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Read MoreMedvin
Medvin is a town in Boguslav district of Kiev region. The town’s estimated population is 3,450 (as of 2007). It was founded in 1362. In 1569 it was incoporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in 1620-1648, Medvin recieved Magdeburg Rights. In 1793 Medvin was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In XIX – early XX centuries it was a shtetl of Kaniv district, Kiev gubernia. Beginning Jews have been living in Medvin since the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In XIX – early XX centuries the main occupations of the Jewish population were crafts, petty trade, and rent. In the early XIX century Jews owned five stalls and three mills. In 1896 – 1901, Shimshon-Aron Polonskiy (1876-1948) was a rabbi in Medvin. In 1910, there were two synagogues and a Jewish cemetery in Medvin. In 1914, Jews owned a drugstore, three wood warehouses, and 26 stalls, including 15 groceries and eight manufactures. There were two synagogues in Medvin; they were situated one opposite to the other. On the 24th of March 1918, a pogrom took place in Medvin. It was organized by the local peasants. Jewish stalls and goods were burnt. During the famine 1933 (The Holodomor), one local Jewish woman was killed and eaten by the neighbors when she came to visit them. In 1939, 125 Jews (1.76% of the total population) lived in Medvin. Holocaust Medvin was fell under Nazi control at end of June 1941. It was not liberated until early 1944. During the occupation the Germans organized a ghetto in the center of the village. All the Jews from Medvin and nearby villages were gathered there. The police abused their victims savagely. They cut the beards off eldery Jewish men together with the skin using stones. They beat them until they were unconscious. Jews’ feet were tied and they were dipped into the pond. After they had been brought to life again, the beating continued. The Jews were robbed and made to work hard. Many Jews tried to escape but they were found and arrested by the local police. There were approximately 700 people. A camp in the open air surrounded by barbed wire was organized near the synagogue. In the afternoon all captives were driven to work. Men were beating stone with hammers, women and children were carrying it to the road where they were paving the cube. During the lunch hour they all were led to the pond to drink and graze in the field. The head...
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Read MoreKaterinopol
Katerinopol (Kalniboloto by 1795) is an urban-type settlement (since 1965), a district center in Cherkassy region, Ukraine. It was first written about in the mid XVI century when it acquired Magdeburg right. In the XVI-XVIII centuries, it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a district town of Kiev province. Since 1798 it was a shtetl Yekaterinopol, Zvenigorodka uyezd, Kiev province. In the 1930’s, it was a center of the village council. Beginning The Jews of Katerinopol are first mentioned in documents from 1720. During the XVII and XVIII centuries, Jews were repeatedly victims of pogroms. The Polish census of 1764 included 19 Jews from Katerinopol kahal. It means that the Jewish community was destroyed during Haydamaks’ uprisings in right-bank Ukraine in the 1760’s. Jewish population of Katerinopol: 1797 – 1360 Jews 1847 – 1077 Jews 1897 – 1980 (27,5%) 1920 – 1260 1923 – 1587 1939 – 395 Jews. 2016 ~ 5 In 1797, 1,360 Jews lived in Katerynopil. The key occupations of the Jewish population in the late XVIII century were agriculture, handicraft and trade. In 1847, there were 1,077 Jews in the town, in 1897, the Jewish population grew to 1,980 inhabitants (27.5%). In 1865, the village had two synagogues and the rabbi was Avrum-Itsko Nuhimovich Polonsky. On September 6-13, 1919 there was a pogrom in Katerynopil organized by detachments of the Volunteer Army and Jewish homes were looted and destroyed. The official rabbi of Katerynopil who witnessed the pogroms said that there was a campaign aimed at evicting the Jews from the town. The number of victims could not be determined. According to the Russian Jewish Encyclopedia, in 1920 the Jewish population of Katerynopil numbered 1,260 people, and in 1927 – 1587 people. In the 1930’s, Katerynopil was the center of the local Jewish village council and there was a school with instruction in Yiddish. In 1926, expatriates from Katerynopil founded a Jewish collective farm “Trotsky” (51 people). The synagogue was closed in 1927. In the early 1930’s, when collectivization began, Jews started to leave Katerinopol massively. Approximately 200 local Jews remained during the German occupation. Holocaust On July 29, 1941, Katerynopil was occupied by Nazi soldiers. Lootings and pogroms began and a selection took place. The elderly, sick and women with children were sent to a camp for the disabled in Zvenyhorodka. A labour camp was established near the station. On October 6, the...
