GizzyCatBella (talk | contribs) →top: Adding/improving reference(s) Copyedit (minor) Tag: Visual edit |
Tagged for POV - article lede at present is a WP:SYNTH of different accounts. Some RSes- e.g. Polonsky and Blobaum - frame this as solely (or almost solely) gang violence. |
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The '''Alfonse pogrom''' (in the [[Polish language|Polish]], ''[[:pl:Pogrom alfonsów|Pogrom alfonsów]]'', "[[pogrom]] of the [[pimp]]s” – the Polish word “alfons" means "[[pimp]]"<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=gm4bAQAAIAAJ&dq=alfons+znaczenie+slowa&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=na+koszt+kobiet+znaczenie+alfonsa+|title=Słowa i ludzie: szkice o języku polskim i kulturze|last=Podracki|first=Jerzy|date=2003-01-01|publisher=Adam|year=|isbn=9788372324283|location=|pages=41|language=pl|script-title=Words and people: Sketches about the Polish language and culture|quote=Alfons - a man living at the expense of women.. - (pl - Alfons - meżczyzna żyjacy na koszt kobiet)}}</ref>; 24-26 May 1905)<ref name="zb">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=sbZtAAAAMAAJ&q=pogrom+alfons%C3%B3w&dq=pogrom+alfons%C3%B3w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS87yEr9bgAhUWnZ4KHRZiBcIQ6AEIODAC|title=Polski słownik judaistyczny: dzieje, kultura, religia, ludzie|last=Borzymińska|first=Zofia|date=2003|publisher=Wydawn. Prószyński i S-ka|isbn=9788372551269|page=68|language=pl}} Entry reproduced onlinee [http://www.jhi.pl/psj/alfons-pogrom here] by the Żydowski Instytut Historyczny (Jewish Historical Institute). (Translated quote - "''On the first day of the riots, groups of Jewish workers attacked pimps on the streets and destroyed their apartments and brothels. On the second day, the Christians joined in; on the third day - criminal element committed robbery.'' Original quote pl. - ''Pierwszego dnia zamieszek grupy robotników żydowskich napadały na ulicach na stręczycieli oraz niszczyły ich mieszkania i domy publiczne. W drugim dniu do zajść włączyli się chrześcijanie; trzeciego – element przestępczy - napady rabunkowe)'' </ref> was a three-day riot in [[Warsaw]], started by [[History of the Jews in Poland|Jewish]] [[General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland|Bund]] labor-party militants, joined subsequently by Warsaw workers, Christian and Jewish,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sikorska-Kulesza|first=Jolanta|date=2007|title=Sądy doraźne nad prostytucją w Warszawie w maju 1905 roku w świetle prasy|trans-title=Summary justice to prostitution in Warsaw in May 1905, in the light of the press|url=|journal=ROCZNIK WARSZAWSKI|language=pl|volume=XXXV|pages=111–127|lay-url=http://primo.koszykowa.pl:1701/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=48BPW_BSR_VIEW&docId=48BPW_Aleph_VAR01000036578&fromSitemap=1&afterPDS=true|quote=Attacks by Warsaw's workers, both Christian and Jewish, on brothels, pimps, thieves..|via=}}</ref><ref name=":0" />and by common criminals.<ref name=ant>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=DG5UDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Literatura+polsko-%C5%BCydowska+1861-1918:+Antologia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB45OvutjgAhXW_J4KHQsMBfAQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=Literatura%20polsko-%C5%BCydowska%201861-1918:%20Antologia&f=false|title=Literatura polsko-żydowska 1861-1918: Antologia|last=Kołodziejska-Smagała|first=Zuzanna|last2=Antosik-Piela|first2=Maria|date=2017|publisher=Wydawnictwo UJ|year=|isbn=9788323396949|location=|pages=28|language=pl|trans-title=Polish-Jewish Literature 1861-1918: Anthology|quote=..w kolejnych dniach do zamieszek wlaczyli sie chrześcijanie oraz pospolici przestepcy. (In following days, Christians and common criminals joined the riots)}}</ref><ref name=Polon2010-93/> The violence caused fatalities and substantial damage; actual reports on casualties and on genesis of the events vary among historians.