A Child of Christian Blood: Murder and Conspiracy in Tsarist Russia: The Beilis Blood Libel
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40. harass the press: Tager, Tsarskaia, p. 208.
41. fining Nabokov: Vladimir Nabokov, Speak Memory, p. 176.
42. striking workers: Rech’, September 26, 1913.
43. although they considered: Rech’, September 28, 1913.
44. “So you are”: STEN I, p. 144.
45. Daria Chekhovskaya: STEN I, p. 157.
46. “ ‘day of the black beards’ ”: Kondurushkin, “Vpechatleniia,” Rech’, September 30, 1913.
47. “Did the detectives”: STEN I, pp. 175–76, 181, 183.
48. “full deck”: Kievlianin, September 30, 1913.
49. “Yes”: STEN I, pp. 191, 195.
50. fined him ten rubles: Rech’, July 11, 1912.
51. confiscated: Rech’, June 25, 1912.
52. night of September 5: Rech’ September 9, 1912.
53. “No, I can talk”: STEN I, p. 200.
54. A refreshed Golubev: STEN I, pp. 201, 206.
55. erupted in laughter: STEN I, p. 204; Rech’, October 1, 1913.
56. piled into twenty-five carriages: Bonch-Bruevich, Znamenie, pp. 68–76; STEN I, pp. 215–19; Kondurushkin, “Vpechatleniia,” Rech’, September 30, 1913.
57. “dancing couple”: STEN II, p. 27.
58. “Of course, we knew him!”: Korolenko, “Na Luk’ianovke,” subheading VI, http://ldn-knigi.lib.ru/JUDAICA/Korol_Stat.htm.
59. Vipper the prosecutor fretted: Kondurushkin, “Vpechatleniia,” Rech’, September 30, 1913.
60. shambled: Bonch-Bruevich, Znamenie, p. 61.
61. air of hopeful confidence: Samuel, Blood Accusation, p. 70.
62. “What do you know”: STEN I, p. 222; Rech’, October 2, 1913.
63. crossing herself: Jewish Chronicle, October 24, 1913, p. 20.
64. “nauseous case”: Times of London, October 15, 1913.
65. Simon of Trent: Po-Chia Hsia’s gripping Trent 1475 is the definitive account.
66. Tiszaeszlar: Yehouda Marton, “Tiszaeszlar,” Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd ed., vol. 19, p. 735; Gale Virtual Reference Library. The dead girl, whose name was Eszter Solymosi, was later established to have committed suicide by throwing herself into a river. The Tiszaeszlar case was of considerable political significance. Anti-Semitic parliament deputies vocally supported the case, which was accompanied in 1883 by violent attacks on Jews in Budapest and elsewhere. In some areas, the authorities declared a state of emergency to protect Jewish lives and property. In the trial’s aftermath, an anti-Semitic party was founded that won seventeen seats in the Hungarian parliament.
67. Talberg: Materialy Chrezvychainoi, p. 81.
68. He complained: Materialy Chrezvychainoi, p. 147.
69. Koshko: Koshko, “O dele Beilisa,” pp. 165–66, 173–77. Koshko later became the head of criminal investigations for the entire empire, so his opposition to the Beilis case did not obstruct his advancement. The value of Koshko’s memoir, written years after the trial, is mainly in the account of the conversation with Shcheglovitov. Regarding details of the case, it contains significant factual errors and needs to be used with caution.
70. “Let him [Beilis] be acquitted”: Stepanov, Chernaia (1995), p. 392.
71. “severely unnerves”: Tager, “Protsess,” p. 98.
72. “the judge skillfully”: Tager, “Protsess,” p. 101.
73. Boldyrev was aware: Materialy Chrezvychainoi, pp. 171, 186.
74. “sheds rivers”: Berkowitz, “Epidemic,” pp. 204–205; see also, “Ritual Murder Play: Actor Acting in His Stage Version of Beiliss Case to Crowds,” New York Times, November 21, 1913.
75. “three-dimensional newsreels”: Stefan Kanfer, Stardust Lost: The Triumph, Tragedy and Mishugas of the Yiddish Theater in America” (New York: Vintage Books, 2007), p. 114.
76. “deep Jewishness”: Berkowitz, “Mendel Beilis Epidemic,” p. 205.
77. assimilationists to be “furious”: Jewish Chronicle, October 17, 1913, pp. 23–24.
78. “discreet diplomacy”: Szajkowski, “The Impact of the Beilis Case,” p. 205.
79. state legislatures: 1914 American Jewish Yearbook, p. 135; Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” note 39.
80. “elegant women”: Bonch-Bruevich, Znamenie, pp. 95–96.
81. gold buttons: Kievlianin, October 3, 1913.