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Read MoreOrynin
Orynin is a town of Kamenets-Podolskiy district. The town’s estimated population is 2664. Orynin was first written about in 1474. Since 1569 it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth In 1672-1699, it was under the power of the Ottoman Empire. Since 1793 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Since 1797 Orynin was a town of Kamenets-Podolskiy uyezd, Podolia gubernia. Information for this article was taken from a book written by Beril Segal and Naum Bernstein. The head of Kamienets-Podolskiy community Aleksandr Shulyk originated from Orynin and Orynin historian Vladimir shared their memories. Beginning Orynin is first mentioned in archival documents dating back from 1474. A Jewish community in Orynin dates back to 1582. During the times of Khmelnitskiy uprising the shtetl was ruined, many Jews and Frankists left it, a lot of them were killed. All the books from Orynin synagogue including Talmud were confiscated and burnt under the instruction of Catholic bishop Dembovskiy. In the XVIII century there were synagogues, charity organizations for the poor and ill, and chevra kaddisha in Orynin. The Jews worked in 65 craft workshops, at the tannery, which was built by the Jewish merchant Gutgerts. In 1863, four synagogues were functioning in Orynin, and in 1889 – five. In 1893-1916, an educational institution in Orynin was functioning at the expense of OPE. From the book of Beril Segal: The stranger strolling at a modest pace down the Post Road between the Russian and the Polish churches could walk the distance in about fifteen or twenty minutes. He would have walked the entire length of the Shtetl. But there was also a width to the town. The bulk of the population lived in the streets and alleys that began suddenly and ended just as suddenly within the limits of Orynin. The Post Road was straight and was paved with cobblestones, but the others were not as favored. The butcher’s alley, where all of the slaughter houses were located, characterized by the stench of slaughtered animals and dogs underfoot. T h e street began at the large animal slaughter house and came to an end by the fence of the policeman’s garden. There was the Variatsky Gass, where the merchants of dry goods lived. Bolts of cotton, alpaca, cretonne, and linen were stacked on the shelves of their establishments, which were simply the front rooms of their houses. Leather goods were also sold on the Variatsky Gass. The aroma of freshly tanned soft calf skins, karakul,...
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Read MoreSokolets
Sokolets is a small village in Dunayivtsi district, Khmelnitskiy region. In 2001, 676 people lived in the village. In the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sokolets had been a shtetl of Podolia voivodship (district) by 1793. In the early XX century, it was a shtetl of Podolia district, Ushitsa uezd. An abandoned part of the village is located in the bottom of the picturesque Ushitsa gorge. Beginning Jews started to settle in Sokolets in the XVIII century. After the murder of local Jews during the Haidamak uprising (1768), the Jewish population of Sokolets dropped significantly. Jewish population of Sokolets: 1765 – 356 Jews 1847 – 457 Jews 1897 – 747 (27% of total) 1926 – 616 Jews 1931 – 425 Jews In 1765, there were 356 Jews in Sokolets and nearby villages. In XVIII century Polish landowners Zakrevskiy, Pototskiy, Gumenetskiy owned the village in the valley. They were strengthening and developing Sokolets in every way. They built a stonewall around the village with the towers severing as guard. They also built a large Catholic church. According to the 1847 audit, “Sokolets Jewish community” consisted of 457 people. Sokolet’s Jewish population increased to 747 in 1897, when it comprised 27 percent of the total population. Remains of the buildings in Sokolets: I haven’t found any information about the pogroms in the shtetl during the civil wars. Under the Soviets a Jewish rural council was active in the town, whose Jewish population numbered 616 in 1926 and 425 in 1931. Holocaust The Germans occupied the town in early July 1941. On August 31, 1941 the 320th Police Battalion shot to death 380, according to German sources, Jews from Sokolets and the majority of the Jews from nearby town Velikiy Zhvanets near the Sokolets forest. After the shooting the Jewish houses were robbed and dismantled by the local inhabitants. Later in the summer 1942, the last Jews from the ghetto of Velikiy Zhvanchik were shot in this place. In 1944, Soviet commission had explored this place and found three mass graves with 1,224 bodies. A village resident Oleksandra Gordiyenko was hiding a Jewish Golda (born in 1928) in her place. Somebody gave them away and Golda was killed. Sokolets was liberated by the Red Army at the end of March 1944. After the War I could only find the following information about post-war Jews of Sokolets from the local grannies near the church in April 2016: Several Jews came back to the village...
