Historical Context

The expression "The Holocaust before the Holocaust" is used to describe the wave of pogroms that swept through Ukraine between 1919 and 1921, during the chaotic aftermath of World War I and the Russian Civil War. These pogroms were marked by widespread violence, mass killings, and atrocities against Jewish communities, resulting in an estimated 50,000 to 250,000 Jewish deaths across the region.

The violence occurred amid the Ukrainian War of Independence and the Russian Civil War, with various military and paramilitary groups targeting Jewish communities. Multiple factions participated in the bloodshed:

Symon Petliura, leader of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while not directly ordering pogroms, failed to effectively prevent violence by his troops against Jewish civilians.

Ataman Nikolai Grigoriev, initially aligned with the Bolsheviks before switching sides, was responsible for some of the worst massacres, particularly in the Yelisavetgrad region.

The White Army, led by General Anton Denikin, perpetrated brutal pogroms as they advanced through Ukraine. Their troops were responsible for some of the most organized and deadly violence.

The Red Army, despite official Soviet policy condemning anti-Semitism, saw some units engage in violence against Jews, though to a lesser extent than other factions.

Nestor Makhno's anarchist forces were generally less involved in pogroms, with Makhno himself opposing anti-Semitic violence. However, some groups loosely associated with his movement did participate in attacks.

Khashchevatoye: The Human Cost

According to the 1923 report to the American Joint Distribution Committee, the impact on Khashchevatoye was devastating:

Before the pogroms:

Total population: 5,000 inhabitants

Jewish population: 4,000 (80% of the town)

Jewish houses: 450

Jewish shops: 75

Total casualties from May 1919 to February 1923:

230 persons killed

70 persons wounded

52 persons left as invalids

80 widows

150 orphans and half-orphans

After the pogroms:

Jewish population: from 4,000 to 2,400

Jewish houses: from 450 to 350

Jewish shops: from 75 to 8

Who Were the Victims?

Based on my research, I can add that most of the victims killed during these pogroms were among the wealthier people in the village, the prominent members of the community, and the elderly. Many of those who were killed can also be found in the lists of voters to the Duma in 1906 and 1912, and in the list of the candle tax payers. This suggests the violence was not random — the perpetrators deliberately targeted those who represented the economic and social leadership of the Jewish community.

The Massacre Scroll

(Megilat HaTevach)

This chapter is an extract from Megilat HaTevach (מגילת הטבח — The Massacre Scroll): Material for the History of the Pogroms and Massacres of Jews in Ukraine, Great Russia, and White Russia, compiled by Eliezer David Rosenthal (1856–1932). Published in three volumes, Jerusalem–Tel Aviv: Havurah, 1927–1931 (תרפ"ז–תרצ"א). The Khashchevatoye section appears on pages 24–36.

Rosenthal, a writer and teacher born in Ukraine, devoted the last years of his life to recording testimonies of survivors and documenting the victims of the pogroms that ravaged Jewish communities in Ukraine between 1918 and 1920. The work includes a preface by the poet Chaim Nachman Bialik.

Pages 24-36: Khashchevatoye Section

A memorial book for the holy community of Yeshurun, this is Khashchevatoye.

As a remembrance for eternity, all that happened to us, the residents of the town of Khashchevatoye,

during the decrees of the years 5679 and 5680 [1919-1920].

And the names of all the holy ones who were killed in our town

in the aforementioned years for the sanctification of God's name, of blessed memory.

(From the archives of the Odessa Museum named after Mendele Mocher Sforim.)

As recorded by Yosef Dayan

29th of Elul 5680 (September 13, 1920)

Edited with victims' names by Yael

I - Introduction

The number of Jews in Khashchevatoye in the year 1918 was approximately six thousand people. The number of Ukrainians was also close to that figure. The great majority of them were peasants. The Ukrainian suburbs surrounded the town on all sides, and in its center lived the Jews. The occupations of the Jews: various craftsmen, shopkeepers, small merchants. A considerable number of Khashchevatoye Jews worked as day laborers in sugar beet plantations and in sugar factories in the villages of Mogilnoye and Yosipovka, near our town. The attitude of the Christians toward the Jews was, until recent days, good. In the 1880s, as in 1905, no incident of pogroms occurred in our town. During the days of the Rada, some changes for the worse in relations were felt, but they did not lead to action. During the Hetman's government, there was peace and quiet.

Peace was first disturbed in our town on March 9, 1919 (9th of Adar II, 5679). A Petliurist battalion burst into Khashchevatoye. The soldiers spread through the streets, and groups upon groups broke into the houses. They searched, ostensibly, for weapons. And during the search they looted silverware, jewelry, expensive clothing and cash. When they left the town, one Jew was killed: 

Yosef Litvinov, son of Elkhanan, age 30, leather worker. 

The battalion commander claimed that he was killed unintentionally.

Two days later, on March 11, another Petliurist battalion passed through the town. The soldiers had already spread through the streets and began looting the houses. The battalion commander received several thousand [rubles] as contribution and agreed to remove them from the town.

On March 13, the 13th of Adar II, Shabbat, the chief of the brigands Tikhokhod burst into our town — a leader and ataman of a dozen bandits gathered under his flag. His headquarters were in the village of Gayvoron (seven parasangs from our town). Tikhokhod positioned a machine gun in the street and fired bullets to the right and to the left. The Jews hurried to hide in holes and crevices. But the community leaders managed to negotiate with him, and in exchange for several thousand [rubles] in contribution, he left the town. Tikhokhod and his gang visited the town several more times, and each time received a certain sum as contribution and left the town. At that time, the Directorate's militia still existed, but it did not lift a finger to help the Jews. Apparently, they were in league with the gangs.

