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| Polish and Jewish historians differently interpret the events of the Lwów 1918 riots. Jewish historians write about the unwillingness of Polish army to suppress the riots, or even the army support for them, and point out that Polish sources exaggerate the Jewish support for the Ukrainians. Polish historians, on the other hand, write about army attempts to suppress the riots, stress the Jewish-Ukrainian collaboration, and argue that the exaggerated news reports of that era blew this event out of proportions.<ref name="RB"/> | Polish and Jewish historians differently interpret the events of the Lwów 1918 riots. Jewish historians write about the unwillingness of Polish army to suppress the riots, or even the army support for them, and point out that Polish sources exaggerate the Jewish support for the Ukrainians. Polish historians, on the other hand, write about army attempts to suppress the riots, stress the Jewish-Ukrainian collaboration, and argue that the exaggerated news reports of that era blew this event out of proportions.<ref name="RB"/> | ||
| == Quote == | |||
| <blockquote> | |||
| On Oct. 30, 1918, when the Austrian Empire collapsed, the Ukrainian troops, formerly in the Austrian service, assumed control of the town. A few hundred Polish boys, combined with numerous volunteers of doubtful character, recaptured about half the city and held it until the arrival of Polish re-enforcement on Nov. 21. The Jewish population declared themselves neutral, but the facts that the Jewish quarter lay within the section occupied by the Ukrainians and that the Jews had organized their own militia, and further, the rumor that some of the Jewish population had fired upon the soldiery, stimulated among the Polish volunteers an anti-Semitic bias that readily communicated itself to the relieving troops. The situation was further complicated by the presence of some 15,000 uniformed deserters and numerous criminals released by the Ukrainians from local jails, who were ready to join in any disorder particularly if, as in the case of wholesale pillage, they might profit thereby.<br><br> | |||
| Upon the final departure of the Ukrainians, these disreputable elements plundered to the extent of many millions of crowns the dwellings and stores in the Jewish quarter, and did not hesitate to murder when they met with resistance. During the ensuing disorders, which prevailed on Nov. 21, 22 and 23, sixty four Jews were killed and a large amount of property destroyed. Thirty eight houses were set on fire, and owing to the paralysis of the Fire Department, were completely gutted. The synagogue was also burned and a large number of the sacred scrolls of the law were destroyed. The repression of the disorders was rendered more difficult by the prevailing lack of discipline among the junior officers to apply stern punitive measures. When officers’ patrols under experienced leaders were finally organized on Nov. 23, robbery and violence ceased.<br><br> | |||
| On December 24, 1918, the Polish Government, through the Ministry of Justice, began a strict investigation of the events of Nov. 21 to 23. A special commission headed by a Justice of the Supreme Court, met in Lemberg for about two months, and rendered an extensively formal report which has been furnished the Mission. In spite of the crowded dockets of the local courts, where over 7,000 cases are now pending, 164 persons, ten of them Jews, have been tried for complicity in the November disorders, and numerous similar cases await disposal. Forty-four persons are under sentence ranging from ten days to eighteen months. Aside from the civil courts the local court-martial has sentenced military persons to confinement for as long as three years for lawlessness during the period in question. This Mission is advised that on the basis of official investigations the Government has begun the payment of claims for damages resulting from these events.<br><br> | |||
| From the Morgenthau Report | |||
| </blockquote> | |||
| == Notes == | == Notes == | ||
Revision as of 04:02, 4 September 2008
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Lwów pogrom of Jewish population of Lwów (now Lviv) took place on November 21 - November 23 1918 during Polish-Ukrainian War and resulted in several dozen victims.
Chaos
The chaos during Polish take-over of the city was accompanied by unrest in which dozens of civilians - Poles, Jews and Ukrainians - perished.
The Jews of Lwów formed a militia and attempted to remain neutral in the Polish-Ukrainian conflict over the city. Poles resented the Jewish neutrality, and there were reports, leading to exaggerated rumors, that some Jews collaborated with the Ukrainians and shot at the Polish forces. On November 22, after taking the city in the night of November 21 to November 22, Polish forces interned and disarmed the Jewish militia.
Before withdrawing from the town, Ukrainian forces let the criminals out of the prisons. The town was also full of Austrian army deserters. Poles also armed a number of volunteers (including some former criminals) who promised to fight the Ukrainains. The pogrom broke out after Polish forces managed to get control over all parts of the city, including the Jewish ghetto. The criminals, bands of Polish militia volunteers, and even drunken soldiers started robbing and pillaging parts of the city.
