The situation in Grodno was not calm. The rise of nationalism in the city became a reason for the pogrom

Panorama of Grodno in 1935. Photo: Wikimedia.org

In the beginning of June 1935, the daily Codzienny Kurjer Grodzieński, informed its readers that something happened on Brygidzka street on the night between the 4th and 5th of June. 22-year-old Władysław Kuszcz entered an argument with two Jews. Suddenly one of them stabbed Kuszcz in the back, after which they ran away. The man was taken to hospital in a serious condition. He died a few hours later.

The funeral of Władysław Kuszcz was planned to take place on June 7th 1935 at 17.00. The procession was to leave from the house of the murdered and a thousand people showed up there. The sailors, who came to send off their friend, were particularly noticeable. The procession was spearheaded by priest Jan Malinowski. He was followed by seven wraths belonging to different organizations. The crowd doubled in numbers along the route to the cemetery. There were thirteen police officers present, which was clearly too few. It was prohibited to speak, and the crowd was to disperse after the burial. One of the people present, Stanisław Kozłowski, tried to speak but his call was silenced by prayers. During this time some 30 people gathered at the Orthodox cemetery. Leonard Suguk, a student, suggested a peaceful demonstration. Meanwhile, it was the radicals that prevailed, led by Alfons Panasiuk.

The pogrom

The crowd marched down Jerusalem street, through Dominikańska, Hoover, Kolczyńska and Napoleońska street, onto Batory square. The crowd then dispersed and began attacking nearby Jewish shops and assault Jews on the street. As a result, windows were broken in 183 houses and in 85 shops. Two Jews were severely injured – Izrael Berezowski and Eliasz Becher. They were quickly sent to the Jewish hospital where they died. Over 40 people were badly beaten and four seriously injured – Achun, Kleinbart, Atlas and Lejpunski. The pogrom resulted in damage amounting to 20 thousand złoty. A non-Jew mistaken for a Jew was also thrown out of a balcony on one of the streets. The pogrom of the Jews in Grodno lasted from 18 to 22 in the evening. But small groups of Poles kept attacking Jews over night. It needs to be stressed that the area most densely populated by Jews in Grodno (Troicka, Pereca, Dziedziniec Szkolny) did not see any violence. Police tried to respond quickly and arrested 59 people, including eight Jews. Naturally these events were accompanied by those who began looting shops. People stole anything they could get their hands on: ice cream, food, shoes, clothes, etc. The owners of Polish shops lit candles in the displays to make it clear they belong to Christians.

Polish newspapers were quite timid in their response to the pogrom, as the authorities prohibited the dissemination of information about it. An issue of Dziennik Kresowy was confiscated for publishing the list of victims from June 7th. Most of the local newspapers limited themselves to reprinting the official statement written by Michał Kraszewski from the Department of Public Security. It stated that Kuszcz was injured in front of the house on Brygidzka street 13 on June 4th and pronounced dead the next day in the Jewish hospital. The culprits, Mejlach Kantorowski and Szmuel Steiner, were quickly apprehended by the police. On June 7th, Kuszcz was laid to rest in the presence of many from the city. A press release stated that “After the funeral, groups of public waste went into the Jewish quarter, throwing stones through windows in appartments and shops. Several Jews and Christians were beat up. The police halted the developments arresting the perpetrators.”

The punishment

Izrael Berezowski, aged 21, was buried on June 11th after succumbing to his injuries. The city’s Jews kept their shops closed despite the pogrom being over. On September 19th and 20th, the process of the murderers of Władysław Kuszcz took place. The defendants were Szmuel Steiner (registered at Perec street 22, was a dyer aged 21) and Meilach Kantorowski (registered at Podzamcze street 26, was a barber aged 23). The victim was represented by Anna Kuszcz, his mother. The trial was public with many people present. It turned out that Kantorowski and Kuszcz were at the Reisner ballroom when they had fought over the dancer, Nina Malinowska. During this altercation, Steiner had run up and stabbed Kuszcz in the back, which led to his death. Neither of the accused confessed. Despite this, the court would sentence Steiner to twelve years and Kantorowski to two years imprisonment on September 20th 1935.

