The Schwartzbard trial was a sensational 1927 French murder trial in which Samuel "Sholem" Schwartzbard was accused of murdering the Ukrainian immigrant and head of the Ukrainian government-in-exile Symon Petliura. The trial quickly began to revolve around Petliura's responsibility for the 1919-1920 pogroms in Ukraine, during which Schwartzbard had lost all 15 members of his family. During the trial, prosecution alleged that Schwartzbard was a Soviet agent and assassinated Petliura on Soviet orders. This view is still widely held, especially in Ukraine, but is far from universal. Schwartzbard was acquitted of all charges.
Sholem Schwartzbard's speech the court. Below him, Henri Torrès, his attorney. Oct. 1927
Symon Vasyliovych Petliura was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a part of the wider Russian Civil War.
Petliura in 1919
The building of the Poltava Theological Seminary at the beginning of the 20th century
Members of the first General Secretariat of the Ukrainian Central Rada. 1917 year. Standing (from left to right): Pavlo Hrystiuk, Mykola Stasiuk, Borys Martos. Seated (from left to right): Ivan Steshenko, Hristofor Baranovskyi, Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Serhii Yefremov, Simon Petliura
Józef Piłsudski and Symon Petliura Kyiv, May 1920