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=U-5IDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=keely+stauter+the+devil's+chain&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0i6nGiIvhAhXKpZ4KHflDCwUQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=historians%20disagree%20about%20the%20genesis%20of%20the%20riots&f=false|title=The Devil's Chain: Prostitution and Social Control in Partitioned Poland|last=Stauter-Halsted|first=Keely|date=2016|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=9781501701665|location=Ithaca and London|pages=197|language=en|quote="historians disagree about the genesis of the riots"}}</ref><ref name="Ury2012-127"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://instytutksiazki.pl/literatura,8,recenzje,25,wszystkie,0,pogrom-1905,116.html|title=Pogrom 1905|last=Holewiński|first=Wacław|publisher=Wydawnictwo Zysk i Spółka|year=2018|isbn=978-83-8116-303-3|location=Poznań|pages=|language=pl|quote=At the end of May 1905, mysterious and unexplained events took place in Warsaw. Jews, and later also Poles, mobbed prostitutes and pimps, murdered women of "light customs" and their "guardians," devastating and burning brothels. (pl. Pod koniec maja 1905 roku w Warszawie doszło do zagadkowych i do dzisiaj niewyjaśnionych zdarzeń. Żydzi, a chwilę później również Polacy, dokonali samosądu na prostytutkach i sutenerach, mordując kobiety lekkich obyczajów i ich „opiekunów”, dewastując i paląc domy publiczne.)}}</ref> |
The '''Alfonse pogrom''' (in the [[Polish language|Polish]], ''[[:pl:Pogrom alfonsów|Pogrom alfonsów]]'', "[[pogrom]] of the [[pimp]]s” – the Polish word “alfons" means "[[pimp]]"<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=gm4bAQAAIAAJ&dq=alfons+znaczenie+slowa&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=na+koszt+kobiet+znaczenie+alfonsa+|title=Słowa i ludzie: szkice o języku polskim i kulturze|last=Podracki|first=Jerzy|date=2003-01-01|publisher=Adam|year=|isbn=9788372324283|location=|pages=41|language=pl|script-title=Words and people: Sketches about the Polish language and culture|quote=Alfons - a man living at the expense of women.. - (pl - Alfons - meżczyzna żyjacy na koszt kobiet)}}</ref>; 24-26 May 1905)<ref name="zb">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=sbZtAAAAMAAJ&q=pogrom+alfons%C3%B3w&dq=pogrom+alfons%C3%B3w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS87yEr9bgAhUWnZ4KHRZiBcIQ6AEIODAC|title=Polski słownik judaistyczny: dzieje, kultura, religia, ludzie|last=Borzymińska|first=Zofia|date=2003|publisher=Wydawn. Prószyński i S-ka|isbn=9788372551269|page=68|language=pl}} Entry reproduced onlinee [http://www.jhi.pl/psj/alfons-pogrom here] by the Żydowski Instytut Historyczny (Jewish Historical Institute). (Translated quote - "''On the first day of the riots, groups of Jewish workers attacked pimps on the streets and destroyed their apartments and brothels. On the second day, the Christians joined in; on the third day - criminal element committed robbery.'' Original quote pl. - ''Pierwszego dnia zamieszek grupy robotników żydowskich napadały na ulicach na stręczycieli oraz niszczyły ich mieszkania i domy publiczne. W drugim dniu do zajść włączyli się chrześcijanie; trzeciego – element przestępczy - napady rabunkowe)'' </ref> was a three-day riot in [[Warsaw]], started by [[History of the Jews in Poland|Jewish]] [[General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland|Bund]] labor-party militants, joined subsequently by Warsaw workers, Christian and Jewish,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sikorska-Kulesza|first=Jolanta|date=2007|title=Sądy doraźne nad prostytucją w Warszawie w maju 1905 roku w świetle prasy|trans-title=Summary justice to prostitution in Warsaw in May 1905, in the light of the press|url=|journal=ROCZNIK WARSZAWSKI|language=pl|volume=XXXV|pages=111–127|lay-url=http://primo.koszykowa.pl:1701/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=48BPW_BSR_VIEW&docId=48BPW_Aleph_VAR01000036578&fromSitemap=1&afterPDS=true|quote=Attacks by Warsaw's workers, both Christian and Jewish, on brothels, pimps, thieves..|via=}}</ref><ref name=":0" />and by common criminals.