During the Khmelnytsky Uprising (1648-57) in the Ukraine as many as 100,000 Ashkenazi Jews lost their lives, and thousands other fled for safety. Some of these Ashkenazi refugees stayed in Amsterdam only briefly before journeying on to the colonies. Bogdan Khmelnytsky, leader of the Cossack and peasant uprising against Polish rule, is often referred to as “Khmel the Wicked,” for his role in the massacre of Polish Jews.
