By the irony of fate, brightly lighted windows testified to the fact that all in the house were massacred. Namely: in Proskurov all houses are lighted by electricity, which is very moderate in price there. Now the orthodox Jews, who are the majority in Proskurov, true to their law, do not put out the fires and do not shut off the electric lights on Saturday, or rather on the night from Friday to Saturday. So the electricity burns till morning, when it goes out with the cutting off of the current, but then in the evening of Saturday, when the current is turned on, it lights of itself. After the awful Saturday, February 15, the Jews lighted no lights. But all the more brightly burned the light in the windows of the houses where Jewish families had been totally wiped out. And the plunderers went for those lights. There were, of course, accidents, and they entered some Christian houses. This explains the isolated occurrences of attacks on Christian homes during the night Saturday to Sunday, of which the witnesses Verkhola and Dr. Stavinsky made mention in their testimony (p. 70-75).
The- witness Verkhola and Dr. Stavinsky, president of the municipal council, state that they did not hear of the massacre that had taken place until late in the evening. They went through the city on foot, and saw many corpses lying around. They also entered lighted dwellings in which murdered people were lying. Intending to establish a base for treating the wounded, they went to several drug stores, but there they met the above-named Dr. Skornik, who was requisitioning all bandaging material for the use of the Cossacks, alleging that there were many wounded among them, brought from the front. Upon investigation that was found totally untrue.
This Dr. Skornik, with a sister of mercy and two sanitarycorps members, took an active part in the massacre. Dr. Skornik especially distinguished himself. When another sister of mercy, outraged by his behavior, cried out to him: "What are you doing? You are wearing the Red Cross band!" he tore off the band and threw it to her, and continued killing.
According to the testimony of three gymnasium-students, who
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had been drafted in Yelisavetgrad by the Gaidamaks to serve in the sanitary corps, Skornik, when he returned to his car after the massacre, boasted that in one house they met such a beautiful girl that not a single Gaidamak could make up his mind to kill her; then he thrust her through with his own hand. According to the testimony of witnesses, a body of a young woman of extraordinary beauty, thrust through, was in fact found among the corpses at the cemetery. Since the whole personnel of Dr. Skornik's sanitary corps fell ill of typhus, no one of the corps succeeded in leaving when the Petlurists evacuated the town. They all came into the hands of the bolshevik forces, and, after an investigation, those found guilty were sent to Odessa without a trial. I have seen the data of the investigation and must state that Dr. Skornik was unquestionably proved guilty of active participation in the massacre. It was established, moreover, that he was a morphine addict; and in general he produced a strange impression on all. (See testimony of Dr. Stavinsky, p. 88-90.)
On the next morning occasional murders of Jews continued, both on the streets and in the houses. The Jews remained in hiding and very few ventured out on the streets. According to the witness, Tzatzkis (35-40), he, on Sunday morning, dressed himself in peasant's garb, went to Alexandrovskaya street, and approached a group of Gaidamaks, who were talking with townspeople. He heard the Gaidamaks say that up to two o'clock they would be killing Jews individually, but after two o'clock they would repeat the general slaughter of yesterday.
Dr. Stavinsky, in the capacity of president of the municipal council, together with the mayor and other persons, went to the commandant's headquarters and begged that the massacre be stopped. The witness Verkhola also appeared there and particularly insisted upon it. Right there in the headquarters it was decided to call the municipal council, and Semosenko and Kiverchuk promised to attend its session. When Verkhola and Stavinsky went to the council, they were compelled on the way to witness individual instances of murder and wounding of Jews. One was shot before their eyes at the Town Hall itself,
Very few members appeared at the Council meeting, and only one Jew, Raigorodsky; the other Jews had to turn back, because attacks were made upon them. (See testimony of Marantz.) The council opened its session immediately upon the appearance of Semosenko and Kiverchuk. Dr. Stavinsky opened the session and in a few words described the situation which had arisen. Semosenko then spoke and declared that what ha'd happened had
UKRAINE