In the first days of April 1919, a Soviet authority was established in our town, but it did not last long. On May 12, the members of the Revolutionary Committee left Khashchevatoye, and the town was left without any authority.

Through the efforts of the Jews, the notable Christians of Khashchevatoye were gathered for a general assembly and they elected as head of the Volost administration Vasil Azariansky, who had always been friendly with the Jews. The head of the militia announced at that gathering that the Soviet rule was abolished and that authority was being conducted in the name of the Directorate. Dr. Katznelson [Borukh Leyzerovitch] gave a speech and tearfully asked the assembled Christians to have mercy on the Jews and not to allow our blood to be spilled in vain. The Christians promised, but they did not keep their promise.

II - A Chain of Pogroms

On the 15th of Iyar 5679 [May 16, 1919], a partisan battalion burst into our town under the command of the Ataman [Ananiy Gavrilovitch] Volynets*, who called himself: "The Sixtieth Gaysin Battalion." The heads of the battalion were: Tsisin and Ksendziuk. [Tsisin and Ksendziuk were company commanders under Volynets in the "60th Gaisin Battalion" (as the unit styled itself) during the attack on Khashchevatoye on May 15-16, 1919].  Immediately upon entering, they spread through the town, went from house to house and demanded cash, silverware, gold and jewelry. And the men who fell into their hands, they dragged to the Great Synagogue. When about four hundred men had been gathered, they positioned armed soldiers around the synagogue. The battalion commander delivered a speech full of insults and blasphemies against the Jews and demanded that they hand over all the weapons in their possession. In vain we swore by all that is Holy that we had no weapons, in vain we wept bitter tears and pleaded for them to have mercy on us - all our pleas were to no avail.

After we had been held in the synagogue for about two hours, we were ordered to leave the building four by four in a row. About forty armed soldiers surrounded the gathered men so that no one could escape. They also positioned a machine gun aimed at us. Thus, they led us through alleyways, according to a plan they had prepared, until they brought us to the old cemetery. There they lined us up four by four in rows upon the graves of our ancestors. The soldiers surrounded us, and the machine gun was positioned on a hill facing us, and we were not permitted to open our mouths or plead for our lives.

The battalion commander stood on one of the graves and delivered a speech of accusation against the Jews: that the Jews hate the land from whose fields they eat their fill of bread; that the Jews repay the Ukrainians evil for good: they [the Ukrainians] had treated them with mercy and granted them national autonomy, and in the end the Jews betrayed them; they rejoice at the coming of the Bolsheviks and hand over the Cossacks to be killed. Therefore, he pronounced our sentence of death.

"Lie down on the ground!” he thundered at us. Instantly the entire congregation, about four hundred men, prostrated themselves on the ground, whispered the confession (Vidui), and awaited death.

After a few moments, the battalion commander's order was heard again: "Get up!" We rose, trembling. The battalion commander demanded from us a ransom for our lives: a quarter of a million rubles, and clothing, boots and provisions for the soldiers - an enormous sum. We answered him that despite all our goodwill, it was utterly impossible to fulfill his demand, for even if they searched the entire town, they would not find even a quarter of the sum he demanded. The battalion commander was filled with rage and shouted: "Lie down on the ground! Here shall be your burial place!" We prostrated ourselves once more on the ground, awaiting death. Deathly silence. After some time, the battalion commander ordered us to rise. When we stood up, he asked: "Where are the wealthy people of the community?" And he added: "Give me ten men who will guarantee the sum I demanded." We all answered that we would guarantee it with all our possessions.

The negotiations at the cemetery lasted about two hours. When the tormentors had abused the Jews enough, they released them to their homes toward evening and warned them not to flee from the town and not to hide their possessions. All that day and all that night, as also the next day until noon, the soldiers engaged in looting. They plundered the houses, the shops and the storehouses, and left the town empty.

On that day, four Jews were killed by the soldiers, because they were accused of having weapons in their homes:

Avraham Blakher, son of Shlomo, age 35, shoemaker.

Yaakov Leib Darman, son of Moshe, age 55, small merchant.

Eliyahu Yudkis son of Moshe, age 45.

Peysakh Khazin, son of Moshe, age 45.

When the gangs had their fill of robbery and plunder, they left the town and appointed a young Ukrainian as commandant - a native of our town, Dudnik. The commandant announced that he had been appointed commandant and governor of the town by order of the Gaysin Battalion, and therefore he called upon his brothers, the young men of Ukraine, to gather under his flag and to fight against the bands of the "Katsaps" [derogatory term for Russians] and the Jews. And upon the Jews of Khashchevatoye he commanded that they hand over to him the sum of two hundred thousand [rubles] in contribution.

On the 2nd of Sivan [June 1, 1919], the Ataman Zabolotny* and his companions burst into Khashchevatoye. He summoned the community leaders and negotiated with them to receive compensation of thirty thousand rubles and leave the town.

At that time, on the eve of Shavuot, the chief of the brigands Sapko* attacked - near the village of Mogilnoye - accompanied by several gang members, the Jews living in the village. They killed ten souls and looted their property:

David Teplitsky, son of Moshe, age 49, tailor.

