Today marks the 98th anniversary of the terrible tragedy in our city, known throughout the world as the “Bloody Bath.” On February 15-16, 1919, a Jewish pogrom took place in the city, claiming the lives of about 1,600 Proskuriv residents, indigenous Jews. As a sign of remembrance, today community members and clients of the Khmelnytskyi Charitable Foundation “Hesed Besht” gathered at the memorial on Tolstoy Street – the only monument to pogroms in Ukraine, which is located directly on the grave of innocent victims.
At an improvised requiem rally, the historical facts of the Pogrom were recalled and a memorial prayer was read. Volunteer of the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Archive “Hesed Besht” Semen Milman, who devoted a lot of time to studying the phenomenon of the pogrom in the Khmelnytskyi Regional State Archive, revealed many historical facts to those present. It is well known that the bandits who attacked the Jews of Proskuriv organized a massacre after a sumptuous feast. The first phase of the crime did not last long at all: the attackers covered several blocks in just two honins at most. This, and much more, stunned many of those present.
They also remembered the heroes of that time, such as priest Klimentiy Kachurovsky or former driver Mykola Sikora, who saved Jews from inevitable murders. In two years, the terrible tragedy will be a hundred years old. Now our Foundation is negotiating with various local organizations and international partners to commemorate this date at the highest level. After all, it was after the Pogrom, in addition to losses at the hands of the attackers, that the community suffered losses from the emigration of Jews who were afraid to stay in our region in the future.
