Witnesses at Paris Trial Assert That Petlura Was Responsible for Pogroms

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The first witness for the defense testified today, the sixth day of the trial of Sholom Schwartzbard, slayer of Semion Petlura to avenge the victims of the anti-Jewish pogroms in the Ukraine. Of the 126 witnesses to be heard only nine have so far testified. All of these were witnesses for the prosecution.

Miss Grinberg, who worked as a nurse in the Proskuror Hospital during the pogrom period testified that Petlura knew about the Proskuror pogroms which were organized by ## general Semoseako and that Semoseako went unpunished after the pogrom. Miss Grinberg Described the terrible scenes in Proskuror declaring that during the first day of the pogrom there were ## dead. “A commission was appointed to investigate who was guilty for the pogrom, but General Semoseako dissolved the commission, dechring that ## a small number of victim does not warrant an investigation.” Miss Grinberg said.

Prosecuting Attorney Reynand asked the witness whether she really Eved in Proskuro? during the pogroms. Miss Grinberg replied that she was in Proskuro? during the pogroms and that not only her opinion but the general opinion of all Ukrainian Jews was that Petlura was responsible for the pogrom as chief of the army.

Moische Goldstein, the second witness for the defense, who was the chairman of the Jewish Investigation Committee of the pogroms during 1918 in Kiew, expressed his conviction that the pogroms were not mere incidents but were organized and that Petlura was the organizer of those pogroms.

“Petlura’s slogan was ‘Kill the Jews, save Ukraine.” Mr. Goldstein declared “The pogroms occurred every day and ## of the guilty was ever punished by Petlura.” Telling how the pogroms in the Ukraine were artificially provoked Mr. Goldstein cited the method whereby rumors were spread in Pros## that the Jews in Felstein had stolen the church bells, and in Felstein the same rumor spread with regard to the Proseanor Jews.

Goldstein also stated that before and after Petlura’s Dictatorship no anti-Jewish pogroms were perpetrated.