In November 1935, the court case was continued with 16 people standing trial: Alfons Panasiuk, Stanisław Kozłowski, Władysław Marcinczuk, Władysław Żukowski, Edmund Zygmański, Olga Żukowa, Franciszek Możdżer, Mikołaj Balicki, Józef Belski, Włodzimierz Rudziak, Wincenty Zajko, Władysław Oleszczyk, Dominik Jaroszewicz, Mieczysław Romańczuk, Aleksander Norejko, Franciszek Lasota. Almost all were between 20 and 30 years of age. They were accused of fomenting a social conflict and attacking Jews. None of the accused confessed to their guilt claiming that they only participated in the pogrom as a result of the general anger, but that they had in no way instigated it.

The court listened to 54 witnesses. Among them were many policemen and informers who described how the accused marched at the very front of the demonstration leaving the cemetery. Some had been apprehended at crime scenes, like Balicki, who was caught when he smashed a window in a synagogue. He also had a knife in his pocket. The investigation also uncovered other tragic circumstances. Becher was stoned in front of his 12-year-old son, who identified Romańczuk. Lejba Buczyński retold how he had tried to run away from the crowd severely injured, seeking refuge in a building housing the local administration. There he was hit in the face and forced onto the street by an official.

During the proceedings it was said that there was a Jewish self-defence in Grodno that supposedly attacked Christians. However, the court dismissed these views. The verdict was announced on November 13th 1935. Alfons Panasiuk received a year of prison, three others – nine months each, and another three – six months. The rest were acquitted. It is important to note that none of the sentenced were incarcerated. Panasiuk was released in return for a fine of 100 złoty and a five-year postponement.

Consequences

The situation in Grodno did not calm itself and the relationship between the Christians and Jews remained tense. In January 1936, a journalist from the Vilnius-based newspaper Słowo, Józef Mackiewicz, arrived in Grodno. He described a mutual boycott of Christian and Jewish shops, barbers and restaurants. He also noted attempts to set the synagogue ablaze and other acts of mutual violence.

What were the reasons behind the pogrom of Jews in Grodno? Firstly, Józef Piłsudski, had been favourable towards the Jews and attempted to create social cohesion in the Jewish-Christian relationship. However, his death in 1935, was followed in anti-Jewish riots across Poland. Centres associated with the National Democracy block called for a display that would show the Jews their position in Poland. Secondly, the identity of the victim, Władysław Kuszcz, became a symbol. He was a sailor. The navy became a symbol of Polish aspirations of having over-seas colonies in the interbellum period. The Belarusian historian Andriej Waszkiewicz believes that the “nationalization” of the Grodno cityscape was the main reason. The Grodno youth, Christian and Jewish alike, became aware that they not only belong to different religions, but also modern nations. This worsened the relations between the two communities in the city.

Following the pogrom in 1935, some of the young Jews of Grodno ran off to the Soviet Belarus. Some of them returned on September 17th 1939 as part of the Red Army. Their role was significant as the city on the Niemen river was stormed. They would aid Soviet soldiers in their battle against the Polish Army in what was a unfamiliar city to them, but all too familiar for the Grodno Jews.

This article was first published in Polish by NEW.org.pl

The author is currently serving a 4-year sentence in a penal colony, accused by the Belarusian authorities of “promoting extremist activities”.

Ihar Melnikau is a Belarusian Ph.D. historian, essayist, journalist, blogger and editor of the history portal Historia Pobach. Associate Professor of Wrocław University. He is the author of various academic and journalistic articles and 18 books, including The border was near Minsk 1921-1941 and Forgotten Corps. The Polish Army in the Bobruisk Area 1918-1920, The death of Empire. The history of the Battle of Baranovichi in 1916, Collaboration. The anatomy of betrayal фтв щерукы in which he addresses little-known aspects of Belarusian history and Belarusian-Polish relations during the Second World War.

“We suport the Belarusian Awakening’24” is a project co-financed by Solidarity Fund PL within the framework of Polish development cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland in the amount of PLN 230,000.

This publication expresses the views of the author only and cannot be identified with the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

antisemitism, belarus, Grodno, Jews, Second Polish Republic