Nakhum David Kassel, son of Moshe, age 52, ritual slaughterer, and his son Benzion.

Eliyahu Kuperstein, son of Israel, age 24.

Shmuel Yehuda Raskin, son of Moshe, age 50.

Avraham Raskin, son of Mendel, age 21.

Benzion Lazebnik, son of Moshe, age 46, carpenter, and his son Yaakov.

Peysakh Balk, son of Chaim, age 60.

Sarah Weissman, daughter of David, age 18, student.

(Sapko was killed by the Denikinists in 5680 [1920].)

On the eve of Shavuot, the Cossacks of Dudnik killed:

 Yehoshua Melamed, son of Yitzchak Yehuda, age 56, merchant

 and his wife Machli, daughter of Leib, age 55.

Melamed was the collector of the community's money, designated for our ransom. The murderers stole a large sum from the community treasury and also Melamed's private money.

On the road during Shavuot, three more were killed:

Yehoshua Davidzon, son of Nachum, age 18, merchant.

Leib Gaysinsky, son of Mendel, age 24, carpenter.

Yoel Kozhansky son of Israel, age 28, servant.

In the village of Gayvoron during Shavuot:

Asher Ziskind Zisbad, son of Yechiel, age 70, mill worker.

Shlomo Leiderman, son of Pinchas Shmuel, age 65.

Our Christian neighbors did not express a single word of condolence or sympathy for our suffering. On the contrary, some openly rejoiced at our misfortune. Only when the Soviet authority returned, did the town become quiet. Most of the local looters and murderers disappeared. Some of the murderers, including the commandant Dudnik, were caught and killed.

On the road, 23rd of Tammuz, two more were killed:

 Baruch Linetsky, son of Shimon, age 46, horse trader.

 Nachman Shamash, son of Moshe, age 44, small merchant.

III - The Partisans of Bandurovo Besiege the Town

On Shabbat Khazon, the 6th day of the month of Av, the partisans renewed their activities. The uprising was organized in the village of Bandurovo, by order of Ataman Zabolotny*. The agitators spread news among the peasants that the Bolsheviks had already left the entire region, and the Jews were left unprotected and anyone who harmed them would not be held accountable.

About five hundred partisans were armed with scythes, hoes and spades; only a few were armed with rifles. The partisans entered Khashchevatoye under the pretext that they wished to establish Ukrainian authority in the town. But meanwhile they burst into Jewish homes, looted freely, and also killed three Jews:

Rafael Stimermann, son of Eliyahu, age 18, servant

Ovadiah Kravetz, son of Moshe Aharon, age 21, tailor

David Yuzefovsky, son of Hillel, age 30.

The insurgents took captive eleven Jews and two Christians who were members of the Revolutionary Committee. The remaining members of the Revkom* and the militia managed to escape from the town. Fortunately, a small unit of the Red Army rushed to our aid - a total of ten soldiers who were stationed at the Gayvoron station and who had a machine gun. When the sounds of the machine gun fire reached the ears of the insurgents, a fear of God fell upon them and they hurried to flee. About twenty of the insurgents drowned in the Bug River in their hurry to escape, and the rest scattered in all directions. But they managed to bring the thirteen captives to the village of Bandurovo where they placed them under guard.

On Tisha B'Av [9th of Av], the captives were released. The village authority committee received twenty-four thousand rubles for their release. May the name of a resident of our town be remembered for good: the public activist Yosef Yehuda Kriman, who risked his life and entered the lion's den, the village of Bandurovo, and endeavored to gather the village peasants for a general council regarding the captives. With great effort, he succeeded in tipping the scales toward their release.

IV - The Second Visit of the Bandurovo Partisans

On the 11th of Av, the Bolsheviks left the Gayvoron station, and along with them went the members of the Revkom, and the town was left without any police or governor. On the 14th of Av, the insurgents raised their heads and brazenly conducted propaganda for pogroms against the Jews. The chief agitators were the brother of the slain commandant, Mykola Dudnik, and his friend Kolomiyets* (whose occupation was dice gambling on market days). On that day, they buried the slain commandant Dudnik, and the priest in his eulogy rained fire and brimstone upon the heads of the Jews.

On Monday, the 15th of Av, the storm intensified greatly: the partisans from the village of Bandurovo entered the town with Ataman Shargorodsky* at their head. The partisans announced that the Jewish residents must gather in the square. About two hundred people gathered in the market square. Armed partisans then surrounded the assembled Jews. The Ataman demanded that they hand over all the weapons and three hundred thousand rubles in contribution.

The state of siege lasted about three hours. By order of the Ataman, captives were taken in three groups. When they crossed the bridge over the Bug River, the partisans threw one young man into the water and shot him:

Zalman Bratzlawsky, son of Yaakov Zeev, age 30.

Upon the rest of the people who remained in the square, the gang members fell with terrible cruelty and beat them right and left with clubs. They made no distinction between old and young, between man and woman. They trampled them with their horses.

This incident cost us six lives:

Nachum Tziser, son of Tzvi Chaim, age 30

 Baruch Bitchutzky, son of Leib, age 43

Betzalel Shokat, son of Haim, age 42

Yeshaya Rabin son of Leib, age 23, servant (drowned)

Miriam Lian, daughter of Yitzchak, age 38 (died of fright).