82. ravenous: Kievlianin, October 3, 1913.
83. “illiterate Jews”: STEN I, p. 276.
84. “gesticulation”: Jewish Chronicle, October 24, 1913, p. 20.
85. elegantly dressed: Rech’, October 3, 1913; Bonch-Bruevich, Znamenie, p. 90.
86. Polishchuk, startlingly: STEN I, pp. 282–84.
87. chestnut hair: Bonch-Bruevich, Znamenie, pp. 93–94; Rech’, October 3, 1913.
88. the girl told the court: STEN I, pp. 295–97.
89. eye-to-eye: STEN I, p. 298.
90. feather pom-pom: Bonch-Bruevich, Znamenie, p. 96.
91. Beilis could stare: Viktor Sosedov, “Otryvki,” Kievlianin, October 4, 1913.
92. skeptical reporter: Kievlianin, October 3, 1913.
93. “Would you be so kind as to read aloud”: STEN I, p. 303.
94. “metallic”: Kievlianin, October 3, 1913. Vialtseva’s voice can be heard on YouTube by searching her name in Russian letters (Vial’tseva).
95. “running away”: Rech’, October 3, 1913.
96. eyewitnesses and liars: Kievlianin, October 3, 1913.
97. sent Zhenya: STEN I, p. 309.
98. “Were you questioned”: STEN I, p. 310, pp. 310–13.
99. “boy suddenly shrank”: Kievlianin, October 5, 1913.
100. “slightly increased”: Tager, Tsarskaia, p. 125; Tager, “Protsess,” p. 98.
101. “lying bitch”: Tager, Tsarskaia, p. 199.
10. “We Have Seen the Killer”
1. feed had become too expensive: STEN I, pp. 359, 273, 393.
2. “annoying formality”: Kievlianin, October 11, 1913.
3. “What do you think happened”: Rech’, October 6, 1913.
4. Vyshemirsky: Beilis, My Sufferings, pp. 140–45; STEN I, pp. 403–9. The core of Beilis’s account is accurate, but Beilis presents Vyshemirsky as far more well-spoken than he actually was.
5. “In any normal trial”: “Iz zaly suda,” Kievskaia Mysl’, October 6, 1913.
6. “on Paris boulevards”: “Vpechatleniia,” Kievskaia Mysl’, October 7, 1913.
7. one general: Petrovsky-Shtern, Jews in the Russian Army, pp. 134–35.
8. more at home in Berlin: GAKO f. 864, op. 10, d. 5, l. 35.
9. “not a comedy”: Rech’, October 6, 1913.
10. “in the Jewish cemetery”: Rech’, October 7, 1913.
11. workers from the Zaitsev factory testified: STEN I, pp. 433–60.
12. in the Chicago Loop: All details about the rally are from “Overflow Crowd and a Speaker at Beilis Trial Protest Mass Meeting,” Chicago Tribune, October 20, 1913, p. 1; on its organization, “ ‘Ritual Murder Protest Today,’ ” Chicago Tribune, October 19, 1913, and “Set Beilis Protest Meeting,” Chicago Tribune, October 16, 1913.
13. Mass meetings were held in Cincinnati: American Jewish Yearbook, p. 136; Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” note 39. Oddly, in New York, the America city with the biggest Jewish population, a protest of five hundred City College students appears to have been the largest one. Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” note 39.
14. Hirsch wrote: “Editorial Notes,” The Advocate: America’s Jewish Journal 46 (1913): 338.
15. Champ Clark: Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” note 41.
16. Sabath resolution: “Congress Takes Up Defense of Beiliss; Representative Sabath Offers a Joint Resolution of Protest,” New York Times, October 18, 1913, p. 4.
17. “Czar on Trial”: New York Times, October 9, 1913.
18. “And Yet”: Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” note 35.
19. “much surprised”: Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” note 52.
20. “no knowledge”: Tager, Tsarskaia, p. 218.
&
nbsp; 21. “more than ready”: Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” p. 218.
22. “unfortunate effect”: Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” p. 218. Wilson argued, with some foundation, that Beilis would, in any event, be acquitted. The Russian foreign minister himself, who was sharing the consensus of elite opinion—the trial was, after all, clearly going badly for the prosecution—had told Wilson he was “certain” of such an outcome. See Lifschutz, “Repercussions,” note 50.
23. “talented lawyer”: Gruzenberg, Yesterday, p. 111.
24. glass of water: Rech’, October 8, 1913.
25. “unthoughtful”: Nabokov, “Na protsesse,” Rech’, October 8, 1913.
26. “honest, thick-skinned”: Jewish Chronicle, October 24, 1913, p. 23.
27. “mental faculties”: STEN I, p. 528.
