Guba, April-May 1918. Documented Pogroms of the Muslims
56
people said there were also Jews among them, either local or outsi-
ders, however I never saw them”. (150)
There were some hearsay remarks regarding purported involve-
ments of ethnic Jews in actions against Muslims in some villages
around Guba. Reports on this matter read: “We saw no Bolsheviks,
however those who came across them note that they were all Arme-
nians, with some Jews and few Russians. However it were only Arme-
nians who were setting villages ablaze”, or “I could not see the squad
from a close distance, so I could not identify anyone personally. Neit-
her can I say anything on whether there were Russians or Jews in the
squad besides Armenians”. (151)
However alderman of Nughedy community Rustam Fileydan
oghlu stated that “after the devastation of the town of Guba, a ca-
valry and infantry squad manned by Armenian and Jewish soldiers
arrived in our village... They started plundering the residents loading
the loot on carts and taking it away. Those who tried to resist were
threatened by death…”. (152) A 60-year-old resident of Digah village,
Alpan community Omar Shykh Kerim oghlu even provided names of
attackers: “…when the Armenians set havoc in Guba for the second
time, a big unit arrived in our village from there. The unit was domi-
nantly composed of ethnic Armenians, with some Jews around. We
all managed to flee. The three elderly men and two old women inca-
pable to flee were all slain. The Armenians and Jews devastated our
village completely. All households were burnt, except for just 2 or 3
out of 84. The same happened to the mosque with Holy Qur’an in it…
The Armenians plundered our village twice: the first time on the way
to Gusar, and the second time on their way back. I saw a number of
Jews from Guba among them, such as Daniel son of Joav, and others
whom I only know by face…”. (153)
A.Alibeyov, the mayor of Guba, also admitted involvement of
Jews in plunder and violence against Guba’s Muslim population:
“Along with Armenians, Russian and Jewish members of the squad
took part in the atrocities described above”. (154)
So what may be concluded of all these files and quotes? Obvi-
ously, the Jewish residents of Guba never supported violence against
the Muslim population of Guba and its environs, unlike the Molokans
in Shemakha. That being said, according to some recollections, certain
representatives of Guba’s Jewish community took part in violent actions.