The two young Jews, Zalkind and Ogus, who have been on trial here on the charge of murder of the National Democratic student, Stanislaw Waclawski, during the anti-Jewish excesses last November, have been acquitted. The State Attorney, M. Janowski, had (as reported yesterday) refused to prosecute, because of the unreliability of the chief witness for the prosecution, Kazimiera Lepkowska, who is to be proceeded against for perjury. The young Jewish student Wulfin who was accused of having taken part in the disturbances at the time Waclawski was killed, has, been found guilty, and has been sentenced to two years imprisonment.
In formulating the verdict, the court has based itself on the argument of the act of indictment that the Jewish students were to a certain extent to blame for the November occurrences, and that they had at certain points attacked Polish students.
An appeal has been lodged against the verdict.
IF STATE DOES NOT PROTECT US WE MUST DEFEND OURSELVES SAYS PRESIDENT OF VILNA JEWISH COMMUNITY: JEWISH COUNSEL COMPLAINS ONLY JEWS STANDING IN DOCK NOT THOSE WHO ORGANISED EXCESSES
Ex-Deputy Dr. Jacob Wygodski, the President of the Vilna Jewish Community, told the court in the course of his evidence that on the day of the disturbances he had gone to the Club of the Jewish Students’ Union, and the Jewish students who had assembled there had described the position to him and asked him to intervene with the authorities on their behalf. He had gone from there to the representative of the District Governor, Colonel Giszicki, who had received him cordially, but had given him no definite assurance. Dr. Wygodski had then gone to the City Governor, M. Iszora, who had assured him that all measures would be taken to prevent excesses. He had asked Dr. Wygodski at the same time to use his influence with the Jewish press that it should not speak too sharply against the National Democratic students to avoid making matters worse. In spite of the assurance, the excesses broke out the same evening, and windows were smashed, not only in Jewish shops, but even in Christian shops. The police had, unfortunately, failed to rise to their duty.
On November 10th., at about 12 o’clock, Dr. Wygodski continued, I went to the Club of the Jewish Students’ Union, and found Councillor Engineer Spiro there. The Jewish students had collected in the building. They were, of course, not armed, not even with sticks. Suddenly a group of police broke into the building and began to lay about them with clubs and rubber cudgels. When they saw me they left, but meanwhile they had wrecked the place.
What about Jewish corpses for dissection Advocate Petrushevitch put in at this point.
That is only a pretext, Dr. Wygodski replied. It is everywhere the State that supplies corpses for the dissection rooms of the universities. If the State does not protect us and guarantee our security, we must defend ourselves.
What was the feeling among the Jewish students on that day? the President of the court asked.
Mr. President, Dr. Wygodski answered, either one behaves like a whipped our and does not retaliate, or one is a human being and defends oneself. If the authorities were not able to guarantee our security, we ourselves had to defend our lives.
Arkadiash Wisamirski, a member of the “Polonia” Students’ Organisation, who was the next witness, said that he had been taking Stanislaw Waclawski in a drosky to get first aid treatment. Jews had thrown stones at the drosky, and shots were even fired at it. One stone had hit Waclawski, who had a head wound. To protect himself against the attack of the Jews he had himself been compelled to fire three times.
Asked by the defence whether he had been wounded, the witness replied: On November 10th. I was walking along the street with an acquaintance, when suddenly several mounted police stopped us, and told us to go back.
Was that because you look Jewish? the defence asked.
The witness flushed, and said: I stopped under a tree, but a policeman saw me, and knocked me on the head with his sword, wounding me.
A policeman named Kulak, who had arrested Wulfin, said that he had seen about 30 Jews attacking two Polish students, and beating them murderously. A woman had pointed out Wulfin as having shot at Waclawski.
Jacob Paletocki and his sister Sarah said that they had been walking with Wulfin out of the Pohulanka Street. Wulfin had not been armed. Suddenly he vanished, and later they discovered that he had been arrested.
A non-Jewish witness named Kulasimaka said that she had seen Wulfin held back by Christian students who had handed him over to the police.
Councillor Engineer Spiro said that the Jews had made no preparations whatever, and had only defended themselves against their aggressors.
STATE ATTORNEY FAINTS WHILE ARGUING JEWS HAD BEEN IN MILITANT MOOD
While addressing the court, demanding punishment for Wulfin, whose guilt, he said, had been fully proved, and arguing that the Jews had been in a militant mood on the day of the disturbances, the State Attorney, M. Janowitch, suddenly turned pale and fainted, and the proceedings were adjourned until he had recovered.
Advocate Smiarowski, the leading counsel for the defence, who followed, said that the whole case that had been built up against the accused up to the opening of the trial had collapsed. The chief witness for the prosecution, Lepkowski, had destroyed the case of the prosecution.
They all deplored Waclawski’s death, he went on, all of them, Jews and Christians alike. No one had wanted his death. Waclawski had not fallen like a hero for his fatherland; he had died because of petty antagonisms.
Wulfin could not be sentenced under Article 122 of the Penal Code which deals with racial enmity, he contended. All that had happened was that people who had been attacked had defended themselves against their aggressors. As for the spreading of rumours which went to make for a more acute feeling of race enmity, the court had to do not with rumours, he said, but with facts. Those who had spread race hatred were the aggressors. So how could Article 122 be applied against Wulfin, against the side that had defended itself?
Advocate Czerniachov, in closing the case for the defence, complained that only Jews had been put in the dock, instead of the people who were really guilty. He reminded the court that the Vice-Premier, M. Pieracki, had in Parliament solemnly declared that the excesses had been organised by a certain political Party. He therefore appealed to the court to acquit Wulfin.
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.