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Read MoreKorostyshev
Korosteszow (Polish), Korostysiv, Коростишів (Ukrainian), Коростышев – Korostyshev (Russian) Korostyshev, is a town and district center in Zhitomir region. It was founded in 1471 and was included into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since 1569 it was a town in Zhitomir county, Kiev voivodeship (province) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In XIX – early XX centuries, it was a shtetl in Radomysl district, Kiev province. Beginning Jews have been living in Korostyshev since XVI century. In 1602, a synagogue was functioning there. Jewish population of Korostyshev: 1765 – 316 Jews 1847 – 2657 Jews 1897 – 4160 (53% of total) 1926 – 3017 (37%) 1939 – 2170 (19%) 1989 – 215 1995 – 70 In 1772, the kahal paid 1,240 zloty of poll tax. The kahal was the third largest in the region by the number of Jews after Berdichev and Chudnov. In the late XVIII century, rabbi Meir lived in Korostyshev. He was a student of one of the righteous men of Chasidism in Ukraine Zeyev-Volf from Zhitomir (?-1798). In the early XIX century, M.- N. Tverskoy’s grandson Moyshe (1789 – 1866) founded Chassidic dynasty in Korostyshev. After his death his son Mordkhe (1842-1916) continued the dynasty, then his grandsons Menakhem-Nokhum-Iosef-Bentsion and Yitskhok-Avrom-Moyshe kept their family tradition . In 1885, there were three synagogues in Korostyshev. Since 1892, Shraga Gorodetskiy was the rabbi in Korostyshev. In the 1900’s Menakhem Bialyk was a rabbi. Grave of Rabbi Tverskoy on the destroyed Old Jewish cemetery in Korostyshev. It was reconstructed by Hasidim according to memories of elderly local Jews in 2000’s. In 1894, N.M. Bialik owned three sawmills. In 1895, I.D.Baru had a match factory. In 1912, a Jewish savings-and-loan society was functioning in Korostyshev. Korostyshev photos of An-sky ethnographic expedition: Old house Korostyshev_Marketplace with rabbi’s house on left Rabbi’s house Korostyshev_Marketplace with rabbi’s house on left In 1914, there were six synagogues in the shtetl. Aron-Srul Berkovich Ratner was a rabbi. All four doctors were Jewish. A Jewish hospital worked. Kurisis was a doctor there and his daughter helped him . The locals knew her after her husband’s surname Zeltsman. All four doctors were Jewish. A Jewish hospital worked. Kurisis was a doctor there and his daughter helped him . The locals knew her after her husband’s surname Zeltsman. A considerable part of Korostyshev population was engaged in crafts. There were more than 100 sewers and tailors, and 40 bricklayers and stove-settlers...
