On the 2ist of, March the Soviet troops left Zhitomir. Early on the 22nd the troops of Petlura entered. After the withdrawal of the Soviet troops, the prominent persons in the public life of Zhitomir decided to send a delegation to the troops of the Directory in order to prevent a pogrom. In view of the intense agitation against the Jews, the rumor spread that the Petlura troops would institute a pogrom in the city, and the delegation was to endeavor to keep them from carrying out their intention. In order to make the anti- Jewish agitation more effective in the circles of the ignorant population, especially the peasants, the rumor was circulated that during the presence of the Soviet troops the Bolsheviki, or, as was stated by all sorts of inciting police spies, the Jews, had put to death 1,700 Christians. As a matter of fact the Bolsheviki, according to the complete and exact data of the Extraordinary Commission, had, up to the time of their retirement from Zhitomir, put to death six persons in the city and sixteen in the surrounding district, twenty-two persons in all, of whom several were Jews. The rumor of the 1,700 men shot was circulated among others by officials, who apparently regarded this fable as actually true or at least pretended to think so. On Friday it was already clear that the pogrom was unavoidable.
The Jewish masses left the city. The entire Jewish youth fled from the city for fear of a pogrom. On their return they were designated as fugitive Bolsheviki. It was only thanks to the energetic efforts of the city administration and a few prominent and influential Christian citizens that they succeeded in saving the young people who returned, and who had nothing to do with Bolshevism, from being shot.
Early on Saturday, the delegation, consisting of three prominent Christians and the president of the Jewish community, went out to meet the troops. The Jew was obliged to go back while still on his way, because he was in danger of losing his life, as he was told by an officer whom the deputation met on the way.
On his way back, the president of the community saw the first bodies of Jews who had been put to death by the arriving soldiers. The first man killed was an old man of seventy on the road leading from Vrangelevka to the city. The old man was on his way to the synagogue carrying the "talis" (prayer shawl) in his hand. According to the testimony of eye witnesses, he was placed against a tree and shot at without being killed immediately. The wounded old man had strength enough left to drag himself several yards farther on the road. As a result of the great loss of blood he began to reel, fell down and died by the wayside.
The delegation led the conversation with the staff to the subject of the 1,700 Christians alleged to have been put to death by the Jews, and when they gave their word of honor that the story was absolutely untrue, they were told by the staff that intelligent people naturally could be convinced, but that the soldiers were very much aroused against the Jews, and the staff could do nothing.
UKRAINE
The pogrom began on the 22nd of March and lasted five days. The first three were the bloodiest.
The number of victims in Zhitomir alone, not counting those buried in the surrounding villages, was 317. The greater part of those murdered were old men, women and children. The losses among the younger men were comparatively slight, for these had either left the city at the same time as the Bolsheviki or had concealed themselves. When dwelling houses were attacked, the inmates succeeded in some cases in redeeming their lives by payment of money, but there were a number of cases in which the bandits took the money and then slaughtered those who expected to save themselves in that way. In general, Petlura's men, unlike the loafers of the first pogrom who confined themselves principally to robbery and plunder, endeavored to kill as many Jews as they could.
That this second pogrom of Zhitomir exacted only 317 victims is due to two reasons, first, that many Christians took Jews into their houses, thus saving a great many from death; but principally that on the evening of the 24th of March the Bolsheviki renewed their advance against Zhitomir, and thus prevented a further extension of the pogrom, since all the soldiers had to go to the front. On the 23rd of March, when the pogrom was in full swing, Petlura came to Zhitpmir. He was accurately informed of all that had taken and was taking place. He said that he had done everything necessary to check the pogrom. In reality, however, no measures of any kind were taken until the 25th of March.