Ukraine in Civil War and Famine, 1918–1921

Join Jeffrey Veidlinger and Norman Naimark for a conversation about events in Ukraine in the years following the 1917 Russian Revolution. In this period of civil war, anarchy, and famine, Ukraine was overrun by successive armies of Germans, Russian Whites and Reds, and Ukrainian nationalists, as well as an assortment of bandits and outlaws. In the turmoil, more than one hundred thousand Jews perished. Most were victims of pogroms—ethnic riots—murdered by peasants, townsmen, and soldiers or left to die of famine, exposure, and disease.

In researching his 2021 book, In the Midst of Civilized Europe, about this largely forgotten episode of violence and ethnic cleansing directed against Jews, Veidlinger drew upon newly discovered witness testimonies, trial records, and official orders. He will describe his research and consider to what extent the pogroms of 1918–1921 help us understand how the Holocaust happened.

The Hoover Institution Library & Archives, the Department of History, and the Taube Center for Jewish Studies at Stanford University are co-sponsors for this event.