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 were kind to me-
l was the only Jew they had ever asked to
their Easter feast, nd | used to go every
year. One reason that they were fond of me
was because | used to allow them to take
short cut through the brick works to their
cemetery They had never done this before.
When ! passed them in the street, 1t was
always How do you do, Mendel? | am glad
TO see you looking we'll" Although ] lived
in a district full of thieves, murderers, all
kinds of criminals, neither ! nor my family
were ever harmed by them.
After being employed the brick works
for FIVE years / suddenly called up for
service on account of the war 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, | was seized, and with eighty other men
placed i'll cattle van and sent to the front.
/ had not a single kopeck with me and they
scarcely gave any food. | 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 see them again
We went on by slow stages for eight days,
and we 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. / 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
oil ho1 ost
terrible horrors.
This was not my first experience of pogroms.
] had been through one before in 1883. | 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. lie made temporary
laws known as "Vremenne Zakoni,' which in
sisted that Jews had no rights of citizenship,
and we're 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. II started in
the South. and quickly spread all over the
Pale" We were at Nescnerow at the time,
and my father doing fairly well. We
heard that Jews were being killed and their
houses sacked and burnt in many Of the viii
lagos near u.s. and every day we expected the
trouble TO start in our own district 1t was
feared, but the wandering gangs OF rufians
who were going around the country committing
these Outrages
1t was 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 speech to them. He told them
that if they allowed a pogrom to start in our
village, and Jews were killed, that no one
would make any money out of it, 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 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 a
pogrom here, we will give you two roubles each
now"
They accepted his proposal. and the fourteen
hundred roubles was paid. We had no trouble
but the stories that were told MS Of what had
happened in the other nearby villages kept US
awake at nights il sheer horror