Atlanta Georgian., 1914-03-01

I can't tell you what some of my friends
went through. My poor son, Aaron, was one
OF the unfortunate ones. He was living near
me at this time. The mob caught him, beat
him until they thought he was dead, took all
his money and clothes, leaving him only his
shirt collar and then went to his house and
destroyed all his furniture.
l am afraid that l can't describe the horrors
OF this time. The trouble was started in the
town by gangs of thirty or forty boys who,
armed with stones, began breaking the win
dows of all the houses where they thought
there might be Jews living. These were soon
joined by hundreds of others mostly members
Of the BLACK Hundred" assisted by police and
officials in private clothes. They paraded the
streets shouting:
kill the dirty Jews! Destroy the dogs!"
Full of vodka and with their passions
cited to the utmost. they did not know what
they were doing, and they seemed more like
wild animals. Then all the windows of
house were smashed, they would break open
the doors, rush in like set of maniacs, steal
all they could carry and break the rest. They
would hurl pianos to the street from the fifth
and sixth story windows and yell with delight
when they heard them smashed to atoms be-
low, not caring If anyone were killed.
Their chief joy was when they found drink
In a house. They would then drink them
selves to state of mad ferocity, and then the
real orgy would commence The most hor
rible tortures would be inflicted on any Jew
they found
When they had killed enough men to satisfy
themselves, they would begin on the women.
Any woman so unfortunate as to fall into their
hands would be brutaly assaulted. Often be-
fore they left her they would mutilate her and
then shrek with delight.
Little girls were outraged in dozens, many
before the eyes Of their parents death often
coming as a swift release from their tortures.
They drove nails into the womens nostrils.
They seized little children out of their
mothers arms and tore them into pieces.
Every act of this kind was accompanied by
cries such as, "Hurrah Down with Jews!
Students! Liberals" interspersed with cries
like those of wild animals.
These orgies Of slaughter and outrage con-
ttnued for three or four days. Police in the
streets made attempt to interfere with the
mobs or stop their work in any way. They
would stand and watch them enter jewelers.
shop, steal all they wanted, and throw the rest
into the streets, and made not the least at
tempt to protect him. They would only see
if there anything left for themselves, and
laugh when they saw the man, half killed If
not dead already, thrown out into the street
Four Days of Murder.
Only on the fourth day, when even this mob
was satisfied with blood and slaughter; when
their human sacrifices were complete; when
dozens of women had been outraged and thous-
ands more left homeless and penniless; when
many children had been left orphans, and when
scarcely Jewish family had not lost one or
more members. and when the streets were
actually running in blood-only then did the
word go forth aSd the police take steps to in
terfere and stop the massacres.
And oh! Those awful days afterward The
days when we collected and buried our dead.
The days when nothing but weeping and lamen-
tations were heard. l shall never be able to
forget them. Even my two years imprison-
ment and my own terrible sufferings and tor
lures did not awaken in me the feelings OF
these times.
But yet 1 was one of the few who escaped.
often wonder what can be the feelings in the
hearts of other Jews, those who lost father,
mother, wife or child. In my case only my
brother was hurt. We managed to pull him
around, but his wife and two children, who
for three days lay hidden in a cold dark cellar,
all took pneumonia, and were i'll long after
ward. We escaped lightly.
When this was over they left us alone for
a time. However, 1t became harder than ever
10 live in Kiev. Police demands increased
The ordinary people became more unkind to
us, and life became more of burden. They
did not do us bodily harm, but in the streets
members of the BLACK Hundred" often spat
upon US and cursed us, and we were only
safe from insult indoors