Legacy of blood : Jews, pogroms, and ritual murder in the lands of the Soviets

Pogroms And Blood Libels Constitute The Two Classical And Most Extreme Manifestations Of Tsarist Antisemitism. They Were Often Closely Intertwined In History And Memory, Not Least Because The Accusation Of Blood Libel, The Allegation That Jews Murder Christian Children To Use Their Blood For Ritual Purposes, Frequently Triggered Anti-jewish Violence. Such Events Were And Are Considered Central To The Jewish Experience In Late Tsarist Russia, The Only Country On Earth With Large Scale Anti-jewish Violence In The Early Twentieth Century. Boasting Its Break From The Tsarist Period, The Soviet Regime Proudly Claimed To Have Eradicated These Forms Of Antisemitism. But, Alas, Life Was Much More Complicated. The Phenomenon And The Memory Of Pogroms And Blood Libels In Different Areas Of Interwar Soviet Union-including Ukraine, Belorussia, Russia And Central Asia-as Well As, After World War Ii, In The Newly Annexed Territories Of Lithuania, Western Ukraine And Western Belorussia Are A Reminder Of Continuities In The Midst Of Revolutionary Ruptures. The Persistence, The Permutation, And The Responses To Anti-jewish Violence And Memories Of Violence Suggest That Soviet Jews (and Non-jews Alike) Cohabited With A Legacy Of Blood That Did Not Vanish. This Book Traces The Afterlife Of These Extreme Manifestations Of Antisemitism In The Ussr, And In Doing So Sheds Light On The Broader Question Of The Changing Position Of Jews In Soviet Society. One Notable Rupture In Manifestations Of Antisemitism From Tsarist To Soviet Times Included The Virtual Disappearance-at Least During The Interwar Period-of The Tight Link Between Pogroms And Blood Allegations, Indeed A Common Feature In The Waves Of Anti-jewish Violence That Erupted During The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries. -- Elissa Bemporad. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Pogroms and blood libels constitute the two classical and most extreme manifestations of tsarist antisemitism. They were often closely intertwined in history and memory, not least because the accusation of blood libel, the allegation that Jews murder Christian children to use their blood for ritual purposes, frequently triggered anti-Jewish violence. Such events were and are considered central to the Jewish experience in late tsarist Russia, the only country on earth with large scale anti-Jewish violence in the early twentieth century. Boasting its break from the tsarist period, the Soviet regime proudly claimed to have eradicated these forms of antisemitism. But, alas, life was much more complicated. The phenomenon and the memory of pogroms and blood libels in different areas of interwar Soviet Union-including Ukraine, Belorussia, Russia and Central Asia-as well as, after World War II, in the newly annexed territories of Lithuania, Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia are a reminder of continuities in the midst of revolutionary ruptures. The persistence, the permutation, and the responses to anti-Jewish violence and memories of violence suggest that Soviet Jews (and non-Jews alike) cohabited with a legacy of blood that did not vanish. This book traces the "afterlife" of these extreme manifestations of antisemitism in the USSR, and in doing so sheds light on the broader question of the changing position of Jews in Soviet society. One notable rupture in manifestations of antisemitism from tsarist to Soviet times included the virtual disappearance-at least during the interwar period-of the tight link between pogroms and blood allegations, indeed a common feature in the waves of anti-Jewish violence that erupted during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries." -- Provided by publisher Le site de l'éditeur indique : "This book traces the legacies of the two most extreme manifestations of tsarist antisemitism-pogroms and blood libels-in the Soviet Union, from 1917 to the early 1960s. Closely intertwined in history and memory, pogroms and blood libels were and are considered central to the Jewish experience in late Tsarist Russia, the only country on earth with large scale anti-Jewish violence in the early twentieth century. But their persistence and memory under the Bolsheviks-a chapter that is largely overlooked by the existing scholarship-significantly shaped the Soviet Jewish experience. By exploring the phenomenon and the memory of pogroms and blood libels in the Soviet territories of the interwar period as well as, after World War II, in the newly annexed territories, Bemporad studies the social realities of everyday antisemitism through the