Polish forces were able to bring order to the city after one or two days (reports vary), on November 23 or November 24. Ad hoc courts handed severe verdicts during the riots. About one thousand people well jailed for participating in the riots.
Aftermath
The individuals accused of participation in the riot were punished by Polish authorities after they established themselves in the city. Eventually, the events also resulted in Polish government awarding liberal minority rights for Polish Jewish population (Little Treaty of Versailles).
The events were widely reported by European and American press, including The New York Times. Figures for the death toll vary; according to William W. Hagen, approximately 150 Jews were murdered and 500 Jewish shops and their businesses were ransacked, while the 1919 Morgenthau report counted 64 Jewish deaths. Jewish contemporary sources reported 73 deaths; Polish officer and amateur historian Czesław Mączyński noted in his memoirs that official city documents support only 41 deaths. In the chaotic events, more Poles than Jews have died, and Morgentau Report, for example, raised a question of whether the label pogrom it technically applicable to such riots in the times of war. News reports of the massacre, claimed by some to have been greatly exaggerated, were later used as a means of pressure on Polish delegation during Paris peace conference into signing the Minority Protection Treaty (the Little Treaty of Versailles).
Polish and Jewish historians differently interpret the events of the Lwów 1918 riots. Jewish historians write about the unwillingness of Polish army to suppress the riots, or even the army support for them, and point out that Polish sources exaggerate the Jewish support for the Ukrainians. Polish historians, on the other hand, write about army attempts to suppress the riots, stress the Jewish-Ukrainian collaboration, and argue that the exaggerated news reports of that era blew this event out of proportions.
Quote
On Oct. 30, 1918, when the Austrian Empire collapsed, the Ukrainian troops, formerly in the Austrian service, assumed control of the town. A few hundred Polish boys, combined with numerous volunteers of doubtful character, recaptured about half the city and held it until the arrival of Polish re-enforcement on Nov. 21. The Jewish population declared themselves neutral, but the facts that the Jewish quarter lay within the section occupied by the Ukrainians and that the Jews had organized their own militia, and further, the rumor that some of the Jewish population had fired upon the soldiery, stimulated among the Polish volunteers an anti-Semitic bias that readily communicated itself to the relieving troops. The situation was further complicated by the presence of some 15,000 uniformed deserters and numerous criminals released by the Ukrainians from local jails, who were ready to join in any disorder particularly if, as in the case of wholesale pillage, they might profit thereby.
Upon the final departure of the Ukrainians, these disreputable elements plundered to the extent of many millions of crowns the dwellings and stores in the Jewish quarter, and did not hesitate to murder when they met with resistance. During the ensuing disorders, which prevailed on Nov. 21, 22 and 23, sixty four Jews were killed and a large amount of property destroyed. Thirty eight houses were set on fire, and owing to the paralysis of the Fire Department, were completely gutted. The synagogue was also burned and a large number of the sacred scrolls of the law were destroyed. The repression of the disorders was rendered more difficult by the prevailing lack of discipline among the junior officers to apply stern punitive measures. When officers’ patrols under experienced leaders were finally organized on Nov. 23, robbery and violence ceased.
On December 24, 1918, the Polish Government, through the Ministry of Justice, began a strict investigation of the events of Nov. 21 to 23. A special commission headed by a Justice of the Supreme Court, met in Lemberg for about two months, and rendered an extensively formal report which has been furnished the Mission. In spite of the crowded dockets of the local courts, where over 7,000 cases are now pending, 164 persons, ten of them Jews, have been tried for complicity in the November disorders, and numerous similar cases await disposal. Forty-four persons are under sentence ranging from ten days to eighteen months. Aside from the civil courts the local court-martial has sentenced military persons to confinement for as long as three years for lawlessness during the period in question. This Mission is advised that on the basis of official investigations the Government has begun the payment of claims for damages resulting from these events.
From the Morgenthau Report
Notes
- ^ Robert Blobaum, Antisemitism and Its Opponents in Modern Poland, Cornell University Press, 2005, ISBN 0801489695, Print, p.127-129
- ^ Joshua D. Zimmerman, Contested Memories: Poles and Jews During the Holocaust and Its Aftermath, Rutgers University Press, 2003, ISBN 0813531586, Google Print, p.33-34
- Andrzej Kapiszewski
- Blobaum, Robert. Antisemitism and Its Opponents in Modern Poland.
- Template:Pl icon Czesław Mączyński, Boje Lwowskie, 1921
- Template:En icon Tadeusz Piotrowski (1997). Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide... McFarland & Company. pp. p. 41-42. ISBN 0-7864-0371-3.
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