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Read MoreIvankov
Ivankov is a city in Kiev region, center of Ivankov district. The city’s estimated population is 10,678 (as of 2012). Ivankov is located on the Teterev River, a tributary of the Dnieper. In XIX – beginning of XX century it was the shtetl of Radomyshl Uezd, Kiev Gubernia. Ivankov is approx. 80 km from Kiev and in 50 km from Chernobyl. Most data was taken from the publication of the head of Ivankov Jewish community Nelli Grigorovich “Born in shtetl”. In it, she organised various sources into a single narrative, interviewed dozens of people and collected hundreds of photos. Beginning A settlement has existed on the site of Ivankiv since ancient times. Originally named Trudynov, it became Pasynkovschina in 1524 and has been known as Ivaniv since 1589 (later Ivankiv) after the owner of the territory, Ivan Proskura. Jewish population of Ivankov: 1765 – 642 (27% of total) 1881 – 721 Jews 1897 – 1577 (52% of total) 1923 – 206 Jews 1939 – 430 Jews 2016 ~ 20 Jews A Jewish community was established in Ivankiv in the first half of the 19th century, which is likely to have been associated with the creation of the Pale of Settlement. In 1847 the Ivankiv Jewish community numbered 642 people (Pohilevich mentions 560 people in 1864). In 1897 there were 3,037 inhabitants in the town, of which 1,577 were Jews. In the early XIX century, the Jews from Ivankov owned two trading stalls and a mill. The town suffered from frequent fires in the XIX century. A particularly strong fire broke out on March 31, 1891, and, according to historical documentation, destroyed the yeshivot. In 1893, the community received permission for their reconstruction. In 1865, there was a synagogue in Ivankov. By the late XIX century, Mordkhe-Doyv Levitskiy had been a rabbi in the shtetl for 35 years. In 1899, Froim Kovalenko (1875-?) replaced him, in 1906 M.-D. Levitskiy’s son Yankel Levitskiy (1884-?). By 1900 there were two synagogues in the town. They are no longer standing. According to some sources, Ivankov often suffered from fires. On March 31, 1892, a fire destroyed several synagogues. As a result, 14 people died and all wooden buildings burnt down. Only the building of one synagogue was left untouched. After the fire, Moshko-Mordko Lipovich Vaynstein on behalf of the whole Jewish community applied to the Building Council of Kiev Province asking for permission to build another synagogue, with building plans attached. In 1895, it was completed. Plans...
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Read MoreObraztsovaya
Obraztsovaya was a former Jewish Agricultural colony. It was located in territory which is now a part of Fastov, Kiev region, Ukraine. Information for this article was collected with the help of Fastov local historian Vladimir Dorosenko. It was founded in 1854 as a Jewish agricultural colony in Vasilkov district, Kiev province. In 1854, 15 Jewish families (263 people) lived in Obraztsovaya, in 1898 – seven Jewish families (35 people). The colony was built at the expense of Abraham Markovich Brodskiy. Every family was given 15.5 desiatine (appr.42.6 acres) of free state land. In 1875, there were 75 Jewish men in Obraztsovaya. The absence of experienced agriculturalists and lack of equipment and cattle made most of colonists lease their land. In 1898 – 1899, three families engaged in agriculture, two of them had horses. In 1900, the society of corn-growers in Obraztsovaya owned 102.4 des. (281.6 acres) of land. Two Jewish families had lived in the colony by the beginning of World War I. The rest left the colony after a fire in the early 20th century. In 1916, 16 Jewish men lived in Obraztsovaya. All the buildings of Obraztsovaya were destroyed in 1919 in a pogrom committed by forces loyal to the Russian White Army General Denikin. The Jews escaped to Fastov. The colony wasn’t rebuilt unlike neighboring Kadlubitskaya and now there is a field for grazing cattle. Genealogy The list of Jewish families,1858. Nukhim-Volf Kosyy (9), El Gertsovich Dubenskiy (28), Matus Yankelevich Daych (14), Ayzik Moshkovich Shmelkin (22), Leyzar Yankel Shimonovich (19), Shneyer Moshkovich Lukashevskiy (10), Itsko Leybov Salgannik (12), Srul Moshkovich Leshchinskiy (17), Luzer Chaimovich Godik (14), Ekhel Leybovich Salgannik (13), Srul Moshkovich Leshchinskiy (21), Ios Fraimovich Litvinskiy (19), Aron Gershonovich Praysman (26), Srul Shmuliyovich Shekhtman (17), Itsko-Gersh Sruliovich Pritsner (22). In total,...