emergence of communities of violence and memories of violence. The fifty-year-span from the Bolshevik Revolution to the early years of Krushchev included a living generation of Jews, and non-Jews alike, who remembered the Beilis Affair, the pogroms of the civil war and in some cases even the violence of the prerevolutionary years. Bemporad also examines the ways in which Jews reacted to and remembered the unprecedented violence of the pogroms of the Russian Civil War, and how they responded to and which strategies they adopted to confront accusations of ritual murder. By tracing the "afterlife" of pogroms and blood libels in the USSR, Legacy of Blood sheds light on the broader question of the changing position of Jews in Soviet society. And by doing so it tells the story of the solid yet ever changing and at times ambivalent relationship between the Soviet state and the Jewish minority group." This book traces the legacies of the two most extreme manifestations of tsarist antisemitism-pogroms and blood libels-in the Soviet Union, from 1917 to the early 1960s. Closely intertwined in history and memory, pogroms and blood libels were and are considered central to the Jewish experience in late Tsarist Russia, the only country on earth with large scale anti-Jewish violence in the early twentieth century. But their persistence and memory under the Bolsheviks-a chapter that is largely overlooked by the existing scholarship-significantly shaped the Soviet Jewish experience.By exploring the phenomenon and the memory of pogroms and blood libels in the Soviet territories of the interwar period as well as, after World War II, in the newly annexed territories, Bemporad studies the social realities of everyday antisemitism through the emergence of communities of violence and memories of violence. The fifty-year-span from the Bolshevik Revolution to the early years of Krushchev included a living generation of Jews, and non-Jews alike, who remembered the Beilis Affair, the pogroms of the civil war and in some cases even the violence of the prerevolutionary years. Bemporad also examines the ways in which Jews reacted to and remembered the unprecedented violence of the pogroms of the Russian Civil War, and how they responded to and which strategies they adopted to confront accusations of ritual murder. By tracing the "afterlife" of pogroms and blood libels in the USSR, Legacy of Blood sheds light on the broader question of the changing position of Jews in Soviet society. And by doing so it tells the story of the solid yet ever changing and at times ambivalent relationship between the Soviet state and the Jewish minority group. "This book traces the legacies of the two classical and most extreme manifestations of tsarist antisemitism--pogroms and blood libels--in the Soviet Union, from 1917 to the early 1960s. Closely intertwined in history and memory, pogroms and blood libels were and are considered central to the Jewish experience in late Tsarist Russia. But their persistence and memory under the Bolsheviks--a chapter that is largely overlooked by the existing scholarship--significantly shaped the Soviet Jewish experience. By exploring the phenomenon and the memory of pogroms and blood libels in the Soviet territories of the interwar period as well as after World War II, in the newly annexed territories, this book studies the social realities of everyday antisemitism through the emergence of communities of violence and memories of violence. The fifty-year-span from the Bolshevik Revolution to the early years of Khrushchev included a living generation of Jews and non-Jews alike, who either experienced or remembered the Beilis Affair, the pogroms of the civil war, and in some cases even the violence of the pre-revolutionary years. By tracing the "afterlife" of pogroms and blood libels in the USSR, this book sheds light on the broader question of the changing position of Jews in Soviet society. And by doing so it tells the story of the solid yet ever changing and at times ambivalent relationship between the Soviet state and the Jewish minority group." -- Oxford Scholarship Online Dedication Acknowledgments A Note on Transliteration Introduction: From Blood Legacies to Bloodlands 1. The Pogroms of the Civil War and the Soviet-Jewish Alliance 2. The Afterlife of the Beilis Affair 3. The Pogroms as Soviet (Jewish) Sites of Memory 4. How the Ritual Murder Accusation Persisted in the Soviet Landscape 5. Myth and Reality: The “Absence” of the Pogrom in the Lands of the Soviets 6. From Cannibalism to Political Murder: Modern Permutations of the Blood Libel Conclusion: Between Memory and Oblivion Notes Selected Bibliography Index