History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, Volume 2 [of 3]: From the Death of Alexander I until the Death of Alexander III (1825-1894)Dubnow, Simon
Religion
History of the Jews in Russia and Poland, Volume 2 [of 3]: From the Death of Alexander I until the Death of Alexander III (1825-1894)
Dubnow, Simon
Jews -- Poland -- History; Jews -- Russia -- History; Poland -- History; Russia -- History
During the night from the 15th to the 16th of April, an attack was
made upon Jewish houses, primarily upon liquor stores, on the
outskirts of the town, on which occasion one Jew was killed. About
seven o'clock in the morning, on April 16, the excesses were
renewed, spreading with extraordinary violence all over the city.
Clerks, saloon and hotel waiters, artisans, drivers, flunkeys, day
laborers in the employ of the Government, and soldiers on
furlough--all of these joined the movement. The city presented an
extraordinary sight: streets covered with feathers and obstructed
with broken furniture which had been thrown out of the residences;
houses with broken doors and windows; a raging mob, running about
yelling and whistling in all directions and continuing its work of
destruction without let or hindrance, and, as a finishing touch to
this picture, complete indifference displayed by the local
non-Jewish inhabitants to the havoc wrought before their eyes. The
troops which had been summoned to restore order were without
definite instructions, and, at each attack of the mob on another
house, would wait for orders of the military or police authorities,
without knowing what to do. As a result of this attitude of the
military, the turbulent mob, which was demolishing the houses and
stores of the Jews before the eyes of the troops, without being
checked by them, was bound to arrive at the conclusion that the
excesses in which it indulged were not an illegal undertaking but
rather a work which had the approval of the Government. Toward
evening the disorders increased in intensity, owing to the arrival
of a large number of peasants from the adjacent villages, who were
anxious to secure part of the Jewish loot. There was no one to check
these crowds; the troops and police were helpless. They had all lost
heart, and were convinced that it was Impossible to suppress the
disorders with the means at hand. At eight o'clock at night a rain
came down accompanied by a cold wind which helped in a large measure
to disperse the crowd. At eleven o'clock fresh troops arrived on the
spot. On the morning of April 17 a new battalion of infantry came,
and from that day on public order was no longer violated in
Yelisavetgrad.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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