V - Volynets and his gang. Commandant Kolomiyets

We didn’t had time to breathe and on Wednesday, the 17th of Av, Volynets arrived with about three hundred horsemen. We risked our lives and went to greet him - about a hundred men and women. We presented bread and salt and accepted his authority. The honor we showed to him softened his hard heart a little. He demanded provisions for his soldiers and fodder for their horses. His demands were fulfilled. But the Ataman's peaceful attitude toward the Jews did not find favor in the eyes of his gang.

Toward evening, one of the company commanders killed the community treasurer,

David Aharon Tashlitzky, son of Pinchas, age 59, accountant at the cooperative,

in order to rob the community treasury. The murder was committed in the street, and the body remained lying in the street all night and the following day. Yosef Leib Kriman (mentioned above) was seriously wounded by these savages, but he managed to escape.

That night, more Jews were murdered:

Benzion Renker, son of Avraham, age 47, wine seller

Haim Broitman, son of Yehoshua Dov, age 41, pharmacist

Yaakov Bilenko Bilensky, son of Baruch, age 65, innkeeper

Israel Idelzon son of Peysakh, small merchant

Moshe Leib Kleinman, son of Israel, age 58, day laborer

Chaim Mazel, son of Gedalya from Ternovka, age 32, factory day laborer.

Two elderly men with shattered nerves chose death over such a life and took their own lives out of great distress.

The results of this visit were: the loss of seven lives, besides the robbery and looting. After we were rid of the Volynets gang, one of the local robbers, Kolomiyets (the card player mentioned above), assumed authority for himself. He fixed for himself one thousand rubles per day. For a month and a half (until Rosh Hashanah 5680), they oppressed the Jews and embittered their lives.

On the 29th of Elul 5679, killed by the Galicians:

Shlomo Altberg, son of Yosef, age 40, director of the sugar factory in Yosipovka

Tzirel Pershter daughter of Yosef, age 22 (died of her wounds)

Leib Zhibkov son of David, age 25, from Gaivoron, barber (killed on Rosh Hashanah 5680 by the Denikinists).

On the 15th of Elul, several battalions of the Galician Army passed through our town. For a full day they looted the houses of the town. They were the first to climb up to the attics, descend into the cellars and search for hidden treasures. The Galicians looted freely and also violated the honor of Jewish girls. But they did not shed blood. Apparently, they had received orders from above to behave properly.

VI - The Denikinists: After Their Arrival and Before Their Departure

The Denikinist forces entered our town with the coming of the new year 5680 [autumn 1919]. We thought: the year has ended and its curses with it. Indeed, the Volunteer Army soldiers behaved, at least outwardly, properly. Before them fled all the local robbers, and the town became quiet. Our time of peace lasted one hundred days, until the 10th of Tevet (January 1, 1920).

On that day, several battalions of the Volunteer Army passed through our town, including a company of Don Cossacks, fleeing from the Soviet forces pursuing them. For two days they rampaged through the town and took revenge upon the Jews with terrible cruelty: they seized many Jews, hung them by their hands, and while they still had breath in them, lowered them from the rope and forced them to reveal the places where they had hidden their money, gold and valuables. To those who refused to reveal, they repeated the tortures, and many breathed their last from these torments.

The Denikinists took revenge this time in a horrific manner. They abused them, beat them, inflicted serious wounds upon them, chopped off fingers, cut off noses, stabbed the unfortunates with bayonets, set fire to houses and shops. The Volunteer battalions and Cossacks took revenge upon the Jews of Khashchevatoye with terrible cruelty: sixty-six people were cut down by their hands, more than two hundred people were seriously wounded. Some of them remain disabled to this day. Many women and maidens were violated by these savages.

The victims of the Denikinist massacre on the 11th-12th of Tevet:

Yitzchak Feldman, son of Yaakov Zusi, age 79

Efraim Fishel Poltavsky, son of Yitzchak, age 50

and his wife Zlota, daughter of Aharon David, age 50

Perel Lyubman, daughter of Yitzchak, age 70

Yaakov Brunfman, son of Yechiel, age 59, worker

Avraham Slyusaransky, from Pishchanka, age 53, merchant

Tzipora Shvetz, daughter of Yudel, age 26

Roza Klinov daughter of Meir, age 60

Peysakh Barbash, son of Yaakov, age 43, merchant

Malka Leah Guden daughter of Shlomo Shachna, age 40

 and her daughter Ita, daughter of Israel

Benzion Garer, son of Yudel from Chechelnyk, age 18, servant

Mendel Krasniansky, son of Shlomo, age 37, merchant

Yehoshua Tzvi Bershadsky, son of Yitzchak, age 75

Leib Bravarni son of Yaakov, age 45, merchant

Benzion Grinshpun, son of Meyerr, age 43, teacher

Zeev Pastilov, son of Yitzchak, age 22, servant

Yehoshua Borodaty, son of Shalom, age 75, teacher

Sarah Finkler, daughter of Shalom, age 45

and her son Yaakov, son of Yosef, age 20, shopkeeper

Luba Stavchansky, daughter of Shlomo, age 28

Mordechai Kugel, son of Yaakov Natan, age 50 (died of wounds)

and his wife Feiga, daughter of Avraham Yosef, age 50

Asher Khersonsky, son of Moshe, age 54, merchant

Yaakov Rosenstein, son of Baruch, age 80

Sarah Aaronovich, daughter of Zeev, age 61

Akiva Grinberg, son of Avraham Tzvi, age 54, merchant

Roza Zhebrak, wife of Menachem, age 45

David Rashkes, son of Chaim, age 38, carpenter

and his mother Martzi, daughter of Zalman, age 75

Bluma Shaposhnik, daughter of Yosef, age 45

Perel Lyubman, daughter of Yaakov Moshe, age 35

and her daughter Ita, daughter of Moshe, age 14

Eliezer Zagman, son of Meir Leib, age 54, merchant

Levi Tarakan, son of Haim Eliezer, age 77

Batya Geller, daughter of Lemel, age 40

Israel Spiller, son of Yerachmiel, age 18

Malka Tchervony, daughter of Gutman, age 40 (died of wounds)

