Virtual Excursion on Jewish Odessa

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Pogroms

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Memories of the pogroms of 1821, 1859, 1871, 1881, 1886 and 1905 remained a sinister line running through the history of Jewish Odessa. If the first pogroms were often the result of trading competition between the Jews and other groups in the city, the later ones were a reflection and consequence of an official anti-Jewish policy, as clearly demonstrated by the inactivity of troops and police during the bloody events. The pogroms and the prevailing anti-Semitic atmosphere contributed to the strengthening of pro-Eretz Israel sentiments, that later became clear Zionist sympathies among the Jewish intelligentsia. Bialik's poem "In the City of Slaughter" also made a great contribution to this atmosphere. The pogroms in Odessa remained in the Jewish collective memory not only as a bloody nightmare, but also as an example of the spirit of Jewish self-defense fighters and the courage of the doctors of Odessa. Thanks to the self-defense groups, Odessa was the only city in Ukraine where there were no pogroms between 1918-1920, the years of the fight for power and the ensuing Civil War.

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Greek Church (55, Catheriniskaya St.) Pogroms of 1821
*Greek Church (55, Catheriniskaya St.)*	Pogrom near the Greek Church (1871) (The picture is made by a witness of the events, painter Vahrenov)
The roots of this event were in Constantinople, but its tragic outcome was near the Greek Church of Odessa. In 1821, the Greek Orthodox patriarch, Gregory V, was killed by Turks in Constantinople. His body was brought to Odessa for burial. After the funeral service in the Greek Church, while the procession was making its way to the cemetery, a rumor was started that Jews had been involved in the events in Constantinople. A pogrom began, in which some residents of the city joined the local Greeks and Greek sailors who were attending the funeral. The crowd raided Jewish houses, stalls and shops, killing 17 people and wounding more than 50. This pogrom was the first in Russia; by coincidence, the Jewish pogrom of 1871 also started near the church. This time Jews were accused of stealing the cross from the church fence. The cross was later found inside the church, but the pogrom enveloped the entire city and lasted for three days.

New Market (26, Torgovaya St.)
Pogroms of 1871, 1881

New Market

The Odessa marketplace, situated in the center of the city was witness to the pogroms of 1871 and 1881. Throughout the market, Jews were beaten, stalls, stands and shops were raided, goods stolen or destroyed. The pogrom spread to all the parts of the city where Jews lived or where they had shops, workshops, educational institutions and synagogues. Thugs burst into houses owned by Jews, broke windows, forced doors open, shattered furniture and ripped open pillows and feather beds, a traditional element of pogroms. According to eye witnesses, the feathers covered the streets. The government did not always send in the army or police in time, and representatives of the government even unambiguously stated that the Jews themselves had provoked the pogroms because they were taking all the places in educational institutions, playing an increasingly dominant role in the economic development of the city and region, and were in general becoming a threat to the Orthodox Christian population and to state security.

Jewish Hospital (32, Myasoedovskaya St.) Pogrom of 1905
The most terrible pogrom in the history of Jewish Odessa took place on October 18-22, 1905, when there were some 175,000 Jews living in the city. It enveloped the entire city and the bloody spread from the central streets to the outlying districts, primarily Moldovanka, which had a large and impoverished poor Jewish population. For three days and nights the crowds, which included inhabitants of the surrounding villages, robbed shops, destroyed houses, tortured and killed Jews with knives, daggers and firearms. Bursting with rage, and spurred on by the knowledge that they were assured impunity, the thugs did not spare women, the elderly, or children. The pogrom left 299 victims in its wake, from Isser Zeltzer, aged one and a half to 85 year-old Shimon Tsmelzon. Several thousand Jews managed to escaped from the to the huge yard of the city's oldest Jewish hospital, which was surrounded by solid stone buildings. The wounded were also brought to the hospital for treatment.
*Jewish Hospital*	*List of victims of pogrom (part)*
Fighters from the Jewish self-defense groups displayed great courage in rescuing people often at risk to their own lives. In most cases when the self-defense groups appeared the mob would scatter, but when troops and police arrived they would return and continue with their pillaging. Invaluable assistance in rescuing Jews was provided by voluntary medical groups that included university students and marine college cadets and, it is important to note, often contained non-Jewish citizens of Odessa. Similarly, there were people of various nationalities among the doctors from the ambulance station, who went to the areas affected by the pogroms under rain of fire, giving first aid to the wounded and transporting them to the hospitals. Documents show that among the doctors who helped the wounded was the founder of the ambulance station, Dr. Yakov Bardach, whose fame spread far beyond the city. After the 1905 pogrom, there was a marked increase in the emigration of Jews from Odessa.

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