6. In 1768 Jews were slaughtered by the Cossacks at the Massacre of Uman
In the 18th century, Jews living in the Kingdom of Poland found themselves targeted during Cossack rebellions against Polish rule in what is now the Ukraine. Poverty and resentment at the high-handed rule of the Polish nobility led many Cossacks to form haidamakas, rag-tag armies of soldiers, peasants, and impoverished nobility, who waged guerrilla warfare on their overlords in a series of bloody campaigns. Haidamakas also hated the Jews who prospered in the tolerant Kingdom of Poland for the usual antisemitic reasons: the Church’s teachings about Jewish deicide, and their association with usury and wealth.
In the Koliivshchyna Rebellion of 1768, the haidamakas were led by Maksym Zalizniak (c.1740s-sometime after 1768). Zalizniak was brutal even for a haidamaka commander, and openly encouraged the killings of Jews and Polish nobility alike. A large band of both groups hid in the city of Uman for safety, but were forced to defend themselves against Zalizniak’s forces. Despite outnumbering the Cossacks, the combined Polish and Jewish defence force was defeated after 3 days of siege. When the Jews tried to find sanctuary in Uman’s synagogues, the haidamaka flattened the buildings with cannon-fire, killing thousands of people.