28. eye-to-eye: STEN I, p. 535.
29. swarmed the court: Kievskaia Mysl’, October 9, 1913.
30. Prince A. D. Obolensky: Kievskaia Mysl’, October 9, 1913. American Jewish Yearbook, p. 17.
31. King Constantine: Rech’, October 7, 1913; Jewish Chronicle, October 11, 1913.
32. “story of the switches”: see note to p. 111.
33. “Christian letters”: GAKO-DpdB (reel 3) f. 183, op. 5, d. 4, l. 413-18.
34. early newspaper account: STEN I, p. 606.
35. “methods were reprehensible”: Nabokov, “Na protsesse,” Rech’, October 9, 1913.
36. needed to kill: STEN I, p. 601.
37. “airplanes, or ride on motorcycles”: STEN I, p. 623.
38. felt to her like a body: STEN I, p. 618.
39. “When I was sleeping”: STEN I, p. 607.
40. “ ‘I had a dream’ ”: STEN I, p. 623.
41. “sincerity”: Rech’, October 10, 1913; Kievlianin, October 10, 1913.
42. “psychosis”: Kievianin, October 10, 1913.
43. wholly expressionless: Nabokov, “Na protsesse,” Rech’, October 11, 1913.
44. acceded to a plan: Materialy Chrezvychainoi, pp. 172–73.
45. “deadly simplicity”: Nabokov, “Na Protsesse,” Rech’, October 11, 1913.
46. “Beilis had reminded us”: Nabokov, “Na Protsesse,” Rech’, October 11, 1913.
47. “defendant”: Nabokov, “Na protesse,” Rech’, October 11, 1913; Kondurushkin, “Vpechatleniia,” Rech’, October 11, 1913.
48. Zamyslovsky attempted: STEN II, pp. 66–68.
49. On cross-examination: STEN II, pp. 71–73.
50. eye-to-eye: STEN II, pp. 73–74.
51. visceral reaction: Tager, Tsarskaia, p. 250.
11. “Gentlemen of the Jury!”
1. rumor: Tager, “Protsess,” p. 101.
2. “some kind of sensation”: Nabokov, “Na protsesse,” Rech’, October 14, 1913.
3. once been imprisoned: Vladimir Nabokov, the son, writes in his autobiography, Speak Memory (p. 29): “My father spent a restful, if somewhat lonesome three months in solitary confinement, with his books, his collapsible bathtub and his copy of J. P. Muller’s manual of home gymnastics.” V. D. Nabokov served the sentence in 1908 as punishment for taking part in the “Vyborg Manifesto,” a protest against the disbanding of the First Duma by Tsar Nicholas.
4. “fantastic”: Nabokov, “Na protsesse,” Rech’, October 12, 1913.
5. Maslash: STEN II, p. 96.
6. “folded his hands”: STEN II, p. 101.
7. Three days earlier: Tager, Tsarskaia, p. 251; Materialy Chrezvychainoi, p. 173; Testimony of Beletsky, Padenie, vol. 3, pp. 370–71, 375.
8. Ivanov confided: Materialy Chrezvychainoi, p. 131; Tager, Tsarskaia, pp. 141–44.
9. Jewish money: STEN II, pp. 107–8.
10. “only honest”: STEN II, p. 115.
11. “I believe”: Nabokov, “Na protsesse,” Rech’, October 14, 1913.
12. “tribal enmity”: Tager, “Protsess,” p. 106.
13. reading of the psalter: Kondurushkin, “Vpechatlaniia,” Rech’, October 15, 1913.
14. “The eyelids”: STEN II, pp. 151, 165.
15. box with jars: STEN II, p. 160.
16. Kosorotov: Tager, Tsarskaia, pp. 80–83; Materialy Chrezvychainoi, pp. 64, 112, 187–88; Testimony of Beletsky, Padenie, vol. 3, pp. 381–82; Beletsky explains how the Ten Million Ruble Fund worked in Padenie, vol. 3, pp. 379–80.
17. “If they had wanted”: STEN II, p. 178.
18. dissected heart: STEN II, p. 173.
19. “That’s all the blood”: STEN II, p. 176.
20. collected the blood: STEN II, p. 177.
21. nothing like the state: STEN II, p. 187.
22. filled with blood: STEN II, p. 192.
23. “nonsense”: STEN II, p. 209.
24. “with whatever weapon”: STEN II, p. 212.
25. “mental deterioration”: Nabokov, “Na protsesse,” Rech’, October 23, 1913.
26. “The murder”: STEN II, p. 253.
27. “of unseen hand”: STEN II, p. 254.
28. “Their capital”: STEN II, p. 256.
