By Ilya Magid
2004

HISTORY OF ONE POGROM

1. Shtetle
2. Benzion's Family
3. Pogrom
4. After Pogrom

Editor Steven Sigel

In America my life crossed with the life of Benzion Frenkel. He is 94 yeas old now. He told me about some events in his life.

1. Shtetle

Benzion Frenkel was born in 1911 in shtetle Monastershe near the town of Uman, Ukraine. 3000 residents were in the shtetle. Half of them were Jews, the remainder were Ukrainian and Russian.

The shtetle had two plants: one of them the sugary, the other for metal production (it produced plows and some other agricultural equipment). The men's gymnasium was there also. The shtetle was prosperous. There were many rich Jews: shoemakers, tailors, and tinsmiths. Lords came to order suits from distant places. (Jews were forbidden to have property as a field). Ukrainians and others also lived well there. Many of them worked in the plants.

Many Ukrainian people knew Yiddish, especially women. The shtetle had two orthodox churches and two synagogues. The names of the synagogues were Bait Knesset, the orthodox synagogue (the orthodox Rabbi was very strict and all Jews were afraid of him) and the second synagogue Beith Amegresh, which was very nice for simple Jews. In the latter synagogue there was a very good cantor. Jews were rich and could pay him well. On Sabbath they fed all Jews free.

Benzion and his father walked to the Orthodox synagogue. There they prayed very well, and expressed themselves with various physical movements.

Four heders were there, but in the time of 1917-18, instead of heders, the government created labor schools. The children that went to the synagogue were excluded from school.

2. Benzion's Family

Benzion's father was Baruch his mother was Malka. They had seven children, four daughters and three boys: Elder sister Feiga, Chana, Miriam, Ida, Benzion, Yehuda, Pinchas. The first four children were girls and the last were boys. They lived in a big one-story building with 4 rooms.

His father, Baruch Frenkel, was a capable, hard-working person. He was a shoichet. To support their family his father worked at several businesses. He worked hard, but everything came easily to him.

Malka, his wife, was two heads taller than her husband. She was the mistress of their big house and kept it in good shape. Every piece of furniture shone. In their parent's room on the chest of drawers was a wide white scarf with their mother's very accurately done embroidery on both borders, "Where there is truth, there is happiness" (was written in Russian).

Malka sewed all the underwear and clothing her three boys wore on a Singer sewing machine. In the winter the ovens in all the rooms were hot, and it was very comfortable to sit with two brothers on the chairs, and to listen as their kind, radiant mother sang Yiddish songs while she worked sewing, or cooking, or washing the lines.

Every Friday afternoon their father took the oldest son to the bathhouse. There they visited the steam room, where their father steamed Yehuda then Benzion, and them himself with a special birch broom. After the steam they showered and soaked in a tub. When they returned home, they took a long nap.

In the evening when their father came from the synagogue his face shone. He kissed them and greeted everybody with a special greeting. He didn't call them by their own separate names. Every daughter he called, "tachterel tierere"-dear sweet daughter, and the boys, -"sindele tivera"-dear honey son. The Friday evening feast consisted of seven courses: chopped herring, pitsya (a wonderful dish from eggs and something else), gefilte fish, broth with kreplach, chicken with a tasty gamish, beans, fruit. At the breaks between courses they sang special songs-zemirot and when the meal was concluded, berchat hamazon.

The second big holiday was Passover. On the first and second nights of Passover their father used to sit in his armchair, like a prosperous, famous king. Dressed in an elegant white robe and a white silk yarmulke with a pillow on his left side, his eyes radiated kindness, a wonderful disposition, generosity, and bliss. On both sides of the table sat all the members of their family. The youngest boy asked the four questions in a ringing, clear voice. Then their father sang every chapter of the Pesach Haggadah, and the family sang with him. The sisters, who were fluent in Hebrew had pleasant voices and were the best assistants. Even after their father became tired, they kept singing the words of the Haggadah. The family celebrated also all other Jewish holidays.

