Khortiza, September 27, 1919

This was the first day that no Anarchist passed through our place. Frightened and shy people come out of their houses and gather in little groups. Everyone wants to unbosom himself, to unburden his mind. Alas! what a sight these farm villages present, usually so clean and orderly. Even the housewives who, being Dutch, would never allow any disorder whatsoever in the home, even they rest their hands in their laps, tired from the labor of past days. Think of what they have gone through in these days! Day and night they have waited on those brutal-minded fellows.

Strangely enough, one can hardly feel joyful at their departure. There is not enough strength left to be happy. The heads of the families are thinking of the future. The fall planting has not yet been done, and the horse stables are empty. Corpses lie around in the streets and on the roads where the Makhno bands passed on their mad rides.

Is this all there is left? What will become of us? These are the questions agitating every mind, and no solution is evident.

The Anarchists despoiled these people because of their alleged sympathy for Denikin. It is, indeed, true that these colonists, though always professing neutrality, are really not neutral. There is a difference between their feeling and that of the Russian peasants. While the peasantry revolted against the re-establishment of the old regime, the colonists remained loyal to it. They even let themselves be enlisted by Denikin’s officers. They were betrayed into it, of course. There would be a conscription anyhow, they were told and assured they would be organized for self-defense only in their own region. What do these farmers know about politics? Some young colonists had become distinctly opposed to the Russian people in general and hoped for some revenge for all the sufferings they had endured under the Tzar and also later. They had, up to this time, done no harm to anybody. To be exact, however, it is true that they had denounced a few of the revolutionist leaders to the German army of occupation. It was foolish of them to think of revenge.

The Ukrainian peasantry hails this much-praised freedom as anarchy; these simple-minded people think of freedom as license. Since the Bolsheviks also try to bring order into the chaos which followed the October revolution, by establishing a dictatorship, the Ukrainian peasants oppose the Bolsheviks also. Especially is this the case since the peasants did not wish for communism except as concerns the distribution of the land. Makhno has promised them all the license they want, and so they stick to him. Think how little trouble it is for them to get clothes and possessions, no work—nothing to do but rob peaceful people with their armed bands!

What future are we going to meet?