exploited the soldier's victory on November 22nd were disgusting.
photo:Wojciech Kossak / public domain The pogrom was a consequence of the Polish-Ukrainian fights for Lviv
The Jewish side, on the other hand, rejected any accusations of collaboration with the Ukrainians. Jolanta Żyndul in her book Żydzi i Piłsudski. Selection of sources for the history of Polish-Jewish relations in the interwar period he quotes the position of the representatives of the Jewish Rescue Committee in Lviv:
(...) not a single incident of a similar act has been proven to a single Jew, and despite the fact that with the greatest effort, not a single such sentence or indictment has been prepared. The dock of defendants has remained empty to this day. Not a single Jew sat on it.
Big misunderstanding
Today, the dominant opinion among researchers is that at least some of the cases of alleged collaboration could have been the result of misunderstanding and disinformation. As a result of the release of prisoners, many bandits were found in the city. Due to the lack of personnel on the Polish side, a uniform and a weapon were given to anyone who declared their will to fight. The shady element could have used such an opportunity for crime and robbery. And because these people were dressed in Polish uniforms , the possible intervention of the Jewish militia could be perceived by the witnesses as an attack on the Polish army collaborating with the Ukrainians.
“The sad symptom of wildness can be seen in the city. The scum of the public, many of them dressed in military uniforms, rob shops and smash their contents. Legionary patrols are entering, but for now it is difficult to prevent them in all cases "- wrote "Kurjer Lwowski" on November 23, 1918. The article stated that "cloudy elements, in order to facilitate their work, threw the slogan of vengeance on the Jews ". It was also admitted that the Polish inhabitants of Lviv were outraged by the attitude of "Jewish nationalists" during the fights for the city, but - as it was noted - "not a crowd of robbers is called to pass sentences and justify".
Burned Beit Chasidim synagogue after the Lviv pogrom
Such an approach to the case corresponds to the accounts of people who witnessed shooting at Polish units, who could not be accused of looting or other acts of violence. The report of the delegates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Leon Chrzanowski and Józef Wassercug - from December 17, 1918, said that there were several cases of violations of neutrality by the Jewish Militia . In the report of the Supreme Court judge, Zygmunt Rymowicz, it was stated that Zionist Jewish youth supported the Ukrainians.
On the other hand, Ozjasz Wasser, president of the Jewish community in Lviv, in the book Defense of Lviv. Participants' accounts he emphasized that "that the militia never took part in the fight against Poles, today it is an established fact."
History goes on in a circle
Today, historians are inclined to evaluate the events in Lviv by Solomon, admitting that during the fights there could have been both misunderstandings, which resulted in firing at bandits in uniforms, as well as actual collaboration. Which, of course, does not explain the violence that has spilled over the city. The historian Roman Wapiński wrote:
I am inclined to fully trust accounts that emphasize the neutrality of the majority of the Jewish population, but or even complete neutrality (if possible) did not raise any objections, especially in a threatening situation? (...). Neither this nor other pogroms can be justified, but their condemnation does not release from attempts to explain the circumstances in which they took place.
After the conviction, the guilty managed to restore order in the city. For the next several decades, Lviv was a place of tensions, but still peaceful, for Poles, Ukrainians, Jews and other nations. Unfortunately, the antagonism was intensified on an unprecedented scale by the Second World War. In 1941, Lviv became the arena of subsequent pogroms, the scale of which many times exceeded the events of 1918. We are talking about mass murders inspired by Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN - B, the Ukrainian auxiliary militia and the Germans. It is estimated that at least four thousand people of Jewish nationality lost their lives during the pogroms carried out by Ukrainian nationalists and the people who were punished by them, with the approval and support of the Germans, as a result of beatings, tortures and executions.
Bibliography:
- Jolanta Żyndul, Jews and Piłsudski. Selection of sources for the history of Polish-Jewish relations in the interwar period , Jewish Historical Institute 2021.
- Maciej Kozłowski, Between Zbrucz and San , Krakow 1990.
- Czesław Mączyński, Boje Lviv , Warsaw 1921.
- Grzegorz Łukomski, Czesław Partacz, Bogusław Polak, Polish-Ukrainian War 1918-1919, Koszalin - Warsaw:"Adiutor" 1994.
- Zbigniew Zaporowski, Victims of riots and robberies in Lviv on November 22-24, 1918 in the light of the findings of the Lviv Police Directorate , Institute of National Remembrance (access:15/12/2021).