Chok L’Yisrael with the Five Books of Torah, with Commentaries and Additions, Sefer Shemot, Published by Levin-Epstein, Warsaw, 1908 – Featuring an Illustration and Description of a Jewish Family’s Rescue During the Ukrainian Pogroms (1918–1920).
On the front page, there is a drawing of a bombarded Jewish home, accompanied by a description of the miraculous rescue. At the top of the page, it states: “לזיכרון י”ב שבט תרע”ט” and “אונד השי”ת קונט מיר העלפען אונד מיר זינד מציל” – “In memory of the 12th of Shevat, 5679” and “And with G-d’s help, we were saved.”
The Gregorian Equivalent of the 12th of Shevat is January 13, 1919.
The pogroms in Ukraine during the Russian Civil War, known as the “Petliura Pogroms”, were a series of widespread massacres carried out against Jews across Ukrainian territories between 1917 and 1920, with 1919 being the most devastating year. In early January 1919, the first significant pogrom took place in Ovruch, Volhynia, when the forces of the nationalist Ukrainian Hetman Oleksiy Kozyr-Zirka seized the town from the Bolsheviks. During the massacre, 80 Jews were killed. Over the following two weeks, Kozyr-Zirka led additional pogroms in nearby settlements. Around the same time, further massacres were conducted in Zhytomyr, Berdichev, and several villages by other Hetmans, such as Volynets and Nykyfor Hryhoriev. On February 15, 1919, one of the most brutal pogroms of the Russian Civil War occurred in Proskurov. Following an attempted Bolshevik uprising, forces loyal to the Ukrainian Hetman Ivan Samosenko slaughtered over 1,600 Jews within a matter of hours and wounded another 1,000.
Decorative binding embossed with the monogram “David Toch.” Wear on the spine. Condition: good.
