The monument erected at the mass grave of the 1906 pogrom victims in the Bagnowke Cemetery. The epitaph was composed by the famous poet, Zalman Sznejur. with feathers. Some of the victims included small chil- dren, whose heads and other organs were removed. A particularly grim scene unfolded at the Bialystok railroad station, where hooligans helped by the railroad personnel killed many Jewish passengers arriving on the train. The stationmaster laughed at this tragic scene. Several Jewish leaders risked their lives by appeal- ing to the authorities, pleading with them to stop the killing and the looting, but to no avail. One of these leaders did manage, however, to steal out of Bialystok, and from a neighboring town he sent a telegram to the Duma, the Russian parliament in St. Petersburg. This cable, revealing the pogrom in Bialystok, generated a storm of protest in the Duma, which immediately sent a delegation of three deputies to Bialystok. They arrived on Saturday, June 3rd, the third day of the pogrom. As soon as they appeared on the scene, the bloodshed ended and the police unsuccessfully attempted to erase the grisly signs of the slaughter. The deputies saw for themselves the great destruction in the city, as well as the large number of victims. Their bodies were gathered from the streets and from their homes and taken to the Jewish hospital, where they were laid out in long lines. The observers also saw pools of warm blood that extended from the streets to the hospital — the blood of murdered and wounded Jews. Eighty dead bodies lay outside on the hospital The Bialystoker Memorial Book grounds and more than two hundred wounded were treated in the hospital, nineteen of whom later died from their wounds. The Jewish Self-Defense League played an impor- tant role in saving Jews during those pogrom days. The league was organized by the labor parties. It saved thousands of Jewish lives and a great deal of their prop- erty. Thanks to this defense league, several major Jew- ish working-class sections of the city were spared ruination. As soon as the pogrom began, a company of sol- diers on horses eagerly rode into these areas with the intent of razing them to the ground. But before they could enter, a Jewish anarchist tossed a grenade that exploded with a fierce impact, smashing many windows and devastating the surrounding houses. The horses panicked and their riders rode away. From then on, not one of the soldiers or police officers dared come near those streets. At every corner of the poor section of Bialystok, patrols of the Jewish Self-Defense League were sta- tioned with revolvers and grenades, each group under one leader. They guarded the streets and fired warning shots into the air. If a gentile went by carrying loot, these Jewish protectors would frighten him until he threw down the stolen package and fled. The stolen items were gathered together and later brought to a central location. Many more tragedies would have occurred had it not been for these self-defense groups. Public Mourning Each Jew is suffering as a result of the recent pogroms. Everyone in whose arteries flows Jewish blood participates in the mourn- ing that has befallen the entire house of israel. Alas, each Jew grieves by himself. It is, however, necessary that our sighs be uttered together in a powerful outcry. All tears should form a massive sea, causing the heavens to rend. It is vital that everyone know the Jewish collective body is still alive, feeling the pain of each part. Let us demonstrate we stand together in facing this dark hour. Therefore, with the approval of our rabbinical tribunal in Bialystok, we have called for a public fast tomorrow. In all synagogues special prayers of penitence will be recited, and all of our murdered brethren In the recent pogroms will be memorialized. All stores should remain closed until 1:00 p.m. Those not able to fast should make donations to the victims’ fami- lies. As a result of our joining together at this difficult time, may the Almighty deliver us from all evil and may the sounds of lamenta- tlon never again be heard in our streets. A call to the Jews of Bialystok proclaiming a public fast and special prayers, after the pogrom of June 1906. 17