Atlanta Georgian., 1914-03-01

to enter him at the Gymnasium
Our lives We're very quiet at that time but
we were happy, and all the more SO because
the Christians liked me and we're kind to me.
l the only Jew they had asked to
their Easter feast, Ind | used to go every
year. One reason that they were fond of me
because | used to allow them to take
short cut through the brick works to their
cemetery. They had never done this before.
When l passed them in the street. 1t was
always How do you do, Mendel2 | am glad
to see you looking well" Although | lived
in district full Of thieves, murderers, all
kinds of criminals, neither | nor my family
were ever harmed by them.
After being employed on the brick works
for FIVE years was suddenly called up for
service on account Of the with JAPAN al
though | had been eight years out of the army.
Despite the fact that the rights of citizenship
were denied me on account of my being Jew,
Russia had the right to call on me and other
Jews to defend her in the hour of need.
My wife nearly went out of her mind with
fright. | pleaded with the officers, pointing
out that | was married and had three children
and should not, therefore, be called on to
serve But they said that they could not help
me. l seized, and with eighty other men
placed in a cattle and sent to the front.
| had not a single kopeck with and they
scarcely gave us any food. l was very sad
and frightened l had not had the chance to
say good-by to my children, and | kept won
dering if | should ever them again
We went on by slow stages for eight days,
and were well on the way to the war when,
to my Joy, | was released My plea that there
were unmarried men in Kiev who had not
been called upon had availed, and the order
was sent that l could go free. l was over
joyed, and when l arrived back home we cried
for joy.
The Pograms Begin.
Very soon after this things became very
much worse for the Jews in Kiev The pog-
roms began. and we all went through the most
terrible horrors.
This was not my first experience of pogroms.
l had been through one before in 1883. l well
knew all they meant. Every Jew knows that
pogroms date from 1881 during the reign OF
Alexander ILL.,, who hated the Jews, and soon
after he came to the throne conditions for us
began to grow worse He made temporary
laws known as "Vremennie Zakoni," which in
sisted that Jews had no rights of citizenship,
and were only to be allowed to live in certain
villages. Many Jews were turned out of Rus
sia, and we all began to feel the difference in
our treatment
In 1883 came the first pogrom 1t started in
the South and quickly spread all over the
Pale" We were at Nescherow at the time
and my father was doing fairly well. We
heard that Jews were being killed and their
houses sacked and burnt in many of the viii
lagos near us, and every day we expected the
trouble TO start in our district. 1t was
not the Christians who lived near us that we
feared, but the wandering gangs OF ruffians
who We're going around the country committing
these outrages.
1t vas left to my father to take action. Act
ing for the local business men, he went to the
village priest and asked him to call all the
Christians together. This was done, and my
father made a speech to them He told them
that If they allowed pogrom to start in our
village, and Jews We're killed that
would make any money out of 1t. Nearly all
Of US were poor, and scarcely had even our
furniture
What is more" he said, you will bring
disgrace on yourselves and on your children.
Our blood will be on your heads for many gen.
erations. There are about seven hundred
Christians in Nescherow. If you will promise
me and your priest, that there shall not be
pogrom here. We will give you two roubles each
now
They accepted his proposal. and the fourteen
hundred roubles paid We had no trouble,
but the stories that We're told us of what had
happened in the other nearby villages kept US
awake at nights in sheer horror.