The Przytyk
pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
or Przytyk
riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property target ...
s
occurred between the Polish and Jewish communities in
Przytyk
Przytyk ( yi, פשיטיק) is a village in Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland, founded in the year 1333. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Przytyk. It lies in historic Lesser Poland, ...
,
Radom County,
Kielce Voivodeship,
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...
, on March 9, 1936.
Previously, on January 28, authorities had suspended the weekly market for four weeks because of the fear of violence from the violent anti-Semitic Endek (sic,
Endecja) party. The disorder began as a small dispute between a Jewish baker and a Polish farmer selling his wares. Disturbances took on such a severe dimension as a result of the use of firearms by Jews. According to historian Emanuel Melzer, it was the most notorious incident of antisemitic violence in Poland in the
interwar period, and attracted worldwide attention, being one of a series of pogroms that occurred in Poland during the years immediately before the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
[Melzer, Emanuel]
''No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry 1935-1939''
Monographs of the Hebrew Union College 19. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1997. The term pogrom is contested by some sources, who are asserting that the word "riot" might be more suitable as the violence was unplanned and some Polish historians hold the opinion that the Jewish side might have started the disturbance.
[
]
Background
In the interwar period of 1918-1939 Przytyk was an urban settlement. In 1930 it was inhabited by 2302 people, 1852 of whom were Jews (80 percent of the total population) who dominated the local economy. The Jews owned and operated credit union, power station, transportation companies, bakeries, slaughter houses, tailoring shops, breweries, tobacco manufacturing plants, and groceries. Central markets were organized once a week, always on Mondays, drawing in crowds from nearby towns and villages. The competition for market shares between Jews and a much smaller community of gentile Poles was intense. In 1935 local Poles created 50 small companies allowing Polish farmers to bypass Jewish merchants, undercutting trade by Jewish locals.


Jewish cemetery in Przytyk
David Vital
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, a historian of Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, writes that local peasants were stirred by antisemitic propaganda spread by '' Endecja'' (National Democracy) politicians.[Vital, David. ''A people apart: the Jews in Europe, 1789-1939'', Oxford University Press, 1999, ]
Google Print, p.784
/ref> A boycott of Jewish shops was organized, and escalated into a wave of violent attacks on Jewish shops, which resulted in the creation of a Jewish self-defense group. Piotr Gontarczyk, historian at the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, however, argues that the target of the Polish Endecja campaign was to improve the standard of living of Poles and to support Polish businesses. An economic conflict between Poles and Jews began, in which both sides used all means possible, including violence. At the same time, the Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...
remained in an economic slump, and Polish peasants, whose profits had been drastically reduced, began to look for other means of supporting themselves. In mid-1935, Polish right-wing political activists in Radom County declared a general boycott of Jewish stores. Local Endecja sometimes resorted to violence, with activists urging Poles to stop buying at Jewish stores. In response, Jewish merchants begun flooding the market with their goods, pushing prices down so that newcomers couldn't compete with them.[
In December 1935, a group of some 20 young Jews created their own armed and illegal self-defense unit, headed by a former officer of the ]Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history str ...
, Icek Frydman. Frydman organized military training for its members. The group was armed with illegally purchased guns, iron bars, and batons. Their task was to mobilize Jewish community in case of a violent conflict.
In the interbellum period, an annual ''kazimierzowski'' fair took place at Przytyk. In 1936, some 2,000 peasants attended, and since Polish police officers were aware of the possible conflict, the local department, which consisted of 5 officers, was strengthened by additional 11 officers, which later turned out to be an inadequate number. Furthermore, the police at Radom
Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...
were on alert, ready to intervene. Jewish merchants of Przytyk, a town with a 90% Jewish majority, hoped that the early spring fair would help to improve their financial situation, but the armosphere in the town was tense, according to the official report of the voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...
of Kielce
Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the ba ...
: "We have to emphasize the fact that the idea of an economic boycott of Jews, put forward by the National Democracy, was embraced by the local peasantry, which feels hatred towards the Jews (...) The boycott itself leads ewishmerchants to despair, because the economic basis of their existence is threatened".[
]
The riot
Two days before the events some of the Jewish inhabitants assembled in the town square in anticipation of the attack by the farmers, but nothing happened on that day.[ Two days later, however, on a market day, according to historians ]Martin Gilbert
Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of eighty-eight books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish ...
and David Vital, the farmers attacked the Jews; the fight ended with two Jewish and one Polish casualty.[
Polish historian Piotr Gontarczyk writes in his book "Pogrom? Zajścia polsko-żydowskie w Przytyku 9 marca 1936 r. Mity, fakty, dokumenty" (lit. 'Pogrom? Polish-Jewish incidents in Przytyk on March 9, 1936: myths, facts, documents') that the first incident took place early in the morning of March 9, when Jewish merchants destroyed a stall which belonged to a Polish hat-maker. Police intervened, but on the same day, at 15:00, a member of Endecja, Józef Strzałkowski, appeared in front of a stall of a Jewish baker, urging Polish peasants not to buy any products from Jewish merchants. The baker kicked Strzałkowski's crutch, and in return, the Pole hit him in the arm. The baker reported the incident to the police that resulted in Strzalkowski's arrest. The consequence generated outrage amongst the Polish farmers, who encircled the police station, demanding the release of Strzałkowski. During the subsequent 20 minutes, the peasants and Jewish youth, which also began gathering in the town square, were dispersed by the police.]
