The “Am haZikaron” Institute’s remembrance project 

“Russia. Three Year Pogrom”

The Institute “Am HaZikaron” is a noncommercial research center studying the history and the heritage of the Jewish clans and families.
The Institute was founded in 1998 in Tel-Aviv, Israel. One of the main tasks of the Institute is the restoration of the history of certain Jewish families in the context of the history of the whole Jewish people.

Project Goal: to recover,  preserve and convey the memory of the victims of the Jewish pogroms that occurred during the Russian Civil War by creating a comprehensive information resource and educational program.

Project Mission: the mission of the project is to repair historical injustice and create collective memory where there is none. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were murdered and their memory erased from history. The project “Russia. Three Year Pogrom” recovers the memory of relatives and ancestors whose modern descendants may not even know their fate. Almost every modern Russian speaking Jewish family and multitudes of US, Israeli,  French and English Jews have pogrom victims in the family having no idea of this.

We aim to proactively create an extensive information resource about Jewish pogroms during the 1918-1921 that brings together eyewitness testimonies, lists of known victims, historical documents. Furthermore, we seek to complete the development of featuring descriptions of over 1,500 locations of pogroms. Our mission goes beyond creating and preserving memory; it is about learning from the past and helping to prevent similar events in the future.

Project Implementation Plan

1)Data Collection and Analysis: сonduct extensive work to collect eyewitness accounts, victims lists, events narratives, and archival documents. Also, develop an interactive map cataloging over 1,500 pogrom locations with descriptions.

2)Book Publication: сomplete work on the book “Russia. Three Year Pogrom” which narrates the events of that period (a pilot version of the book, a collection of testimonies, has now been published in a small print run).

3)Website Creation: develop and launch the “Russia. Three Year Pogrom” website, which will serve as the central hub for free access to information about the pogroms, including an interactive map with event descriptions. One of the missions of the website is to unite the world Jewish community through the opportunity to learn about their roots. It may be especially important for Jews of Russia, Israel, America, England and France, as many of their ancestors lived in the territories where the pogroms of 1928-21 took place. They will have the opportunity to check online if their family had victims.

4)Research and Educational Component: deliver lectures on the origins of pogroms, pogroms and their aftermath, as well as on Jewish self-defense and its heroes. Currently, the pogroms are a tragedy that is by far and large unknown to the world community. It is also not known that the total annihilation of the Jewish people was proclaimed in the pogroms, preceding the Final by some 20 years. So far, the information about three hundred thousand murdered, hundreds of thousands raped, a quarter of a million orphans remains unknown. Huge numbers of Jewish shtetls were involved and many ceased to exist utterly. The violence against Jews was inhumanly brutal. The goal of “Russia. Three Year Pogrom” is to develop educational video content for YouTube, where each visitor will be able to learn about the essence of the pogroms of 1918-1921, as well as to conduct personal research to restore the memory of their ancestors.

The project also involves the organization of workshops for international student groups and the development of an educational course for teachers. The project is especially relevant today, during the rise of antisemitism and Holocaust denial. The project, which restores the memory of the victims of the pogroms, calls on the world community to prevent possible preconditions for the repetition of Jewish national genocide.

5)Documentary Film Production: produce a documentary film about the Jewish pogroms based on historical chronicles and eyewitness accounts.

Project’s Role for the Jewish Community

The “Russia.Three Year Pogrom” project plays a crucial role in preserving and passing on the memory of the suffering and losses endured by the Jewish people during the Russian Civil War in 1918-1921. The project will restore this part of Jewish history and contribute to the identity and historical consciousness of the Jewish community. Furthermore, the project contributes to awareness and understanding of this part of history as an integral aspect of the past of the worldwide Jewry. It fosters a dialogue about intolerance, violence, and injustice, as well as emphasizes the importance of peace and tolerance in modern society.

We are thankful for your interest in the “Russia. Three Year Pogrom” project!

If you have questions about the details of the project’s implementation, you can contact us through the

Institute’s website:
https://amhazikaron.org/

By e-mail:
info@amhazikaron.org

Or on WhatsApp:
+972 54-546-8920