Theanti-Jewish violence in Central and Eastern Europe following the retreat ofNazi German occupational forces and the arrival of the SovietRed Army – during the latter stages of World War II – was linked in part to postwar anarchy and economic chaos exacerbated by theStalinist policies imposed across the territories of expandedSoviet republics and new satellite countries. The antisemitic attacks had become frequent in Soviet towns ravaged by war; at the marketplaces, in depleted stores, in schools, and even at state enterprises.[1] Protest letters were sent to Moscow from numerous Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian towns by theJewish Anti-Fascist Committee involved in documentingthe Holocaust.[1]
TheJAFC Presidium met in late August, 1944, with a commander of a Jewish partisan unit from Belorussia. Answering a question concerning attitudes of the non-Jewish population towards Jews inMinsk, he stated: "... the attitude wasn't good. There have been numerous anti-semitic incidents ... a battle for apartments has started ... there are difficulties concerning employment.[1]
Several months after the Mikhoels assassination, other Jewish figures were arrested. His death signalled the beginning of the country-wide repression of the Jews accused of espionage and economic crimes. A campaign against Zionism was launched in the fall of 1948, but by the end of the decade, Jews had disappeared from the upper echelons of the party in the republics.[4] This was followed by theDoctor's plot of 1951–1953 accompanied by publications of anti-Semitic texts in the media,[5] and hundreds of torture interrogations.[6] Most communities in the Soviet Union never acknowledged the involvement of the local auxiliary police inthe Holocaust.[7][better source needed][8][9] The vast majority of the 300,000Schutzmannschaft members in the German-occupied territories of the USSR[10][11] quietly returned to their former lives, including members of theByelorussian Home Defence participating in the pacification actions, in which some 30,000 Jews were murdered,[12] and members ofUkrainische Hilfspolizei battalions responsible for the extermination of 150,000 Jews in the area ofVolhynia alone.[13] Khrushchev proclaimed that the Jews were not welcome in Ukraine.[14]
Hundreds of returning Jews were killed inRomania.[18][19] Anti-Jewish demonstrations, sometimes based on blood libel accusations, took place inHungary in dozens of places,[20][21][22] including inKunmadaras (two or four dead victims) andMiskolc.
InTopoľčany,Slovakia, 48 Jews were seriously injured in September 1945. A number of Jews was murdered inKolbasov in December. 13 anti-Jewish incidents calledpartisan pogroms reportedly took place on 1–5 August 1946, the biggest one being inŽilina, where 15 people were wounded.[23]Partisan Congress riots took place inBratislava in August 1946 and in August 1948, including anti-Jewish riots in several other locations.[24][25]
InKiev,Ukraine on September 4–7, 1945,[26] around a hundred Jews were beaten, of whom thirty-six were hospitalized and five died of wounds.[27] InRubtsovsk, Russia, a number of anti-Semitic incidents took place in 1945.[28]
^Brent, Jonathan; Vladimir P. Naumov (2003).Stalin's Last Crime: The Plot Against the Jewish Doctors, 1948-1953. New York: HarperCollins. p. 4.ISBN0-06-019524-X.
^Eugeniusz Mironowicz (2014)."Okupacja niemiecka na Białorusi" [German occupation of Belarus].Historia Białorusi od połowy XVIII do XX w. [History of Belarus, mid 18th century until the 20th century] (in Polish and Belarusian). Związek Białoruski w RP, Katedra Kultury Białoruskiej Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku (Internet Archive). Archived fromthe original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved12 July 2014.
^Gross, Jan T. (2005). "After Auschwitz: The Reality and Meaning of Postwar Antisemitism in Poland". In Jonathan Frankel (ed.).Studies in Contemporary Jewry. Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-518224-3.
^Ivica Bumova."Protizidovske vytrznosti v Bratislave v historicksom kontexte"(PDF). Studie Pamat Naroda. 28 (27 / 100) in PDF.The Jewish demands to return lost property caused and open resistance of a certain part of Slovak community. The frustration was transformed into anti-Jewish riots that took place in Bratislava and several other cities and villages...{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)
Apor, Péter; Kende, Tamás; Lônčíková, Michala; Săndulescu, Valentin (2019). "Post-World War II anti-Semitic pogroms in East and East Central Europe: collective violence and popular culture".European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire.26 (6):913–927.doi:10.1080/13507486.2019.1611744.S2CID210443345.
Nehemiah Robinson (1956).European Jewry Ten Years After the War: An Account of the Development and Present Status of the Decimated Jewish Communities of Europe. New York: Institute of Jewish Affairs of the World Jewish Congress. p. 100.
