Self-defense and heroism

Jewish self-defense units began to form in towns and localities from the moment the pogrom movement began. They were often led by retired Jewish non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Russian army. These men, who had combat experience, were capable of creating and leading combat units. Among them we can single out Moshe Dobrowensky, who organized the self-defense of Bershadi, or Hirsh Turi, who became the head of the self-defense in the town of Tetiev in Kiev province. Their units were well organized and successfully resisted the pogromists.

In Odessa, the legendary raider Mishka Yaponchik (Moshe Vinnitsky) provided significant assistance in the creation of self-defense units. The squads themselves were largely composed of representatives of local criminals, who, despite their dubious reputation in society, did not forget their origins and stood up for their blood brothers.

The Jewish self-defense units had a high fighting spirit. It could not be otherwise: people were defending their relatives and friends, their homes, their property. Therefore, not only young able-bodied men participated in the Jewish self-defense, children and teenagers often joined them. Old men in most cases did not participate in the battles, but were engaged in counting and preparing bullets. Women prepared camp food. Such cooperation allowed for the quickest possible response to alarm signals.

Jewish formations could successfully act against small gangs of pogromists, but they simply did not have the capacity to resist the regular troops of the Ukrainian Directory, the Red Army, General Denikin’s Volunteer Army, the Poles and large peasant gangs. For example, a large and well-organized self-defense detachment was created in Pogrebishche, which successfully defended the place from local gangs for a long time. However, in August 1919, the Petliurovtsy disarmed it and soon left Pogrebyshch, after which the gang of Ataman Zeleny organized a massacre in the village, which was left unprotected.

Settlements where Jewish self-defense operated during the Civil War:

1) Vapnyarka
2) Kamen-Kashirsk
3) Krasnopolye
4) Minsk
5) Pogrebyshche
6)Bershady