Night of the Murdered Poets

Date: August 12, 1952 • Location: Moscow, Russia

Thirteen Jewish poets were executed in Moscow for espionage based on false confessions.

The Night of the Murdered Poets occurred on 12 August 1952, and it involved the execution of 13 Soviet Jews in the Lubyanka Prison in Moscow. Arrests were made in September 1948 and June 1949, with all defendants having been convicted of espionage and treason, as well as many other crimes. Following their arrests and detention, they were tortured, beaten, and isolated for three years before being formally charged. There were five Yiddish writers among these defendants, all of whom were part of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee.