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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides

Pogroms in Russia

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Pogroms were violent, state-sanctioned attacks primarily targeting Jewish communities in the Pale of Settlement in Russian Empire during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These brutal episodes were characterized by massacres, looting, and the destruction of property, leaving thousands dead and many more displaced. The word "pogrom" itself is derived from the Russian word meaning "to destroy" or "to wreak havoc." The first major wave of pogroms occurred between 1881 and 1884, following the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. Jews were blamed for the assassination, and mobs attacked Jewish neighborhoods with minimal or no intervention from authorities. These violent outbreaks were fueled by centuries of antisemitism, economic hardship, and the spread of conspiracy theories that scapegoated Jews for the serious social, economic, and political issues that plagued Russia under the autocratic rule of the Romanovs.

A second wave of pogroms took place between 1903 and 1906, exacerbated by rising nationalism and political instability. One of the most notorious of these attacks was the Kishinev pogrom of 1903, where nearly 50 Jews were killed, hundreds were injured, and countless homes and businesses were destroyed. Authorities often turned a blind eye to the violence, and in some cases, police and soldiers participated in the attacks. The final wave occurred during the Russian Civil War (1917–1921), when various factions targeted Jews amid the chaos of the conflict. The total death toll from pogroms during this period reached tens of thousands, and countless more were left homeless and impoverished. These pogroms had a profound impact on Jewish communities, prompting mass emigration to the United States and Western Europe. They also galvanized the Zionist movement and intensified calls for a Jewish homeland. 

The Pale

Map of the Pale of Settlement
in the Russian Empire

CTSNY_GraphicSeparator_full_2917x200.png

Exodus of Jews from Odessa

The Revolution in Russia - Persecution and Exodus of the Jewish people in Odessa

Discussion Questions

1. How were the pogroms a way for the tsar to divert popular discontent about appalling conditions and autocratic rule in Russia?  

2. How did the assassination of Tsar Alexander II influence the outbreak of pogroms? 

3. What role did the authorities play during the pogroms, and how did their actions (or inactions) impact the violence? 

4. How did the pogroms contribute to the rise of the Zionist movement and Jewish emigration? 

Pogrom Article

"The Russian 'Pogrom'" an article
in "The Times of London"