Moshe Dekhtyar, son of Aba, age 65, worker

Hana Kravetz, from Bershad, age 55

Yosef Dorman, son of Moshe, age 35, merchant

and his brother Dov, age 33

Dvora Feinstein, daughter of Natan, age 46

Shalom Vaysburd, son of Avraham, age 18

Elchanan Zlotkevich, son of Avraham, age 35, merchant

David Rozenfeld, son of Nachum Yehuda, age 60

Avraham Shvartzman, son of Yehoshua, age 66 (died of wounds)

Shlomo Shaposhnik, son of David, age 65

Shmuel Kirilevsky son of Ben-Zion, age 75

Yente Guralnik, daughter of Yehoshua, age 33

Aizik Rosin, son of Avraham, age 49, shopkeeper

Eliyahu Blinder, son of Moshe, age 61, merchant

and his wife Slava, daughter of Avraham, age 60

Perel Rosenberg, daughter of Baruch, age 73

Miriam Velshir, daughter of Yosef, age 50

Hana Stimermann, daughter of Avraham, age 45

Sosya Kilimnik, daughter of Avraham, age 30

Tzirel Gorbaty, daughter of David, age 78

David Kriman, son of Yeshaya, age 63, broker (died of wounds)

Sosya Sofer, daughter of Pinchas, age 40,

Wife of Avraham Kravetz, age 65

Gershon Goldenberg, son of Benzion, age 18

Haya Rosenstein, daughter of Yaakov, age 43

Sobel Svider daughter of Meir, age 42 (died of wounds).

It is impossible to describe the terrible sight that passed before our eyes on that night. The heavens covered with black clouds, from all corners of the town columns of smoke rising upward, and between them tongues of flame shooting up. In the street, screams and wails: the voices of wretched Jews dragged from their hiding places. Demons of destruction driving them, naked and barefoot in the cold of Tevet, beating them with clubs and rifle butts. Many of the wretches pleaded in tears before these cruel ones to shoot them once and kill them. But these savages answered their victims: "No! You shall die a strange death and in terrible torments!" To others they answered: "We shall make you crippled and broken by illness, so that you remember us all your days!" Other ruffians entered the synagogue and shouted: "Where is the God of the Hebrews? This people has no God, therefore our hand has prevailed to destroy them!"

On Shabbat (the 12th of Tevet), the Volunteer forces left the town. But the local marauders continued their work until Monday. Then the Jews emerged from their hiding places to bury the dead who had been cast upon the streets, and the dogs licked their blood and gnawed their flesh.

We shall not hide the truth: this time, even among the surrounding peasants there were honest and warm-hearted people who hid entire Jewish families in their homes. When our calamity became known to our brethren in the nearby towns, they hurried to our aid, especially with precious medicines and bandages. The community committee of the city of Balta also sent us their assistance. Even the peasants of the village of Bandurovo sent bread to be distributed among the needy.

But the handful of aid sufficed only for the first days, and hunger and want reigned in the town. Various contagious diseases broke out: typhus and other diseases claimed many victims. Filth and crowded living conditions were the most terrible factors. Those who remained alive envied those who had already found their rest in the grave. Thus, all the courses detailed in the Admonition came upon us: pestilence and sword, robbery and ruin.

VII - Anarchy

Until the month of May, no authority was established in our town. The town was abandoned to every robber and murderer. Gangs and battalions of various kinds passed through our town during these four months and disturbed our peace. In order to protect the town from thieves and robbers, we established a town watch made up of householders. But those in charge of the watch themselves terrorized the town with their gunfire, after drinking their fill.

On Friday, the 10th of Shevat, a troop of Denikinist cavalry came to our town. The panic was great. Many fled to the nearby villages. The Denikinists stayed only a short time, but the local robbers completed the work.

VIII - Volynets Takes Revenge on the Jews

On Shabbat, the 16th of Adar [March 6, 1920], Ataman Dyachenko passed through our town with his gang of partisans. Many Jews hurried to flee. The partisans killed six people whom they encountered on the road. At night, eleven people were slaughtered in one house, and six people in another. Victims of the 16th-17th of Adar 5680:

Zalman Konetspolsky, son of Yoel, age 66, merchant

Yoel Shaposhnik, son of Mendel, age 20

Eliyahu Rashkovsky son, of Leib, age 62, merchant

Benzion Gerber, son of Sender, age 22

Yechiel Sher, son of Tzvi, age 28, butcher

A young man from Balta, name unknown

Gitel Perelmuter, daughter of Israel, age 26

Yaakov Okniansky, son of David, age 67, butcher

and his wife Freida, age 65,

and their son Peretz, age 29

and his wife Bat-Sheva, daughter of Benzion, age 25

and her sister Sonya Tridovsky, age 20

Shifra Lerman, daughter of Yaakov, age 43

Zelda Rosenstein, daughter of Yosef, age 60

and her son Mordechai, son of Meyer, age 28, carpenter

and his wife Freida, daughter of Natan, age 25

and their daughter Heni, age 4,

and their son Yitzchak, age 2

Yechiel Lumer son of Avraham, age 52

Eliyahu Smolyar, son of Avraham, age 42, shoemaker

and his son Leib, age 14

Leah wife of Shlomo Shaposhnik, age 57

Shmuel Shaposhnik Sapozhnik, son of Shabtai, age 30.

