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Anti-Semitism in Europe
THE POGROMS AGAINST THE JEWS

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Jews Massacred in Polish Riots
From "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle" newspaper, September 10, 1906
 


200 Said to Have Been Slain in Siedlce, Poland.
Probably 1,000 Wounded.
Terrorists Killed Two Soldiers and Troops Turned on the Hebrews.
Artillery Used in the Streets.
Work of Slaughter was Kept Up All Saturday Night and Sunday. Awful Carnage.


Jewish victims of Ekaterinoslav pogrom, 1905

Siedlce, Poland, September 10--A Jewish massacre surpassing in seriousness all previous ones in this vicinity took place here Saturday and Sunday. It was carefully planned beforehand, the soldiers warning all of the Christian population in advance to hang out their ikons, so that they might remain undisturbed. Saturday night some Terrorists killed two soldiers and thereupon the Libau Regiment broke forth in unrestrained fury. They began murdering Jews on every band and continued the work of slaughter all Saturday night and all day Sunday.

Murder and Pillage Continued.

The ghastly work of murdering and pillaging continued until and early hour this morning, when Governor General Skallon telegraphed for permission to use the artillery. Four batteries then opened fire down Pienkna, Warsaw and Aliena streets, which were inhabited by thousands of Jews. The destruction was horrible. As a result of the general slaughter, it is estimated that fully 200 Jews have been killed and 1,000 wounded. There are 3,000 prisoners in custody, a great many of whom are wounded. Not a soldier was killed.

This morning squads of soldiers were parading through the streets selling pillaged watches and jewelry. The army officers openly countenanced the selling of loot. The local governor, Engiko, took no steps to prevent the outrage.

The telegraph offices are closed and nobody is allowed on the streets or to leave the town. The refugees continue to crowd to the stations. The soldiers are drunk and are behaving with extraordinary brutality.

Six Buildings Set on Fire.

Six buildings in the big bazaar of the city are now in flames, adding another terror to the killing and plundering which has been going on here for the last thirty-six hours.

Frequent shots and occasional volley-firing is still heard in different parts of the town, but because of the general panic it is difficult to learn actually just what is transpiring.

Hundreds of Jews are assembled today at the railroad station awaiting means of getting out of town, but Siedlce is surrounded by troops who do not permit exit or entrance. Field guns occupy points of vantage on the principal streets.

Terrorists Responsible for Massacre.

There seems to be no doubt that the Terrorists are responsible for provoking the massacre, by their fusillades from roofs and windows on Saturday against soldiers and policemen who were patrolling the streets. Troops surrounded the houses from which this firing came and poured in volleys through windows and doors. This was followed by a search of the premises, which soon developed into wholesale plundering and subsequently into a massacre and slaughter. The trouble began on Pienkna street and spread rapidly to a large portion of the town. Almost all the Jewish shops have been looted. Owners who defended their property were killed or wounded. Any person seen leaving a house or looking out a window was shot without mercy.


Siedlce is the capital of the department of the same name, and is situated 55 miles southeast of Warsaw. It is the seat of a bishopric, and the notable buildings of the town are a handsome chateau and an imposing municipal hall. The town has three banks. Agricultural implements are manufactured there, and there is a trade in manufactured leather goods. Siedlce is on the Liwez River, and there is a railroad connection with Warsaw, Terespol and Malkin. There is one Catholic and one Russian Church in the town, as well as a synagogue.


Predictions of a Massacre Justified.

St. Petersburg, September 10--The predictions made in these dispatches on August 23 of a Jewish massacre at Siedlce, Russia Poland, unhappily have been justified by the fighting which broke out Saturday night, and developed yesterday into a carnival of indiscriminate slaughter and pillage in which the soldiery and the mob took part. Unfortunate Jews were shot and bayoneted in the streets of the town.
Houses and shops were broken into and sacked. Valuables were carried off and offered for sale by soldiers to passengers on passing trains.

In addition to the Jews a number of Christians and even some officers met their death in the fighting. The number of victims has not yet been established, but a conservative estimate places it at 140. The Jewish fugitives who thronged the railroad stations at Siedlce are in a state of panic.

Several Hundred Reported Killed.

Reports received here from Warsaw and other towns in the vicinity of Siedlce place the number of victims at several hundred.

The early reports of the Siedlce massacres put the responsibility at the door of the Terrorists, but fugitives declare that the soldiers never would have been allowed to get so completely out of hand without the connivance, if not the actual direction of their officers. The first reports received of the Bialystok massacre last June said the Terrorists were to blame there also.

It is difficult to obtain details of the trouble at Siedlce, as the town was surrounded yesterday by soldiers and nobody allowed to enter. Passengers, however, who arrived at Warsaw during the night gave the following account of the slaughter:

After the murder of a policeman by Terrorists on Saturday night and the firing of a volley by troops into the assembled crowd, which resulted in the killing of two citizens and the wounding of many more, the Terrorists hold a meeting and decided to exact vengeance by inaugurating a general campaign against the police and the troops, similar is the recent activity along the same lines in Warsaw.

Regiment Shot Right and Left.

In the course of Sunday morning, twelve patrolmen and soldiers were killed. As a result of this, the Libau Regiment, in a state of infuriated anger, left is barracks in the afternoon and marched into the Jewish quarter, shooting right and left as it went. The troops were joined by crowds of Hooligans, who co-operated in the plundering and wantonly destroyed everything they were unable or undesirous to carry away. The sale of booty by the soldiers went on under the very eyes of their officers.

At a late hour in the afternoon, the Kaluge Regiment arrived on a special train from Biala, and measures were instituted to put a stop to the pogrom. In spite of this, however, the shooting continued up to a late hour that night.

A correspondent of the Associated Press who was not able to get into Siedlce yesterday, started for there a second time this morning.

Siedlce is a town of 39,600 people, half of whom are Jews.

 

   

 


 



 

 


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