<ref name=ant>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=DG5UDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Literatura+polsko-%C5%BCydowska+1861-1918:+Antologia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB45OvutjgAhXW_J4KHQsMBfAQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=Literatura%20polsko-%C5%BCydowska%201861-1918:%20Antologia&f=false|title=Literatura polsko-żydowska 1861-1918: Antologia|last=Kołodziejska-Smagała|first=Zuzanna|last2=Antosik-Piela|first2=Maria|date=2017|publisher=Wydawnictwo UJ|year=|isbn=9788323396949|location=|pages=28|language=pl|trans-title=Polish-Jewish Literature 1861-1918: Anthology|quote=..w kolejnych dniach do zamieszek wlaczyli sie chrześcijanie oraz pospolici przestepcy. (In following days, Christians and common criminals joined the riots)}}</ref><ref name=Polon2010-93/> The violence caused fatalities and substantial damage; actual reports on casualties and on genesis of the events vary among historians.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.ca/books?id=U-5IDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=keely+stauter+the+devil's+chain&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj0i6nGiIvhAhXKpZ4KHflDCwUQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=historians%20disagree%20about%20the%20genesis%20of%20the%20riots&f=false|title=The Devil's Chain: Prostitution and Social Control in Partitioned Poland|last=Stauter-Halsted|first=Keely|date=2016|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=9781501701665|location=Ithaca and London|pages=197|language=en|quote="historians disagree about the genesis of the riots"}}</ref><ref name="Ury2012-127"/><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://instytutksiazki.pl/literatura,8,recenzje,25,wszystkie,0,pogrom-1905,116.html|title=Pogrom 1905|last=Holewiński|first=Wacław|publisher=Wydawnictwo Zysk i Spółka|year=2018|isbn=978-83-8116-303-3|location=Poznań|pages=|language=pl|quote=At the end of May 1905, mysterious and unexplained events took place in Warsaw. Jews, and later also Poles, mobbed prostitutes and pimps, murdered women of "light customs" and their "guardians," devastating and burning brothels. (pl. Pod koniec maja 1905 roku w Warszawie doszło do zagadkowych i do dzisiaj niewyjaśnionych zdarzeń. Żydzi, a chwilę później również Polacy, dokonali samosądu na prostytutkach i sutenerach, mordując kobiety lekkich obyczajów i ich „opiekunów”, dewastując i paląc domy publiczne.)}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 07:07, 18 March 2019
The Alfonse pogrom (in the Polish, Pogrom alfonsów, "pogrom of the pimps” – the Polish word “alfons" means "pimp"[1]; 24-26 May 1905)[2] was a three-day riot in Warsaw, started by Jewish Bund labor-party militants, joined subsequently by Warsaw workers, Christian and Jewish,[3][4]and by common criminals.[5][6] The violence caused fatalities and substantial damage; actual reports on casualties and on genesis of the events vary among historians.[7][8][9]
Background
In the second half of the 19th century, prostitution, sex trafficking, and sexual slavery became widespread in Warsaw.[11] These activities were mostly dominated by the Jewish underworld, and their existence caused much tension and controversy within Warsaw's Polish-Jewish community.[11] While in Congress Poland and Warsaw, overall, 72,7% prostitutes were Catholic and 21,36% were Jewish, in Warsaw the proportion of Jewish prostitutes was much higher. In 1874 two-thirds of all registered prostitutes in Warsaw were Jewish.[12] In 1889 around 75% of all brothels in Warsaw were run by Jews.[13][14]
Accounts differ as to the cause of the violence. Some consider this a political action by Jewish workers.[8] As violent riots escalated during the unrest in the mid-1900s, tensions between the Jewish underworld and workers grew to the point where a violent wide-scale incident was increasingly likely.[11] According to Laura Engelstein, the pimps were perceived by Bundists to be agents of the Okhrana (Russian Tsarist police).[15]
The riot
The pogrom started after a rumor, though there are several versions of which rumor actually sparked it.[11][8] One version suggests that a sister and/or fiance of a Bund activist were kidnapped and taken to one of the brothels, and he was wounded while trying to rescue her.[2][11] Another states that a Jewish prostitute asked a Jewish worker for help in her plight, and when he tried to rescue her, he was killed.[11] All versions suggest that after the rescuer was injured or killed, his friends started a large-scale riot.[11] Jewish activists associated with the Bund labor party were involved in the rioting.[11]