Unique in its kind was the visit of Ataman Volynets on the night before the 12th of Nisan [March 31, 1920]. He distinguished himself by his wickedness, his cruelty and his thirst for blood. He lodged in the house of one of the peasants and concealed his arrival from the Jews. About ten men risked their lives and went to his lodging to learn how they might appease him. The men were detained as hostages.

More than a hundred people gathered and went to ask him to release the detainees. On the way, one of Volynets's company commanders met them. When they greeted him with peace, he responded with curses and said: "Look how many Jews are still in the town! There are still people to slaughter!"

Volynets released the committee members and imposed upon the town a contribution of half a million rubles. About two hundred thousand rubles were collected. Volynets's fury burned within him. The elder Kriman delivered the contribution to him, Volynets ordered him to prostrate himself on the ground, and he himself rode over his body on his horse, back and forth, until all his bones were broken. Then he placed a slop bucket on his head and led Kriman through the streets of the town. And finally, he killed him with a gunshot.

Victims of the 12th of Nisan 5680:

Neta Kugel, son of Yaakov Natan, age 58, baker

and his wife Malka, daughter of Yehoshua, age 55

and their daughter-in-law Hava, daughter of Eliyahu, age 28

Yosef Yehuda Kriman son of Menachem, age 65, merchant

Baruch Krishmar son of Yitzchak, age 64, merchant

Itzchak Senik, son of David Shlomo, age 24

David Tashlitsky, son of Eliyahu, age 52.

In the month of Iyar 5680 [spring 1920], more were killed:

Yosef Peril, son of Yaakov

Avigdor [Baal Agalah] son of Leib, age 26, shoemaker

Mordechai Cohen [Kogan], son of Lipa, age 42.

On the night before the first of Sivan [May 18, 1920], the bandits shot through an open door at one man and killed him. The murderers fled. This murder was without any reason or purpose, only because we were unprotected and considered as sheep for the slaughter.

In the month of Sivan [May-June 1920], the Bolsheviks established the institutions of Soviet rule and drove the Galician units from the region. Some of the bandits, among them Mykola Dudnik and Kozachinsky, were arrested and brought to trial. The rest of the robbers fled and hid in the forests.

All the events that befell our town during a year and three months do not have the form of a pogrom or riots. Their character is: a whole series of persecutions, robberies and plunder, tortures and frequent killings with short intervals. Complete anarchy reigned, and of course only the Jews felt its hand in full force.

IX - Epilogue.

The results of the events: the town is gradually being emptied of its Jewish residents. Many houses are abandoned and desolate. Many houses have been demolished for firewood. Emigration has increased, and those who remain wander like shadows among the ruins.

Recorded by Yosef Dayan — 29th of Elul 5680 (September 13, 1920)

Memorial Stele

(Matzevet Zikaron)

For the community leaders who were killed in Khashchevatoye for the sanctification of God's Name while fulfilling their mission, when they came to plead for mercy and to deliver the ransom demanded from the entire community - they are the departed: David Aharon Tashlitsky, Eliyahu Melamed, Yosef Leib Kriman, Baruch Krichmar, may their souls be bound in the bond of life.

Their names are signed in the initial letters of the verses.

A deathly silence reigns in the town,

And muted grief is held within.

The door of every house does not turn on its hinge,

No movement around, only sorrow.

For all the Jews are locked in cellars,

Seeking to hide from the barefoot ones.

The crack of gunfire is heard from all sides,

Hidden in holes, crammed as in graves.

Desolate and trembling - alas, we are lost!

For confession we prepare: "We have sinned, we have betrayed!"

This day - our end - behold, they approach!

Cruel oppressors, like hungry wolves,

The sound of barking dogs pierces the air.

"Them!" cried the voice! Who knows...?

"Please, merciful God, by the merit of our children,

Do not deliver us into the hands of the cruel.

May it be Your will, take our souls -

Here we are, also our women and children,

And in the hands of murderers do not abandon us."

Who is the man of courageous heart,

Undaunted, unafraid of terror and pain?

Who risks his life to stand in the breach,

To attempt to speak to those who wink the wink.

"Come what may, the town is already lost,

And what will fear add or give us?

In the end, the whole town will go up in flames."

Open! Brothers, come out! - a voice pierces the air -

Why, brothers, do you hide now?

Slain Jews have already been found in town.

With a gift let us greet our oppressors, appease them,

They will surely accept, and with words we will sway them.

Running back and forth through all the alleyways,

Eliyahu drew some of the men.

He took a sum of money and turned to the oppressors,

With trembling hands, they delivered it to the commander.

"See, our fate is bitter,"

And his love for his community overcame his fear -

Thus was the holy one delivered to be killed.

Heaven and earth bound together in lamentation,

Great is the destruction, vast the ruin.

A singular treasure, for all he gave his life -

Yosef Yehuda [Kriman], son of Manish, and his companions.

