The Denver Jewish news., 1923-04-18
American Jewish Relief

before the pOgroms had about $500
Jewish population. There was large
sugar factory and several smaller in
dustries establishments, so that Tros-
tianetz might have been accounted as
one of the most prosperous towns of
its size in Podolia. The population
appears to have been mixed, Jewish
and Christian. In May, 1919, there
was a pogrom made by the peasant
led by the so-called Christian Intelli-
gentzia. Three hundred and forty
one Jews were driven into one house
and there three hundred and forty
were massacred. The three hundred
and forty-first escaped by miracle
and now acts as guide when you come
TO look at the scene where the horror
took place.
After this pogrom there were minor
pogroms in which one hundred and ten
Jews were murdered. Furthermore,
four hundred Jews died of hunger and
typhus and as many more fled from
the town. Of four hundred Jewish
owned houses, sixty were destroyed,
fifty were rendered uninhabitable. The
remaining buildings belonging to Jews
have deteriorated and are also becom-
ing uninhabitable through neglect,
writes an American journalist who
visited the town recently.
The present Jewish population of
Trostianetz consists of about l 200 per-
sons of the following categories:
One hundred widows with 800 chill
dren.
Twenty full orphans.
Fifty handicraft-workers (25O if
families included).
Aims From Husbands Murdercrs.
The widows of Trostianetz are trad
ing. They get up at dawn, take along
their children and set out for the near
est village. They take with them
basket in which they have their en-
tire stock in trade, usually two ounces
of soda, two ounces Of pepper, five
pounds of salt, bottle of kerosene,
and two pounds of soap. They trade
this for few pounds of potatoes and
flour. As a matter of fact they are
beggars than traders; they receive
aims often from the very peasants
that murdered their husbands. Those
widows that cannot beg, starve. The
day before my arrival in Trostianetz,
Rivka Doumskaya died Of starvation,
leaving three orphans to the mercy Of
the destitute neighobrs.
There is one orphans day-home,
where fifteen to twenty children get
a bit of food now and then daytime
shelter. The majority Of the "fulp'
orphans make their homes in the
streets, in ruined buildings and in the
partially destroyed public bath
houses.
School in House Of Over 800 Deaths.
There is a school kept by the sugar
factory where some twenty-five chill
dren learn trades. The history of this
school is interesting. 1t has been put
in the house where the massacre Of
the three hundred and forty-One peo-
pie took place. This house had stood
for three and one-half years as re-
proach to the local Christian poptla-
ton. They sent a messenger to the
government authorities asking that
the house be pulled down in order that
this terrible memory be wiped out.
But the authorities retorted that they
would not destroy the evidences Of
what had been done. Then the popu-
lation again sent message asking
that something be done to wipe out
these hideous memories. The authori-
ties then suggested that the popula-
ton install in the house an orphan
asylum where the orphans of the
murdered Jews might find shelter.
This would be an atonement and
might find shelter. This would be an
atonement and might appease the rest
less ghosts. But then the Jews OBJ
jected and said it was unthinkable
that children should live and be
brought up in house full ''of the
grcans of their murdered parents" ."
Finally the trade school was set up
in that house. Meanwhile the rest of
the orphaned children are in terrible
shape, as are the widows and pog-
rom sufferers.
In order to cope at once with this
situation, the Joint Distribution COM
mittee representative founded a home
for seventy-five orphans. He ar
ranged for the repair and equipment
of the building in which the home is to
be. And this is only beginning.
Blankets, sheets, and other necessary
things have been given by the Ameri-
can Relief administration. And mat