even some of the troops who had arrived did not restrain themselves from that sin. Complete quiet had not even yet been restored. The town presents a painful picture. The windows and doors of most of the houses are boarded up, the inhabitants are taking refuge several families in one dwelling; want is acute; there are no clothes, under or outer, shoes, glass, or many other of the most necessary things. Many have fled, destined for hunger and privation in strange parts.
The third attack of the Grigorievists took place in June. They took advantage of a temporary departure of the Soviet forces. As after May 21, all the Jewish population was herded together in the yard of the Executive Committee of the volost, and there robbed man by man. From some they even took off their last jackets, cloaks, boots and shoes. Besides all this they imposed a contribution of 75,000 rubles. The tortured and terrorized population for lack of means had to borrow several thousand rubles from the Russian credit association to save their lives. On the outside of the walls and doors of the Jewish inhabitants crosses were depicted with chalk, and saints' images were set up in the windows. Thus were the bloody massacres and pogroms prepared and carried out in Alexandrovka and neighboring places. We are informed that in the town of Medvedovka the surrounding peasants went even farther; they took apart and carried away the houses and other buildings belonging to the Jews, and none of the fleeing population dares to return and interfere with the destruction of the dwellings built by bitter toil. More than 500 dwellings have been destroyed, with a population of 3,200 to 3,300 people.
SHPOLA ( F KIEV)
Pogrom of May 27, 1919 Testimony of Krasniansky, Taken Down by Maizlish, August 8
The town of Shpola is a railroad station in the Zvenigorod canton.
The pogrom was perpetrated by bands of neighboring peasants (from Lebedin and Listopadovo), going under the flag of Grigoriev. A band of about 150 to 200 men appeared on Monday evening, May 26, and went around to the synagogues, and commanded all the men to go to the station. Close to 1,000 Jews obeyed without question and collected at the station. There they separated out the old men and declared that they were going to shoot them. When cries and entreaties arose, the bandits stated that they would let them live if they would get them a certain quantity of provisions and money (sugar, tea, flour, etc.). Two hours time-limit was set. A commission was chosen which started to collect the provisions. But firing began at the station of Tzvetkovo (12 versts from Shpola), and the gang got frightened and left.
On the next morning (Tuesday, May 27), a reconnoitring party came, and, finding that there was no one in the town, informed the gang of the fact. They immediately appeared and began to loot. The population, in a panic, scattered and hid. All the Jewish dwellings and some shops were plundered (at the beginning of the year there had been a great fire in Shpola and almost all the stores were burned). They took away goods, clothing, and underclothes, and spoiled and destroyed what was left. On the same day fourteen were killed, mostly by firearms, some accidentally, by stray bullets. The local peasants at first hid the Jews, but then began to say that they were afraid themselves. They took no part in the pillaging. Crosses were placed on the doors of non-Jewish dwellings. In the evening Soviet forces arrived and forced out the bandits.
Three weeks after the first pogrom a detachment of Grigorievists with yellow flags passed by Shpola, and about twelve men entered the town, looted (valuables, watches, and money; they didn't stay long enough to get much) for several hours, and barbarously killed three. One fourteen-year-old girl was violated. She was operated on in the hospital, but died. Later it was said that these bandits who entered the town were disarmed by their own commanders.
KREMENCHUG AND KRIUKOV ( F POLTAVA)
Pogrom of May 12-14, 1919 From [the newspaper} "Kom. Fon" No. 1
The pogrom was organized by Grigorievists and began on Monday, May 12. First the Grigorievists occupied Kriukov (a suburb of Kremenchug), and made it their first business to plunder the Jews of that place. On the night of May 12 began their entry into Kremenchug. As soon as they broke into the town they surrounded Jewish houses under pretext of making searches and taking everything that came to their hands. On this day, May 13, there were also cases of murders. The principal bacchanalia began on May 14. By this time a Committee
UKRAINE