The best of the town, its activists and its elders,

Who stood in the place of danger to save the town and its inhabitants.

Bitterly we weep for the death of Eliyahu [Melamed], son of Yitzchak Yehuda,

We mourn the killing of the elders of the community.

A spirit of heroism waved in each one in his hour,

To give his life ransom for his community, each of his own will.

Their souls hover, alive even now in our town,

Their righteousness shall never be erased from our hearts.

In the last generation their name shall be remembered for blessing.

Alas! How great the pain! They were not eulogized properly!

This lamentation for the memorial stele is the work of

Moshe Chaim Pekar

Footnotes:

* ANANIY GAVRILOVICH VOLYNETS was born on October 1, 1894, in the village of Karbovka, Gaysin District, Podolia - making him a local neighbor of the Jews he would later massacre. From a large peasant family, he attended school in Gaysin and later an agricultural school. In 1917, he was appointed commissar and head of the Gaysin District militia by the Rada. From January 1919, he commanded the 61st Gaysin Infantry Regiment in Petliura's army. In April 1919, he left the UNR army and organized partisan operations against the Bolsheviks around Gaysin.

His reign of terror across the region in May-June 1919 left a trail of blood: approximately 200 killed and wounded in Bratzlav; 152 Jews murdered in Gaysin on May 17, 1919 -including the Weinstein family who had hidden him a year earlier and saved his life; approximately 200 Jews killed in Teplik. In total, during the capture of Gaysin alone, some 1,200 people were killed, mainly Jews.

He was arrested in 1939 and executed by the NKVD in Vinnitza on May 14, 1941.  

* SEMYON ZABOLOTNY formed an armed detachment in the second half of 1919 and led the Balta insurgents' struggle against both the Whites and the Reds. From 1919, he was known as commander of the Black Haidamaks regiment and leader of the Balta-Olgopol insurgent detachment. He appears several times in the Khashchevatoye chronicle - demanding 30,000 rubles on 2 Sivan and later leading the Bandurovo partisans' attack on 6 Av 1919.

 * SAPKO was a brigand leader from the village of Mogilynoye. On the eve of Shavuot 1919, he and his men attacked the Jews living in Mogilynoye and killed 10 people. He was later killed by the DenikinistsSapko in 1920.  

*REVOLUTIONY COMMITEE (Revkom / Ревком)

The Revolutionary Committees (Revkomy) were temporary local governing bodies established by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War (1918–1921). They served as emergency administrative organs in areas where Soviet power was being established or restored, replacing traditional municipal governments and carrying out the directives of the new regime.

Revkomy typically held both executive and legislative authority in their districts. Their responsibilities included maintaining public order, organizing food distribution, requisitioning supplies for the Red Army, implementing land reforms, and suppressing counter-revolutionary activity. They also oversaw the establishment of local militias.

These committees were generally composed of Bolshevik party members, sympathizers, and local activists. In the multiethnic regions of Ukraine, Revkomy often included members from various nationalities, including Jews. This Jewish participation - though Jews were a minority in most Revkomy - was frequently exploited by anti-Bolshevik forces as propaganda to conflate Jews with communism, fueling the deadly myth of "Judeo-Bolshevism" that served as a pretext for pogroms.

Revkomy were intended to be temporary structures, eventually replaced by elected soviets (councils) once Soviet control was consolidated. However, in the chaotic conditions of the Civil War, particularly in contested regions like Podolia, Revkomy often existed precariously, their members fleeing when anti-Bolshevik forces approached and returning when the Red Army regained control. 

*KOLOMIYETS was a local troublemaker whose profession was gambling with dice on market days. After Volynets's visit in August 1919, he declared himself town commandant, claiming Volynets had appointed him. With about ten local thugs, he extorted 1,000 rubles per day from the Jewish community for six weeks until Rosh Hashanah 5680. He was later arrested by the Bolsheviks along with Mykola Dudnik. 

*SHARGORODSKY was the ataman who led the Bandurovo partisans' attack on 15 Av 1919 (August). He demanded weapons and 300,000 rubles. One of his men threw a young man (Zalman Bratslavsky) from the Bug River bridge and shot him as he tried to swim. Interestingly, when the Bolsheviks returned in 1920, Shargorodsky became a member of the Revolutionary Committee in Bandurovo. He was later arrested, reportedly for taking bribes.

The Struggle to Rebuild

After the pogroms, the survivors faced the enormous task of rebuilding their shattered community. Jewish relief organizations, particularly the Idgeskom (Jewish Social Committee for Aid to Pogrom Victims) and the American Joint Distribution Committee, played crucial roles in providing assistance.

Relief Efforts in Khashchevatoye

According to reports from the Idgeskom for the Gaysin District (1920-1922), the following institutions were established in Khashchevatoye:

A medical dispensary (ambulatorium) treating approximately 1,500 patients.

A laundry facility processing 300-400 items weekly to combat the spread of skin diseases caused by poverty and lack of hygiene.

Vocational training programs in blacksmithing, shoemaking, and wheel manufacturing.

The committee also established a Children's Home for 32 children (13 orphans and 19 half-orphans), supervised by the Narobraz (Local Educational Department) and supported by the Joint. The equipment was scanty — old and broken beds, only one set of bed-linen per child, and almost no plates. The premises required repairs.