29. “Bankers, doctors, sexual psychopaths”: S. El’patevskii, “Vpechatleniia,” Kievskaia Mysl’, October 19, 1913.
30. defense objections: STEN II, p. 258.
31. “Could you tell us”: STEN II, p. 263.
32. “How can we judge Beilis”: Tager, “Protsess,” p. 111.
33. Book of Neophyte: STEN II, pp. 303–307.
34. “boils”: This passage derives from Deuteronomy 28:27 where Moses tells his people that if they do not obey God’s commandments and laws, “The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.”
35. Maklakov: STEN II, pp. 307–308.
36. “The extermination”: STEN II, p. 318.
37. Jack of Diamonds: Rech’, October 21, 1913.
38. “Frankists”: STEN II, p. 362. Frankism was an eighteenth-century heretical religious movement centered around the charismatic leader Jacob Frank. According to the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, “The Frankists initially thought of themselves as a branch of Judaism opposed to the authority of the rabbis and rejecting some elements of rabbinic tradition. Subsequently, Frankists redefined themselves as a separate religious group, practically independent from hitherto existing forms of both Judaism and Christianity.” In 1759, Frank converted to Catholicism; http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Frankism.
39. Even Kosorotov: STEN II, p. 223.
40. “Sweating, wiping”: Nabokov, “Na protesse,” Rech’, October 21, 1913.
41. Shmakov grew openly angry: “Iz zaly suda,” Kievskaia Mysl’, October 21, 1913.
42. burst into laughter: El’patevskii, “Vpechatleniia,” Kievskaia Mysl’, October 22, 1913.
43. “why it was white”: STEN II, p. 339.
44. plagiarized: Shnayer Leiman, “Benzion Katz: Mrs. Baba Bathra,” p. 52n3.
45. “ploy will backfire”: Leiman, “Benzion Katz: Mrs. Baba Bathra,” p. 55.
46. “would sooner believe”: Nabokov, “Na Protesse,” Rech’, October 23, 1913.
47. Pranaitis was recalled: Based on STEN II, pp. 434–35, and Leiman, “Benzion Katz: Mrs. Baba Bathra,” pp. 55–56. The Baba Bathra episode, vividly recounted by Katz, does not appear in the transcript, which was widely recognized to be imperfect.
48. “Many congratulated”: Leiman, “Benzion Katz: Mrs. Baba Bathra,” p. 56.
49. “ignorance”: Tager, “Protsess,” pp. 111–13.
50. “papal bulls”: STEN II, p. 336.
51. made sure it would not arrive: Tager, “Tsarskoe pravitel’stvo,” p. 345; on the effort to obtain the Vatican’s authentication, see Szajkowski, “The Impact of the Beilis Case,” pp. 356–59. The historian David I. Kertzer mischaracterizes this episode in The Popes Against the Jews, pp. 227–28, 230–36, entirely omitting the role of Ambassador Nelidov in ensuring the letter would not arrive in time for the trial, and blaming the Vatican for the failure of the le
tter to be introduced at the trial. Lawlor, in Were the Popes Against Jews?, pp. 125–46, corrects some of Kertzer’s errors but unfortunately confuses the chronology by failing to take into account the thirteen-day difference between the Julian calendar used in Russia and the Gregorian one used in the West. Kertzer is on firmer ground in his harsh assessment of the Vatican’s failure to condemn the blood libel at the time of the Beilis trial, or afterward. Kertzer points out that Catholic publications regarded as close to the Vatican published articles advocating for the ritual murder charge. The semiofficial Vatican periodical Civilta Cattolica published two articles on the Beilis trial in the spring of 1914 by a Jesuit, Father Paolo Silva, entirely supporting the prosecution’s point of view. In the articles, titled “Jewish Trickery and Papal Documents—Apropos of a Recent Trial,” Father Silva wrote that “the murder [in Kiev] was committed by people who wanted to extract the blood” and that the Jews regard blood as “a drink like milk” (Kertzer, p. 236). The Catholic newspapers L’Unita Cattolica in Florence and L’Univers in France also supported the ritual-murder charge. See also Charlotte Klein, “From Damascus to Kiev: Civilta Cattolica on Ritual Murder,” in The Blood Libel Legend, pp. 194–96, and passim on Civilta’s advocacy of the blood libel from 1881 to 1914, pp. 180–96. Lawlor (see above) defends the Vatican’s conduct.
52. vertical slash: The document’s significance was first noted by Alexander Tager. Tager, Tsarskaia, photostat following p. 160; Tager, Decay of Czarism, photostat no. 9. Reproduced in the photo section of this book.
53. “anemia of the brain”: STEN III, p. 192.
54. medical attention: Samuel, Blood Accusation, p. 219.