KADDISHEL
A Life Reborn
Revolution exploded brutally. The war heightened tensions between Poles and Russians, and brought a short-lived grab for indepen- dence by the Ukrainians. There were harsh repercussions for Jews. Between 1917 and 1919, fifty thousand Jews in the area were mur - dered by the forces of Simon Petlura, who tried unsuccessfully to establish an independent Ukrainian republic. Marauding bands of fighters who took cover in the large forests around Ludvipol ha - rassed the townspeople during the war and afterward. This peri- od of anarchy and lawlessness made life particularly harsh for the Jews. Without governmental infrastructure, criminals tormented Jews without fear of punishment. Peasants frequented Ludvipol’s only tavern and drank until they lost consciousness or became row- dy and broke glass bottles all over town. Efriem Kozuel recalled, in the Yizkor book, an incident when a group of non-Jews came to Ludvipol on Shabbat and forced two youngsters, Benjamin and Abraham Zabodnik, to “dance” on a sheet of metal over a fire, while pistols were fired above their heads. The community paid each of the thugs fifteen rubles to stop. Although the partition of Poland ended in 1918, its eastern bor- der (including Rovno and Ludvipol) continued to be subjected to frequent battles and changes in government. Ludvipol changed hands five times in less than two years during this period. In quick succession, it was occupied and governed by the Ukraine (Petlu- ra), Bolshevik Russia, Poland, and then Bolshevik Russia again. In September 1920, Poland, whose people were mostly Roman Catho- lic, regained control along its eastern border, but complicated polit- ical and social hostilities continued. The Russians never took their envious eyes off the border, with its Ukrainian, Russian Orthodox population. Meanwhile, a significant number of Jews, especially idealistic Zionists, embraced socialism. Photographs from this era show parades of Zionist youth groups marching with socialist youth groups. The association made Poles, who were deeply threatened by communist Russia, see them as Russian sympathizers; their fears were aggravated when Russia attempted (unsuccessfully) to push through Poland into Germany.
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