Brothel in Buenos Aires, Synagogue Arson, Gold Fraud. How and for what natives of Belarus were tried in the British Empire

How People Lived in Edwardian England

In 1901, Queen Victoria died, and with her, the Victorian era ended. At the beginning of the last century, Great Britain was still at the peak of its influence, but social tension was growing within the state, and political crises were expected. Edward VII stood at the head of the powerful empire.

Under Edward VII, pensions for a large number of poor elderly people were introduced in Great Britain for the first time. Another epochal event occurred: a law was passed, thanks to which a network of labor exchanges was created. Previously, municipal bureaus existed in individual cities, and there were also private recruitment agencies (most often fraudulent), but that law was the first attempt to involve the state as an intermediary between employer and worker. Despite serious attempts by English officials to create a welfare state, Great Britain, however, suffered greatly from the gap between rich and poor.

The beginning of the last century also saw an influx of migrants from Eastern Europe. Some headed further to the United States of America, but some remained to live in England.

At the same time, the state began attempts to restrict the entry of undesirable foreigners. In 1905, the Aliens Act was introduced, which systematically restricted the entry of foreigners into Great Britain: those without money, the mentally ill, people with criminal records, and those who could become a burden on the state could be denied entry.

The press became a machine that created heroes and monsters. Court proceedings in Great Britain had already become a public spectacle at that time. After high-profile crimes, the authorities increasingly sought to maintain order.

How to Organize a Brothel in Buenos Aires. The Story of Minsk and Warsaw Jews

Two years after the Aliens Act was passed, the Old Bailey court, which handled criminal cases in England and Wales, tried carpenter Louis Gold and tailor Harry Cohen. In court documents, Gold and Cohen were described as Russian Jews, but 24-year-old Harry Cohen was from Warsaw, and 27-year-old Louis Gold was born in Minsk. The men were accused of kidnapping, robbery, organizing a brothel, and rape.

Gold and Cohen were arrested in Liverpool after a complaint from one of the women whom they had deceitfully compelled to come to this English city to transport her to her husband in New York. In reality, they, like other girls, wanted to send her to work in a brothel in Buenos Aires.

It turned out that Gold and Cohen had previously kidnapped a minor girl, Jane Goldbloom, in order to later have intimate relations with her and exploit her as a prostitute. After kidnapping the girl, the men planned to arrange for her to travel to a brothel outside the British Empire, in Buenos Aires. A similar story happened with another woman, Sarah Levin.

Among the proven crimes committed by Gold and Cohen was an armed robbery. They robbed a man: stole his clothes and 11 pounds. This was a decent amount of money at the time, approximately three months' wages.

The men were found guilty on all charges. Gold was sentenced to 15 months of hard labor, and Cohen to 12 months of hard labor. After serving their sentences, the court ruled to deport both from Great Britain.

The Siberian Gold Scam. The Story of a Swindler who Learned His Tricks in Minsk

In 1903, British police conducted an operation that allowed them to catch two swindlers. Their names were David Weinstone and Rosen Soulman.

Weinstone and Soulman's scheme worked like a classic fraud. Together they concocted a story about a Russian officer who worked in Siberian mines, stole gold, and then sent it to Great Britain. As proof of their story, the swindlers showed the victim a nugget. The victim believed it, and they sold her supposedly crushed gold particles, which were actually brass filings.

A police informant learned about Weinstone and Soulman's fraudulent scheme. The police then developed an operation and sent an undercover police sergeant as a buyer to the men. Weinstone and Soulman were arrested at their second meeting with the sergeant when they brought the goods for sale.

During one of the first interrogations at the police station, Rosen Soulman recounted how he learned this scam:

«Well, you caught me only for the attempt, because I haven't received any money yet. I first learned this in Minsk.»

Both were found guilty: Weinstone was given 12 months of hard labor, and Soulman – 18 months of hard labor.

How to Get Rid of a Problematic Building. The Story of the Son of a Minsk Rabbi Accused of Arson at a Synagogue

In the summer of 1910, the monarch in the British Empire changed. Within ten years, the United Kingdom had already seen its third royal figure on the throne. Queen Victoria's son, King Edward, died in May 1910. That summer, George V became the new English king.

That same summer, the Old Bailey court considered a case involving synagogue arson and perjury. Two men, Joseph Josephson and a certain Goldstein, were suspected in the synagogue arson case. That case against the men fell apart, but the court continued to hear the perjury charges against one of the witnesses, Sam Hirschfield.

Sam Hirschfield was accused of deliberately lying in his testimony to ensure Josephson and Goldstein were convicted in the previous synagogue arson case. It turned out that Sam Hirschfield was an employee of Josephson, who periodically extorted money from his employer, and later decided to lie in court because Josephson never gave him the money.

Josephson denied all arson charges, and as the court showed, he was never found guilty in that case. Hirschfield's testimony was almost the primary evidence of Josephson's and Goldstein's guilt in the arson, so he wanted to clear his name in every way and constantly said that he came from a very religious family and considered synagogue arson a serious crime. Also, during the trial, Josephson stated that he came from the Minsk Governorate, where his father, a rabbi, remained.

Hirschfield's perjury case ended in failure. The court decided to acquit him.

New Year's Murder of a Landlord. The Story of a Murderer Who Invented a Homeland for Himself in Vitebsk Region

On the morning of January 1, 1911, a constable found a body in a park in South London. There was a lot of blood near the body, which was most likely dragged there intentionally. A black scarf lay on the corpse, covering its face.

Later, a doctor would testify that the man received eight blows to the head and three stab wounds, inflicted after death. There were several cuts on the face, also inflicted after death. The deceased was named Leon Beran, he was 48 years old. Beran was a rather wealthy man: he owned several houses, living off rental income. For this, he even earned the nickname Landlord.

Leon Beran loved to dine at Snelwar's restaurant. There, he met 29-year-old Stiny Morrison. They communicated closely for a long time. On December 31, 1910, Beran and Morrison were together at the restaurant in the evening, and then left. After that, no one saw Beran alive.

Morrison was arrested not for murder at all. He was a former convict and had not informed the police that he had changed his address. Formally, this became the reason for his arrest, but the police already suspected him in the Beran murder case at that time.

Several witnesses during the trial claimed that Morrison had become unusually friendly with Beran in the last weeks of his life. On the evening before the victim's murder, Morrison left a heavy package with one of the waiters, saying it contained a flute. Morrison later picked up this package and left with Beran.

In court, Morrison's alibi was not confirmed, and other witnesses—for example, taxi drivers—claimed they had transported the accused and the victim.

Stiny Morrison falsified his biography. He claimed to have been born in the Vitebsk Region. Witnesses during the trial called him Russian, then Polish, then Jewish. In reality, he was born in Australia, and in childhood, he moved with his family to the territory of the Russian Empire and, probably, lived in Belarusian lands. The falsification of his biography was necessary for him to leave Great Britain after his first prison term, which he himself stated. However, he still remained in London.

The court sentenced Morrison to death. In his final statement, the defendant tried to defend himself, saying that he had killed no one and had money himself. But this changed nothing.

• 1
• 1
• 0
• 1
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0