Another version is that the reason for the riot was criminal interference in the competition between legal and illegal brothels. Antony Polonsky rejects the view that this was a political action organized by the Bund as "a reaction of Jewish workers to the exploitation of Jewish women." Polonsky writes that the criminal underworld was substantially involved, and he notes that "only licensed brothels were affected".[6]
Although accounts of events differ, most agree that bands of Jewish workers went from brothel to brothel, assaulting pimps and prostitutes, and destroying and looting property. Clashes also spread into the city streets.[8][16] The rioting started in northwest Warsaw before spreading throughout the city.[11] According to some scholars (for instance Borzymińska and Jakubczak) the rioting was joined on the second day by Christian workers, and the third day saw criminals take advantage of the chaos to commit robberies.[2] Jewish workers acted only in the Jewish neighborhood, striking just the Jewish parts of the underworld. Christian workers did corresponding with the Christian gangsters.[4] Tsarist police authorities allegedly attempted to orchestrate an anti-Jewish pogrom [2] (such accusations are part of the Bund narrative of the events[16]), but when the attempt failed, the Russian governor, Konstantin Maximovich ordered the military to suppress the riot.[2][11]
The riot is considered to have been put down by 26 May 1905, though lesser incidents continued for a few more days, with 3 further fatalities on 28 May.[11]
Aftermath
During the disturbances 150 dwellings (including 40 brothels)[2][11] were destroyed, with property damage estimated at 200,000 rubles,[2] 5 people were killed, 10 severely injured (most died later in hospitals)[2] and over 40 injured.[2] According to Scott Ury, 5 persons were killed in the events themselves, another 10 died from wounds they incurred, and over 40 were hospitalized.[8] According to a Reuter report, the number of injured was 100.[17] Police arrested close to 100 pimps and prostitutes.[11]
The Bund leadership at first criticized its activists who took part in the rioting, but later changed its stance and claimed the riot was a righteous action against the morally corrupt government and criminals.[18]
The riot brought the problem of prostitution in Poland to wider public attention and led to attempts to address the problem through further debate and reforms.[19] Leo Belmont wrote a poem, "Po pogromie" ("After the Pogrom"), about the incident.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Podracki, Jerzy (2003-01-01). Słowa i ludzie: szkice o języku polskim i kulturze Words and people: Sketches about the Polish language and culture (in Polish). Adam. p. 41. ISBN 9788372324283.
Alfons - a man living at the expense of women.. - (pl - Alfons - meżczyzna żyjacy na koszt kobiet)
{{cite book}}
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: missing prefix (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i Borzymińska, Zofia (2003). Polski słownik judaistyczny: dzieje, kultura, religia, ludzie (in Polish). Wydawn. Prószyński i S-ka. p. 68. ISBN 9788372551269. Entry reproduced onlinee here by the Żydowski Instytut Historyczny (Jewish Historical Institute). (Translated quote - "On the first day of the riots, groups of Jewish workers attacked pimps on the streets and destroyed their apartments and brothels. On the second day, the Christians joined in; on the third day - criminal element committed robbery. Original quote pl. - Pierwszego dnia zamieszek grupy robotników żydowskich napadały na ulicach na stręczycieli oraz niszczyły ich mieszkania i domy publiczne. W drugim dniu do zajść włączyli się chrześcijanie; trzeciego – element przestępczy - napady rabunkowe)
- ^ Sikorska-Kulesza, Jolanta (2007). "Sądy doraźne nad prostytucją w Warszawie w maju 1905 roku w świetle prasy" [Summary justice to prostitution in Warsaw in May 1905, in the light of the press]. ROCZNIK WARSZAWSKI (in Polish). XXXV: 111–127.
Attacks by Warsaw's workers, both Christian and Jewish, on brothels, pimps, thieves..
{{cite journal}}
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ignored (help) - ^ a b Jakubczak, Aleksandra (2015). "Alfonse pogrom w Warszawie 1905 roku w świetle prasy żydowskiej" [1905 Warsaw "Alfonse pogrom" in the light of the Jewish press]. Studia Judaica 18 (in Polish). 2. Warsaw: 352. doi:10.4467/24500100STJ.15.015.4606.
