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The Kishinev Massacre of 1903, in
which forty-nine Jews were murdered and hundreds were wounded,
aroused universal condemnation and protest. For the first
time, Jews in the United States took the lead in organizing
nationwide protests. In addition to hundreds of demonstrations
and meetings held throughout the nation, a massive petition
drive protesting the slaughter was organized. Since the
Russian authorities refused to accept the petition, it was
deposited instead in the State Department's vault in a special
box constructed to house it. In his letter accepting the
petition, Secretary of State John Hay wrote: "It is a valuable
addition to the public literature and it will be sacredly
cherished among the treasures of the Department." ---from the
Library of Congress, "From Haven to Home" exhibition. (See
the letter by Secretary Hay below.)
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Homer Davenport (1867-1912).
The Crime of the New Century, 1903.
Pen and ink drawing.
Prints and Photographs Division (148)
| This is a drawing
depicting Czar Nicholas II and Lady Columbia. She
appears to be scolding him, and he averts his eyes in
apparent embarrassment. There is a poster with
several skulls and bones behind them that reads "Kishenev Massacre of
400 Jews--700 Jewish Homes Looted --Dead Left Bleeding
in the Streets. Tiraspol--General Slaughter of
Jews--Young and Old Killed and Wounded." |
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Herman S. Shapiro.
"Kishinev shekhita, elegie"
[Kishinev Massacre Elegy].
New York: Asna Goldberg, 1904.
Irene Heskes Collection.
Music Division (149)
| The illustration in the
center of this elegy depicts the April 1903 Kishinev
massacre. |
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DEPARTMENT OF
STATE
WASHINGTON
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October 31, 1903 |
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Leo N. Levi, Esquire,
President of
the Executive Committee of the Independent Order of B'nai
Brith
723 Lexington
Avenue, New York, N.Y.
My dear sir,
I have
received at the hands of the Honorable Simon Wolf, your
letter of the 5th of October. He has also delivered to me the
sound copy of the Kishineff Petition.
It gives me
pleasure to accept the charge of this important and
significant document, and to assign it a place in the archives
of the Department of State.
Although this
copy of your Petition did not reach the high destination for
which it was intended, its words have attained a world-wide
publicity, and have found a lodgement in many thousands of
minds. This Petition will be always memorable, not only for
what it contains, but also for the number and weight of the
signatures attached to it, embracing some of the most eminent
names of our generation of men renowned for intelligence,
philanthropy and public spirit. In future, when the students
of history come to peruse this document, they will wonder how
the petitioners, moved to profound indignation by intolerable
wrongs perpetrated on the innocent and helpless, should
have expressed themselves in language as earnest and eloquent
and yet so dignified, so moderate and so decorous. It is a
valuable addition to public literature, and it will be
sacredly cherished among the treasures of this Department.
I am, Sir,
Very respectfully yours,
John
Hay
Letter above is courtesy of the Philip and Mildred Lax Archive
of B'nai B'rith.
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"Kishineff" Petition, 1903
Wood case with bound manuscript petition
Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration,
Washington, D.C. (146)
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Emil Flohri (1869-1938).
Stop Your Cruel Oppression of the Jews, 1904.
Chromolithograph.
Ben and Beatrice Goldstein Foundation Collection.
Prints and Photographs Division (145)
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The print above was produced
after one of the Kishinev pogroms. Depicted in this
print is an old Russian Jew, whose is carrying the
burden of oppression on his back, weighted down by
"autocracy," "robbery," "cruelty," "assassination,"
"deception," and "murder." In the background on the
right a town filled with Jews burn. On the left, U.S.
President Teddy Roosevelt poses the question to the then
Emperor of Russia, Czar Nicholas II, "Now that you have
peace without, why not remove his burden and have peace
within your borders?" |
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Many writers spoke out about
the violence in Kishinev. Articles and plays were
written about it. Elegies, such as the one mentioned
above, were composed in memory of the violence that had
occcurred. |
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The Czar's Shield:
My Beloved Jews
year unknown
Courtesy Philip and
Mildred Lax Archive of B'nai B'rith |
The Outpost of
Civilization
year unknown
Courtesy Philip and
Mildred Lax Archive of B'nai B'rith |
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There were two
pogroms in Kishinev (now called Chisinau, located in the
country of Moldova). The first one, on 6-7 Apr 1903, was said
to have begun because of the rumors that were spread that Jews
were involved in the murder of a Christian Russian boy two
months earlier. Two anti-Semitic newspapers published these
rumors, one going as far as saying that the Jews killed the
boy so they could use his blood to make matzoh. This was an
age-old accusation made of the Jewish people. |
The second pogrom
took place on 19-20 Oct 1905. The violence against the Jews in
Kishinev occurred during political protests against Nicholas
II.
These two pogroms became a symbol of the inability of the Jews
to defend themselves in a world that was hostile to them. This
compelled many Jews to emigrate from Russia for other lands
such as those countries in the West and Palestine. |
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