Pogrom

“Pogrom” refers to general violence against an ethnic or religious group of people – often Jewish – usually in an effort to persuade them to leave an area.

Whereas genocide is systematic killing, pogrom seems to refer more generally to violent harassment. It can sometimes culminate in killings or even larger-scale massacres, but they would need to be less sporadic and more systemic, sustained, and organized to be classified as “genocide.”

(To be clear, the definitions are highly subjective and emotionally charged. I’m not sure anyone agrees beyond the basics.)

“Pogrom” is a Russian word for “devastation” or “destruction.” It was first used in its current context during the anti-Jewish riots and violence in Russian during the late 19th century.

Why I Looked It Up

I knew the word in general, but had never understood how it differed from genocide.

I decided to look it up after seeing it a few times in The Money Kings: The Epic Story of the Jewish Immigrants Who Transformed Wall Street and Shaped Modern America.

Postscript

A contemporary news article used the term: Last Night’s Pogrom in Amsterdam

As the Amsterdam Jewish community joined with local officials to commemorate the 86th anniversary of Kristallnacht at the city’s Portuguese-Jewish synagogue – established by Jews who escaped the Inquisition – a pogrom was taking place outside. […] Will a pogrom in 2024 be sufficiently horrific to wake Europe up?

From the article, these seemed to be spontaneous acts of violence, not an organized persecution.