(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Many persons who were in the Ukraine during the Petlura pogrom period are offering to act as witnesses in the trial of Sholom Schwartzbard, who killed Petlura, M. Henri Torres, Schwartzbard’s counsel, stated here today.
M. Torres further declared that Schwartzbard categorically denies his having any connection with any organization. He acted on his own responsibility to avenge the victims of the pogroms.
M. Torres is now mainly occupied with classifying the material concerning the pogroms. He stated he sees no reason to invite other jurists to participate in the defense. “I will do everything to conduct the case on the highest level and to disclose the terrible tragedy of Ukrainian Jewry.”
A cable from the Argentine received by Schwartzbard’s counsel read: “The widows and orphans of the pogrom in Proskourov, now residing in the Argentine, thank you for assuring the defense of Sholom Schwartzbard, avenger of the victims of the pogroms perpetrated by Petlura, the most culpable of those responsible for the Jewish massacres in the Ukraine. We are hoping for your success.” The telegram was signed by John Kraizer, president of the Proskourov Jandsmanschaft.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
