I know myself how the representatives of the Jewish population have
helped our army and supported our legal republican government.
The enemies of our state, the Bolshevists, are shooting down not only the
Ukrainian but also the Jewish people, depriving the others of the barest
means of living.
I have the highest esteem for the sacrifices made during this war upon
the altar of the fatherland by the Jewish population.
From the reports by the commanders of our brave divisions and corps as
well from reports by State Inspectors I have already learned that the
Jewish population brought help to our wounded and sick soldiers, in the
hospitals which had been built hastily 3-5 kilometers behind the
battlefronts.
I have been touched deeply by tears of thankfulness in the eyes of our
soldiers for the loving care and human aid given them by Jews, and I have
noted with satisfaction how the soldiers of our army were standing guard
at the shops and stores of Jews in order to protect them against
plunderers.
The restoration of a bridge at Starokonstantyniv - which had been
destroyed by the Bolshevists - by the Jewish population in an exceedingly
short time, as well as their help with foodstuffs and underwear testify
also to the loyal conduct of Jews in relation to our army.
I am convinced and I ardently hope that in the future such help on the
part of Jews will occur ever more frequently and that they will continue
to further the cause of peace in our country.
The Minister for Jewish Affairs has by a series of measures already
exercised some influence upon the Bolshevist circles of Jews so that many
of them no longer support Bolshevism, since they consider it now to be
their ruin.
Together with you I call upon the Jewish citizens to go with us and to
support wholeheartedly our army and our government; then we shall be able
to affirm that the government of the Ukrainian Democratic Republic and
you, its army, will finish that great responsible work which you are now
doing - destroying the power of the Bolshevists and building up our
independent republic in which each nationality enjoys full rights and a
peaceful life.
Officers and soldiers of the Ukrainian Army! The Ukrainian-Jewish
laboring masses see in you their liberation, and future generations will
not forget your services rendered to them; history will with pride record
on its pages your achievements in this struggle. Beware of provocations,
and have no mercy on provocateurs or on those who execute pogroms, or
incite the weakest among you to this action.
Let the death sentence overtake the perpetrators of pogroms and
provocateurs. I demand the strictest discipline from you so that not
even a hair of an innocent's head be touched.
Bear in mind that you are the elite sons of your great nation which wants
to live its independent life and to be subjugated by no one, and
therefore keep an unflinching watch on its interests as well as on the
interests of all those who help you and are well-disposed to you and to
the liberation of your people.
Those who are guilty before the Ukrainian people and before the republic,
no matter what their nationality, shall suffer the severest punishment
according to law prevailing in the territory of the Ukrainian republic;
to the innocent, however, you must bring liberation from the hated
Bolshevist yoke.
The Republic's and my own cordial thanks to and high esteem for your
martial bravery, devotion, and self-sacrifice which your offer upon the
altar of the fatherland, while liberating our Ukraine and the
nationalities living there - including the Jews - from the Bolshevists.
May God help us in the great and sacred cause of liberating the nations
from the heavy yoke of the Bolshevists!
August 27, 1919
Commander-in-Chief: Petlura.
(Ukraina, September 2, 1919.)
F. Pigido (ed.), Material Concerning Ukrainian-Jewish Relations during
the Years of the Revolution (1917-1921): Collection of Documents and
Testimonies by Prominent Jewish Political Workers, The Ukrainian
Information Bureau, Munich, 1956, pp. 70-72.
HOME DISINFORMATION PETLIURA 836 hits since 23Mar99
Arnold Margolin The Ukraine and the Policy of Entente 1921 Russian and Ukrainian pogroms compared
If the beginning of the demoralization of the Ukrainian army was at its tail,
by Denikin's army the poison of demoralization came from the head.
EXTRACTS
from the book by Arnold Margolin
"The Ukraine and the policy of the Entente"
(Memorandum by a Jew and a citizen).
Publisher C. Efron. Berlin, 1921. Chapter XXIV. Pages 310-315.
Pogroms of the period of the Directorate, and of Denikin's Army. Parallels.
- Nations and Governments.
I have before me the report on pogroms, prepared by the Relief Committee
for the Victims of Pogroms, at the Russian Red Cross in Kiev. It is
stated in the report that there were no pogroms during the rule of the
Central Council, or of Skoropadsky, or during the first two months of the
Directorate's rule. Pogroms began after defeats that had been inflicted
upon the troops of the Directorate by the Bolsheviks. The heavier the
