Looting and Killing is Permitted: An Explanation of the Lviv November 1918 Pogrom

The background for the pogrom in Lviv was established mainly during World War I. The extensive violence of November 1918 in Lviv, the Eastern Galician provincial capital, left hundreds of Jews injured and dozens dead. A critical historian would ask a question like what triggered the violence? This is a means of finding out what actually resulted in the pogrom, how it was carried out when it was carried and the people that were involved. The research focuses not only on the pogrom but also the initial phase of the November 1918 brutal violence. One of the main goals of the paper is to emphasise the unintentional role of the Jewish militia in creating fear, uncertainty and paranoia in the minds of the Poles. The paper also involves the concept of rumours and the impact of the rumours on the Polish people and Jews. It explores what rumours were circulated and how people perceived violence. Attention is also paid to the key role of the polish print media Pobudka in the process of acknowledging the rumours and the investigation takes into account the significance of the existing ‘knowledge’ of the Poles about the Jews. The paper makes use of primary and secondary sources in arriving at its conclusion.