"In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust" A Book Talk by Jeffrey Veidlinger

Please join UCI Libraries and UCI Center for Jewish Studies on Thursday, February 17, 2022, 5:30 - 6:30 PM PST via Zoom for a lively discussion with author Jeffrey Veidlinger, Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, about his new book, In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust.

Register here for this Zoom webinar: (https://spaces.lib.uci.edu/calendar/events/Veidlinger)

Between 1918 and 1921, over one hundred thousand Jews were murdered in Ukraine by peasants, townsmen, and soldiers who blamed the Jews for the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. In hundreds of separate incidents, ordinary people robbed their Jewish neighbors with impunity, burned down their houses, ripped apart their Torah scrolls, sexually assaulted them, and killed them. Largely forgotten today, these pogroms―ethnic riots―dominated headlines and international affairs in their time. Aid workers warned that six million Jews were in danger of complete extermination. Twenty years later, these dire predictions would come true.

Drawing upon long-neglected archival materials, including thousands of newly discovered witness testimonies, trial records, and official orders, acclaimed historian Jeffrey Veidlinger shows for the first time how this wave of genocidal violence created the conditions for the Holocaust. Through stories of survivors, perpetrators, aid workers, and governmental officials, he explains how so many different groups of people came to the same conclusion: that killing Jews was an acceptable response to their various problems. In riveting prose, In the Midst of Civilized Europe repositions the pogroms as a defining moment of the twentieth century.

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. A Zoom link will be emailed to registered participants.