We told some words about children. The elder sister Feiga was born in 1898 in Monasterishe. She studied with a private teacher, a respectable gentleman who was a professional teacher. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, Feiga began to help their father in some of his businesses. She was a tall, pretty, very energetic girl. Feiga was engaged to Avromely, a member of the youth self-defense group.

Feiga organized her own shop, where she sold gold and crystal things. Their father brought her merchandise from the village of Christanovka. The shop had to be her dowry. Her fiancé laughed all the time, and his name was 'Avromelt der Lachendeche'. She lived in the Avromele house

The youngest child was Pinchas. He was the third son of their parents and was born in Monasterishe at the end of 1917. He was the beloved baby of our entire family. Pinchas was the closest of all to Feiga, and was with her all the time. He was a beautiful child, healthy and full of smiles.

The sister Miriam studied in the gymnasium in the town of Uman. She lived with her aunt.

The sister Chana worked as a clerk in the United Provincial Foodstuffs Committee. The family always had food.

Benzion at first studied in the heder. When it was closed the rabbi came secretly to his home. Benzion could not go to the rabbi's home because then the rabbi would have to pay a big tax.

In the labor school he became a pioneer. The pioneers wore red scarves. When somebody said to them, "Be ready", a pioneer stood up, his arm stood up to head for a salute and answered, "All the time ready (for fighting for Lenin's affairs".

3. Pogrom

That was the time of the Civil War. In the time when neither Denikin, nor Machno, nor Marusy, nor the green, nor Red troops occupied Monastersche, but farm hands from the neighborhood villages participated in the pogrom. They were drunkards. The pogrom's leaders were the religious leaders from the churches. The police did nothing to defend the Jews.

One night, Avtomale was hanged on the terrace of his house. The same time Feiga was tortured and Pinchesel was killed.

A boy, 16 years old, went to their house. The mother sat at the table. Three young children sat on her lap. He said, "Give me money". The mother stood up and offered him borscht. The boy shot the mother in the mouth. Yehuda, the 4 year old, was thrown out the window. Benzion was in the room at that time. The father was in the other room.

A Postmaster past their building in his horse drawn wagon. He took Yehuda on the coach to his home. Later the Postmaster said that Yehuda had bad behavior. His wife was friendly with their mother. She operated on him.

Benzion saw the head of the neighbor lying on the ground. He often played checkers using the white and black beans. If Benzion won, he gave him all the same candy.

Maybe half the Jews of the shtetle were killed. The pogrom's people stole pillows, dishes, utensils etc. Feiger, Avtomole and Pinhchas were buried. The mother was taken to the hospital, where she died. The children learned from the neighbors, that the mother died. The father buried his wife.

In March 1920 their family left Monastershe and moved to Kiev. Their house and other things were sold for little money.

4. After Pogrom

In Kiev Benzion's father enrolled as a worker to kill stock in the meat processing and packing factory. He went to the meat-processing factory at 2:00 AM. It was necessary to cut up the meat and quickly to sell it. He received good income for that job.

He married a very nice woman, Dobthy. Children's stepmother was courageous to marry Benzion's father with three daughters and two sons.

In the year 1920 Benzion's father blew the shofar on the street. He was arrested for 'religious propaganda' and was in "Lukyanovskya prison'. After Lenin's death in the year 1924 there was a big amnesty. He was set free before the appointed time. After that Benzion's father feared to teach his sons about religion.

The government took the right to vote away from their father. He became a 'lishenetz'. Such people and their children could not find any work but his hardworking father found a job to sustain his family.

Later Benzion displayed the typical Soviet career. He rejected Jewish Religion and culture. At of the 20s he moved from Kiev to Moscow and entered the institute. When the leader knew, that somebody went to the synagogue, he was discharged from the institute.

Benzion father was employed in Moscow and died there in 1950.

Now Benzion has one daughter and one granddaughter who live in America.

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