So shattering were the aftereffects of Kishinev, the rampagethat broke out in late-Tsarist Russia in April 1903,that one historian remarked that it was “nothing lessthan a prototype for the Holocaust itself.” In three days of violence,49 Jews were killed and 600 raped or wounded, whilemore than 1,000 Jewish-owned houses and stores were ransackedand destroyed. Recounted in lurid detail by newspapersthroughout the Western world, and covered sensationallyby America’s Hearst press, the pre-Easter attacks seized theimagination of an international public, quickly becoming theprototype for what would become known as a “pogrom,” andproviding the impetus for efforts as varied as The Protocols ofthe Elders of Zion and the NAACP. Using new evidence culledfrom Russia, Israel, and Europe, distinguished historian StevenJ. Zipperstein’s wide-ranging book brings historical insight andclarity to a much-misunderstood event that would do so muchto transform twentieth-century Jewish life and beyond.
Shortlisted for the Mark Lynton History PrizeSeparating historical fact from fantasy, an acclaimed historian retells the story of Kishinev, a riot that transformed the course of twentieth-century Jewish history.