How Jewish Organizations in Ukraine, Belarus, and Soviet Russia Collected Testimonies about the Pogroms during the Russian Civil War

The pogroms which occurred during the Russian Civil War (1918–1922) in the former Western provinces of the Russian Empire contrast sharply with the anti-Semitic violence which took place prior to 1914. Jewish organizations and international commissions developed new procedures of enquiry to collect testimonies about these mass atrocities. This paper seeks to provide an overview of documentary sources by examining the aims of various inquiries made by international rescue, reparation, fund-raising, and humanitarian aid organizations. These inquiries were made in the Ukraine, Belarus, and western districts of Soviet Russia during the Civil War period. The Soviet State progressively managed to take control of these activities as well as the documentation collected.