The Denver Jewish news. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1915-1925, 1919-10-01

cause they were Jews-that innocent
Jews were murdered In Pinsk. in Ida, In
lChestochow and many other places IN
Poland for no other reason than that they
lwere Jews. Besides, the Jews were and
are still bounded and terrorized almost
Everywhere in Poland The Polish press
| has melted race hatred openly. The Po-
| iish politicians have openly and brazenly
conducted an anti-Jewish campaign before
| the elections for the Polish Diet. They
preached anti-Jewish hatred. and are con-
| tinuing such agitation even now. after the
Polish treaty had been signed in Versailles
by Paderewski and Dmowsld. promising
the protection of the rights Of minorities
in Poland
Jews Forced to Dig Graves.
have talked with Jews who were forced
to- die. graves to bury the Jews murdered
In their presence by Polish soldiers and
officers In Wilma. listened to the doscrip-
ton of these scenes by eyewitnesses. pS
old men. women and little children whose
eyes have seen these horrors snal
never forget those eyes-eyes fun OF ter
ror, bitterness and gr1ef.
They saw bloodcurdling sights of bru-
tality and cruelty committed by Poiisii
troops, by 'liberators'' In uniform, which
were worse even than the Prusstan atroci-
ties in Belgium for in Poland the victims
offered no resistance-they were Killed ana
robbed at the end of the war on accounS
OF their religion or their race.
In the village of Tirgel, about twenty
five versts from Wilma. the Polish troops
sacked and looted the few jewish MONIES
and shops that were there. Then tne!
dragged a Jew named Abram to the pup
lie SQUARE and Iashed him mercilessly. He
cried and begged the soldiers to shoot him
rather than subject him to torture ana
humiliation Afterward Sholem David,
Jew about eighty years of age, was
dragged to the public square and was
forced to tear grass on the GROUND Win
his teeth, while the Polish mob looked on
and laughed Then, as n climax to this
spectacle, which amused the Poles, the
soldiers compelled some of the Jews TO
lash the others. In several other places
men of Haller's army also forced jews 10
beat and lash one another. Ihen tney
compelled them to dance, while inc foies
looked on and laughed morrily.
Dragged Out and Shot.
During my stay in Wilma learned of the
following incident which occurred there
during the poErom days.
Benskf. a merchant who lived on Novy
SWAT was accused of having bomn
hidden in his house. Such We're tine usual
excuses for starting anti-Jewish riots or
norrons in Poland. He was seized on the
eleventh day after Wilma had been cap
tured by the Poles. His house was
searched and looted. Then he was shot
and thrown upon a wagon. HIS WE ana
yagon through the streets of the city,
followed by large crowd of Poles.
Izchols soloveichik and Shabad, tobacco
merchant who CHANGED to pass on their
way from prison. where they visited their
relatives who had been arrested during
the pogrom days, We're forced TO uis
grave for BenslSi. After Benski had peen
lowered into the grave his wife ana niece
were also shot. and the Jewish grave
diggers, who were forced to bury also
the women. heard the girl still grooming
las she was being buried.
According to Polish Officials and press
agents in America and elsewhere, all
these incidents were mere "eScesses." But
they will be remembered as typical Polish
massacres-as Pologroms-far worse than
the Russian pogroms.
In Ida no Jewish homes or shops re-
mained unrobbed by the Polish troops.
Local Poles pointed out to the soldiers the
Jewish houses AMI shons, end the soldiers
helped themselves to whatever they
wanted destroying whatever they did not
want. In Ida thirty-nine Jews were muir
dered shortly after the city was taken by