Symon Petliura, whose troops were responsible for most of the pogroms in Ukraine, was assassinated in France in 1926. His killer was Ukrainian Jewish anarchist Sholem Schwarzbard, who had lost family members to Petliura’s men.
>Schwarzbard asked him in Ukrainian, “Are you Mr. Petliura?” Petliura did not answer but raised his walking cane. Schwartzbard pulled out a gun, proclaimed “dirty dog, killer of my people, defend yourself!” and shot him five times.
In an act of jury nullification, Schwarzbard was acquitted after arguing that Petliura deserved death:
>The jury deliberated for only 35 minutes before acquitting Schwarzbard, whom they viewed as innocent “before God and their conscience.” Following the verdict, someone in the courtroom chanted “Vive la France,” and the entire courtroom started chanting.
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>Not only was Schwarzbard acquitted, but Petliura’s family was ordered to pay for the costs of the trial. The jury rewarded one franc in compensation to Petliura’s widow and brother. Schwarzbard became seen by fellow Jews as a heroic avenger of the pogroms.
zoryana111 on
Tragic page of Ukrainian history… those who had survived the pogroms later endured holodomor, holocaust, repressions. I think about it often; being a jew in the 20th century was rough, but i feel like nowhere (except Germany) it was as hard as in eastern Europe
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Symon Petliura, whose troops were responsible for most of the pogroms in Ukraine, was assassinated in France in 1926. His killer was Ukrainian Jewish anarchist Sholem Schwarzbard, who had lost family members to Petliura’s men.
>Schwarzbard asked him in Ukrainian, “Are you Mr. Petliura?” Petliura did not answer but raised his walking cane. Schwartzbard pulled out a gun, proclaimed “dirty dog, killer of my people, defend yourself!” and shot him five times.
In an act of jury nullification, Schwarzbard was acquitted after arguing that Petliura deserved death:
>The jury deliberated for only 35 minutes before acquitting Schwarzbard, whom they viewed as innocent “before God and their conscience.” Following the verdict, someone in the courtroom chanted “Vive la France,” and the entire courtroom started chanting.
>
>Not only was Schwarzbard acquitted, but Petliura’s family was ordered to pay for the costs of the trial. The jury rewarded one franc in compensation to Petliura’s widow and brother. Schwarzbard became seen by fellow Jews as a heroic avenger of the pogroms.
Tragic page of Ukrainian history… those who had survived the pogroms later endured holodomor, holocaust, repressions. I think about it often; being a jew in the 20th century was rough, but i feel like nowhere (except Germany) it was as hard as in eastern Europe