...the participants of the "pogrom of pimps" took care of maintaining the order and the division of "work," i.e., the Jewish workers acted only in the Jewish quarter, attacking only the Jewish members of the underworld. Christians did the same with the Christian underworld. (pl-...uczestnicy „pogromu alfonsów" dbali o zachowanie porządku i podział „pracy", tzn. żydowscy robotnicy działali tylko w dzielnicy żydowskiej, atakując wyłącznie żydowskich członków półświatka. To samo uczynili chrześcijanie z chrześcijańskim półświatkiem.)
- ^ a b Kołodziejska-Smagała, Zuzanna; Antosik-Piela, Maria (2017). Literatura polsko-żydowska 1861-1918: Antologia [Polish-Jewish Literature 1861-1918: Anthology] (in Polish). Wydawnictwo UJ. p. 28. ISBN 9788323396949.
..w kolejnych dniach do zamieszek wlaczyli sie chrześcijanie oraz pospolici przestepcy. (In following days, Christians and common criminals joined the riots)
- ^ a b Antony Polonsky, The Jews in Poland and Russia, volume 2: 1881 to 1914, The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2010, p. 93.
- ^ Stauter-Halsted, Keely (2016). The Devil's Chain: Prostitution and Social Control in Partitioned Poland. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press. p. 197. ISBN 9781501701665.
historians disagree about the genesis of the riots
- ^ a b c d e Scott Ury (8 August 2012). Barricades and Banners: The Revolution of 1905 and the Transformation of Warsaw Jewry. Stanford University Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-8047-8104-6.
- ^ Holewiński, Wacław (2018). Pogrom 1905 (in Polish). Poznań: Wydawnictwo Zysk i Spółka. ISBN 978-83-8116-303-3.
At the end of May 1905, mysterious and unexplained events took place in Warsaw. Jews, and later also Poles, mobbed prostitutes and pimps, murdered women of "light customs" and their "guardians," devastating and burning brothels. (pl. Pod koniec maja 1905 roku w Warszawie doszło do zagadkowych i do dzisiaj niewyjaśnionych zdarzeń. Żydzi, a chwilę później również Polacy, dokonali samosądu na prostytutkach i sutenerach, mordując kobiety lekkich obyczajów i ich „opiekunów", dewastując i paląc domy publiczne.)
- ^ Niezwykłe ujęcia znajomych miejsc, Gazeta Wyborcza website
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Gaudenty, Radzim (2019-01-25). "Pogrom alfonsów 1905 r. Krwawa rozprawa robotników z sutenerami i prostytutkami. Zniszczono większość burdeli" [The 1905 pogrom of pimps. A bloody clash of workers with pimps and prostitutes. Most brothels were destroyed]. warszawa.naszemiasto.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-02-25.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Antony Polonsky, The Jews in Poland and Russia, Volume 2: 1881 to 1914, The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2010, p. 93
- ^ Sikorska-Kulesza, Jolanta (2004). Zło tolerowane: prostytucja w Królestwie Polskim w XIX wieku [Evil tolerated - Prostitution in the Kingdom of Poland in XIX century] (in Polish). Mada. p. 243. ISBN 9788389624130.
Religion and nationality of brothel owners - Table VIII - 3 Catholic, 16 Jewish (page 243)
- ^ Studia Judaica 18 (2015), issue 2 (36), pp. 339–357: Aleksandra Jakubczak, „Pogrom alfonsów” w Warszawie 1905 roku w świetle prasy żydowskiej ("1905 pogrom of pimps in Warsaw in the light of the Jewish press").
- ^ The Keys to Happiness: Sex and the Search for Modernity in Fin-de-siècle Russia, Laura Engelstein, Cornell University Press, page 309
- ^ a b Scott Ury (8 August 2012). Barricades and Banners: The Revolution of 1905 and the Transformation of Warsaw Jewry. Stanford University Press. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-8047-8104-6.
- ^ Edward J. Bristow, Prostitution and Prejudice: The Jewish Fight Against White Slavery 1870–1939, Clarendon Press, 1982, p. 61
- ^ Scott Ury (8 August 2012). Barricades and Banners: The Revolution of 1905 and the Transformation of Warsaw Jewry. Stanford University Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-8047-8104-6.
- ^ Keely Stauter-Halsted (19 February 2016). The Devil's Chain: Prostitution and Social Control in Partitioned Poland. Cornell University Press. pp. 197, 256. ISBN 978-1-5017-0166-5.