Remembering the Victims of Pogroms: Who Will Light a Candle?

A century ago, from 1917 to 1919, more than 200,000 Jews and others were slaughtered in pogroms in the Pale of Settlement. Among them were more than 600 Jews who were murdered in a pogrom on February 16, 1919, in the shtetl (village) of Felshtin in the Central Ukraine. That pogrom was one of many that occurred in 1,200 different shtetls throughout the Pale of Settlement in Eastern Europe during this period.

Today, the Felshtin Society – founded in 1905 by former residents of the town to establish a burial society and help Felshtiners who emigrated to the U.S. – seeks to heighten public awareness of the violent events that occurred throughout this region in which Jews were beaten, raped, and murdered solely because of their religion. Because of the lack of records and the time that has elapsed, the identities of many of those massacred have been lost to history and, for many, lost to the memory of their descendants. Knowledge of the events during this tragic period is scant.

Before the memories of these events – and the 200,000 souls that were killed in them – are relegated to a mere footnote in history, the Felshtin Society is working to establish an annual Day of Remembrance, both to raise awareness of the events and to honor all those who perished.  

There are numerous ways congregations can support efforts to foster increased appreciation for the culture, the people, and the communities that were lost. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Encourage your clergy or service leader to speak and teach about culture and life in the Pale of Settlement.
2. Incorporate age-appropriate materials about this period of Jewish history into the religious school and/or family learning curriculum.
3. Create an opportunity for people touched by the message to light a candle and recite Kaddish in memory of someone who perished during this period of Jewish history. (The Felshtin Society is striving to have 200,000 candles lit throughout the world – one for each victim of the pogroms.)
4. Save the date for the Felshtin Society’s centennial memorial event at the Center for Jewish History in New York City on April 14, 2019.

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