According to a report by Ksawery Pruszynski Ksawery is a Polish given name version of name Xavier, other variation is Xawery, may refer to:
People
* Ksawery Błasiak (1900–1966), lieutenant of the Polish Army
* Ksawery Jasieński (born 1931), Polish radio speaker, voice actor
* Ksawery ...
, the cause of the riots was a fight over a stall, Pruszynski noting that one likely cause for these events was extreme poverty of both local sides of the conflict.
Polish peasants, aware of their numerical superiority, began gathering on the other side of the Radomka river. Near the bridge, another riot began, when Jewish stalls were turned over. A group of Jews arrived and armed with revolvers and clubs started attacking random bystanders. Both sides threw rocks at each other, and the police had to divide their forces into two groups. One was busy dispersing the peasants, while another one was trying to restrain the Jews, who kept on throwing rocks. When the police seemed to have settled the situation, a Jewish member of the Mizrachi movement, Szulim Chil Leska, began shooting at Poles from the window of a house. Leska killed a peasant named Stanisław Wieśniak.Two other Poles were shot as well.[ This infuriated the Polish crowd of some 1,000, which the police were unable to control.
Altogether, the riot lasted for some 45 minutes. A crowd of peasants, enraged by the killing of one of their own, beat up several Jews, smashing several stores and stalls, including a store which belonged to Fajga Szuchowa. Among others, the house of a woman named Sura Borensztajn, where a number of Jews hid, was attacked. A Jewish couple, Chaja and Josek Minkowski were killed during the riot, while their children were beaten up. Josek, who was a shoemaker, was probably killed by an axe in the hall of his house. His wife was severely beaten and died in hospital in Radom. Furthermore, 24 Jews were injured. A secret report, written after the riot by regional authorities from ]Kielce
Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the ba ...
to the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs, claims as follows: "The incident turned out into such a serious riot only after the Jews used guns, killing Wieśniak, which caused further bloody events".[
]
Aftermath
Officially, three people were killed and more than 20 injured, but the number of the injured Polish peasants was probably larger, as many of them decided not to go to hospital. An investigation was immediately started, with arrests of Szulim Chil Leska, his father and one peasant. At first, the police did not believe the peasants, who presented their version of the riot, and 22 Poles were soon arrested. On March 16 however, with the investigation still going on, three members of Jewish self-defence group were incarcerated: Icek Banda, Luzer Kirszencwajg and Chaim Świeczka.
Four days earlier, on March 12, Senator Moses Schorr publicly mentioned the riot, accusing local government and police of supporting the peasants. As Piotr Gontarczyk claims, Schorr's words, in which he talked about three brutally killed Jewish victims, without mentioning that one of the victims was Polish, resulted in complete distortion of the description of the events, as his words were immediately repeated worldwide, resulting in a wave of anti-Polish feelings among Jewish diaspora. Furthermore, Kraków daily "Nowy Dziennik" published an article of Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
deputy Ozjasz Thon, in which he for the first time used the word pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
, writing about "two human victims" at Przytyk. Gontarczyk claims in his book that among Jewish newspapers in Palestine, only Davar
''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.
It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by ...
stated that Jews were responsible for the riots, as it was a Jew who first killed a peasant.
The trial following the events started on June 2 and involved 43 Polish and 14 Jewish defendants, the latter charged with aggressive behavior towards Polish peasants. The verdict was pronounced on June 26, with eleven of the Jews sentenced to prison terms of from 6 months to 8 years (the person sentenced for 8 years was Szulim Chil Leska, the killer of Stanisław Wieśniak. Later, Leska's sentence was reduced to 7 years), while 39 Poles received sentences from 6 months to 1 year. The accused Jews claimed they were acting in self-defense, but the court rejected those arguments. The verdict outraged the Jewish community in Poland, leading to a number of nationwide strikes.[
News of this ]pogrom
A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russian ...
horrified the Polish Jewish population, as well as Jews around the world, and contributed to significant emigration from Poland of Jews.[ A one-day nationwide strike, supported by left-wing parties Bund and PPS was organized, and in other parts of the country, street fights took place. In June 1936 in ]Mińsk Mazowiecki
Mińsk Mazowiecki () "''Masovian Minsk''") is a town in eastern Poland with 40,999 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999) and is a part of the Warsaw Agglomeration. It is the capital of Mińsk County. Locate ...
, after Jan Bujak, a Wachtmeister of the local 7th Uhlan
Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...
Regiment was shot by a Jewish resident Judka Lejb Chaskielewicz, riots erupted in which several Jewish stores were smashed. The situation in Przytyk itself remained tense. Local Jews were supported by their American diaspora, which sent money and food to Przytyk. According to Piotr Gontarczyk, collection of money for Jewish residents of the town resulted in a growing negative propaganda aimed at Poles. As Gontarczyk wrote, volunteers, while collecting funds, presented the picture of Poland as a "wild country of pogroms", hoping to collect as much money as possible. The tendentious information about the situation of Jews in Poland created false stereotypes of antisemitic Poles.
The poem/song S'brent was written by Mordechai Gebirtig in 1938 about this pogrom.
References
Bibliography
*
Further reading
{{DEFAULTSORT:Przytyk Pogrom
Antisemitism in Poland
Antisemitic attacks and incidents in Europe
Jewish Polish history
1936 in Poland
Conflicts in 1936
Murder in Poland
Riots and civil disorder in Poland
March 1936 events
1936 in Judaism
Anti-Jewish pogroms