A Jewish Public School served 212 children, of whom 8 were orphans and 80 half-orphans. The school was maintained by local funds but was inadequately supplied, with no school appliances and insufficient support for its 6 staff members.

Two agricultural collectives were also established: "Khleborob" with 26 families (117 persons) cultivating 91 dessiatins, and "Serp" with 17 families (119 persons). These cooperatives represented the community's efforts to rebuild economic life from the ruins.

The Daily Reality of Relief Work

The relief workers faced impossible choices every day. One worker wrote: "Even in my sleep, I see them in my nightmares." The simple mathematics was heartbreaking — there was never enough to go around. Every decision to help one family meant another would go without.

Teachers were leaving because their salaries could no longer buy bread. The children's homes had no heat. Skin diseases were rampant. Yet the survivors persisted, day after day, building hope from fragments.

Against the Tide: A Story of Jewish Relief Work

The following narrative, based on historical documents from the Idgeskom, imagines the daily reality of relief workers in the Gaysin district, 1920-1922.

The Morning Round

Dawn breaks over Gaysin district, and already a line forms outside the aid committee office. Sarah, one of the relief workers, takes a deep breath before opening the door. She recognizes most of the faces — mothers with hungry children, elderly men in threadbare coats, teachers from the local school whose salaries can no longer feed their families. Yesterday's faces, today's faces, tomorrow's faces — all blending together in what feels like an endless stream of need.

"Even in my sleep, I see them in my nightmares," she would later write in her report to the central committee. But there is work to be done, and like every other morning, she opens the door.

The Daily Balance

The committee's office tells the story of their daily struggles. On one wall, a carefully maintained inventory shows their precious supplies: 72 pounds of fat, 92 cans of preserved milk, 90 pieces of soap, 15 pounds of salt. Against the opposite wall, a stack of request forms grows daily, each representing a family in desperate need. The simple mathematics is heartbreaking — there will never be enough to go around.

Today's challenge is distributing new clothing that has arrived — 340 items and 60 pairs of shoes. But how to choose? There are thousands of people in need. The committee has developed a priority system, but every decision means someone else must go without.

The School's Fight

Down the street, in what was once a prosperous cheder, Rebecca struggles to keep her classroom of thirty children focused on their lessons. The building has no heat, and the children huddle together for warmth. Many have no proper shoes, wearing makeshift wrappings of cloth instead. Yet they come, day after day, hungry for both food and knowledge.

"We're losing teachers every week," she tells Sarah during their afternoon meeting. "The salary doesn't even buy bread anymore." The committee had just received news that another teacher had left for a factory job. They both know what this means — more children at risk of being left without education, more burden on those teachers who remain.

The Clinic's Battle

At the newly established clinic in Khashchevatoye, Dr. Levin sees his fiftieth patient of the day. The small supply of medicines he received last month is already running low. Skin diseases are rampant due to lack of soap and clean clothing. The committee's laundry facility helps, processing 300-400 items weekly, but it's a drop in the ocean of need.

A mother brings in her feverish child. Dr. Levin knows he has medicine that could help, but using it means another child might go without tomorrow. These are the impossible choices they face daily.

The Supply Run

Jacob prepares for another supply run between settlements. The roads are dangerous — bandits still roam freely, and just last week, the town of Teplik suffered another pogrom. But the children's homes need food, the clinics need medicine, and the schools need basic supplies.

He checks his papers — permission from local authorities, documentation from multiple agencies, inventory lists. The bureaucracy is endless, but necessary. One missing stamp could mean the whole shipment being confiscated at a checkpoint.

The Children's Home

In one of the six children's homes established by the committee, Hannah serves the evening meal. Two hundred children live in these homes now, most of them orphans. The food is simple — there's never enough — but it's regular, and for many of these children, that's a miracle in itself.

She watches as the older children help the younger ones. They've started vocational training programs — shoemaking in Gaysin, blacksmithing in Khashchevatoye, railway work in Gayvoron. It's not just about learning a trade; it's about building a future these children can believe in.

The Evening Meeting

As night falls, the committee meets to discuss the day's challenges and plan for tomorrow. The American Relief Administration has promised supplies worth 500 dollars — a fortune in their circumstances — but getting it to those who need it most will be another challenge.

They review their priorities: keep the medical clinics running, maintain the children's homes, support the schools, expand the laundry facilities to fight disease. Every decision means weighing one urgent need against another.

The Next Dawn

Tomorrow will bring its own challenges — more hungry faces at the door, more impossible choices, more battles against bureaucracy and scarcity. But tonight, they can point to small victories: children fed, diseases treated, lessons taught, clothes cleaned.

In his evening report, one committee worker writes: "We measure our success not in grand achievements, but in small mercies — a child who no longer goes hungry, a family that receives clean clothing, a teacher who can continue teaching for one more month."

And so they persist, day after day, building hope from fragments, creating order from chaos, weaving a safety net from the slenderest of threads. Their story is not just about distributing aid; it's about maintaining human dignity in the face of overwhelming odds, about holding together the fabric of community when everything threatens to tear it apart.

The next morning, they will open their doors again, face the endless line of need again, make the impossible choices again. Because in the end, this is what survival looks like — not one grand gesture, but thousands of small acts of care and courage, repeated daily, without end.

Based on historical documents from the Jewish Aid Committee (Idgeskom) in the Gaysin district of Ukraine, 1920-1922. While the narrative format takes some creative liberty with presentation, all facts, figures, and circumstances are drawn directly from the historical record.