for power, the international conflict, the separation of Ukraine from Russia, etc., gradually made worse and more difficult the position of the Jewish population, which invariably suffered severely, without regard to which elements conquered or met defeat. ' (See Appendix 1.) The transfer of power from the Hetman to the Directory had no good effects in Uman. The Jewish masses sympathized with the change, but they began to observe, in the course of time, a suspicious attitude towards themselves, and instances of malevolence, oppression, persecution, and at last downright baiting. The authorities explained this (if they explained it at all) by saying that among the bolsheviks— if not the local ones, then the ones at a distance — the majority were Jews. The attitude towards the Jews on the part of all the authorities in the last days of the Directory was full of hate, desire to "avenge," to oppress, etc. (See Appendix 2.) The Gaidamaks tormented the Jews on the streets, beat them, plundered them with the most complete impunity. There were isolated cases of murders in the city and massacres in the surrounding places (e.g. in Kristinovka, where about five Jews were cut down and thrown in the way of a train). One Jew the Gaidamaks arrested on the street on some invented pretext, and took him to the barracks, where they tortured him to death, breaking his arms and legs, and threw him naked into the sewer. In general, during the last days, the Jewish population was in a constant nightmare of baiting and in fear of an open attack and massacre on the part of the Gaidamaks. But through the efforts of local men in public life and agents of the Council, among whom were many Christians, and by the payment of a contribution (out of three millions imposed more than a million and a half was paid), they succeeded in averting a pogrom and massacre.
On March 11, by night, under pressure of the approaching Soviet guerrilla detachments, the forces of the Directory evacuated Uman, departing for Kristinovka, the nearest junctionstation on the railroad. A military organization consisting principally of young Jews immediately took upon itself the guarding of the town. It had organized illegally during the last month of the regime of the Directory. On the morning of March 12 the Soviet guerrilla detachments entered the town, putting an end to the nightmare-like situation of the Jewish inhabitants, who had been fearing a massacre. However, immediately upon the entrance into the city of the guerrilla forces, there began pillaging of the population (mostly Jews), in which both the prisoners whom the guerrilla forces had released from prison,
and these forces themselves participated. The robberies continued for two or three days and then quieted down, with the departure of that detachment and its replacement by another more disciplined one, parts of which kept guard along with the city formation. On March 17 the Soviet detachment and the Soviet organs fled from Uman under pressure from the Gaidamaks, who had broken through the front and who entered Uman to the number of 100. The Jewish population had a terrible panic, expecting inevitable ruin (see Appendix 3). However, the Councilmen, mostly Ukrainians, succeeded in dissuading the commander of the Gaidamak detachment, Diachenko, from his intention. Besides, the situation was saved by the contribution of a large number of boots, clothing, and some other valuables.