Nathan Hanover

Originally written c.1650 and translated to English 300 years later, Nathan provides a contemporary account of the devastating pogroms of 1648-9 conducted by the Ukrainian Cossacks led by Bogdan Chmielnicki against the Jews as part of his revolt against the Polish ruling class. The title literally translates to "[sunk in] The Deep Mire", and either way this is clearly not going to be a happy story.

I'd never heard of Nathan until yesterday when I read Bari Weiss's book on anti-semitism in show more which she references one of the most horrific accounts of torture I'd ever seen*, and felt the need to learn more about it.

While not up to the modern standards of a historical account, we get a clear and concise account of the harrowing ordeal of the Jews as the Cossacks swept through the countryside, laying waste to the towns along the way, demanding ransoms and generally behaving as most rampaging armies did throughout the middle ages, raping and pillaging and reaping havoc in the most brutal manner imaginable. Several towns where my own ancestors came from were mentioned (these were mostly spared from the destruction) which was chilling to behold how lucky I am that they survived.

Although the writing is remarkably accessible, it is sprinkled with Biblical references, and it helps to have at least a basic understanding of the politics of the region at the time. I watched this lecture first: https://www.torahcafe.com/dr-henry-abramson/nathan-of-hanover-and-the-ukrainian-....
which provided great context to Poland & Ukraine and the rebellion, and was a lot easier to follow than the rather dry written introduction to the text.

*WARNING: Extremely graphic violence They slashed the bellies of pregnant women, removed their infants and tossed them in their faces.
Some women had their bellies torn open and live cats placed in them. The bellies were then sewed up with the live cats remaining within. They chopped off the hands of the victims so that they would not be able to remove the cats from the bellies. show less