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Read MoreTarashcha
Tarashcha is a city located in Kiev region, center of Tarashcha district. The city’s estimated population is 13,307 (as of 2001). In XIX – beginning of XX century it was the center of Tarashcha Yezd (county) of Kiev Gubernia. Holocaust information was provided by local historial Leonid Lashenko. Much more information can be found in Yiddish book “Tarashcha, a History of a Small Shtetl in Kiev Guberniya”. It was published in USA, 1930’s. Beginning A Jewish community has existed in Tarashcha since the mid-XVIII century. In 1722, Tarashcha received a status of a shtetl. In 1765, 134 Jews lived in Tarashcha. According to the lustration of 1789, the Jews owned 31 houses in the market and 41 houses in the side streets. City plan, 1826 City plan, 1913 By the early XIX century, more than 5,300 Jews lived in Tarashcha. Jews constituted 46% of the total population. Leontiy Pokhilevich in his book “Tales of the inhabited areas of Kiev province” says that 3,580 Christians, 3,670 Jews lived in the shtetl in 1864. There were three merchants of the third guild among the Christians and 18 among the Jews. In “The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary” of 1898 stated that 11,322 people lived in Tarashcha. 5,968 of them were Christians and 5,181 Jewish. In the 1860’s, Israel-Froim Gelman was a rabbi in Tarashcha. Michael Urovskiy was a successful local photographer in PreRevolution Tarasha. His son became a famous Soviet composer in Moscow: PreRevolution Tarashcha, photo by Urovskiy PreRevolution Tarashcha, photo by Urovskiy House of photographer Urovskiy, 2016 Back side of Urovskiy’s photos There were three synagogues in the city of Tarashcha at the turn of the century, and 11 total in all of Tarashcha district. A Talmud-Torah and one private Jewish men’s college were functioning in 1910. Munish Moyshe-Aronovich Kuptsov was a rabbi in 1913. Civil war Tarashcha was badly damaged during the 1918-20 riots. The first pogrom took place on June 20, 1918, and consisted of robberies only. The second pogrom took place on April 1, 1919; peasants from surrounding villages attacked Tarashcha with pitchforks and sticks, robbed residents’ houses and demanded money. An announcement was posted on a telegraph pole saying that if the Jewish population did not contribute 100 thousand roubles, they would all be massacred. On June 16, 1919 a gang of 800 people led by Yatsenko came to Tarashcha. The looting and destruction continued for 2 days. All shops were smashed and destroyed and the...
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Medvin
Medvin is a town in Boguslav district of Kiev region. The town’s estimated population is 3,450 (as of 2007). It was founded in 1362. In 1569 it was incoporated into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in 1620-1648, Medvin recieved Magdeburg Rights. In 1793 Medvin was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In XIX – early XX centuries it was a shtetl of Kaniv district, Kiev gubernia. Beginning Jews have been living in Medvin since the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In XIX – early XX centuries the main occupations of the Jewish population were crafts, petty trade, and rent. In the early XIX century Jews owned five stalls and three mills. In 1896 – 1901, Shimshon-Aron Polonskiy (1876-1948) was a rabbi in Medvin. In 1910, there were two synagogues and a Jewish cemetery in Medvin. In 1914, Jews owned a drugstore, three wood warehouses, and 26 stalls, including 15 groceries and eight manufactures. There were two synagogues in Medvin; they were situated one opposite to the other. On the 24th of March 1918, a pogrom took place in Medvin. It was organized by the local peasants. Jewish stalls and goods were burnt. During the famine 1933 (The Holodomor), one local Jewish woman was killed and eaten by the neighbors when she came to visit them. In 1939, 125 Jews...
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Katerinopol
Katerinopol (Kalniboloto by 1795) is an urban-type settlement (since 1965), a district center in Cherkassy region, Ukraine. It was first written about in the mid XVI century when it acquired Magdeburg right. In the XVI-XVIII centuries, it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire as a district town of Kiev province. Since 1798 it was a shtetl Yekaterinopol, Zvenigorodka uyezd, Kiev province. In the 1930’s, it was a center of the village council. Beginning The Jews of Katerinopol are first mentioned in documents from 1720. During the XVII and XVIII centuries, Jews were repeatedly victims of pogroms. The Polish census of 1764 included 19 Jews from Katerinopol kahal. It means that the Jewish community was destroyed during Haydamaks’ uprisings in right-bank Ukraine in the 1760’s. Jewish population of Katerinopol: 1797 – 1360 Jews 1847 – 1077 Jews 1897 – 1980 (27,5%) 1920 – 1260 1923 – 1587 1939 – 395 Jews. 2016 ~ 5 In 1797, 1,360 Jews lived in Katerynopil. The key occupations of the Jewish population in the late XVIII century were agriculture, handicraft and trade. In 1847, there were 1,077 Jews in the town, in 1897, the Jewish population grew to 1,980 inhabitants (27.5%). In 1865, the village had two synagogues and...
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Orynin
Orynin is a town of Kamenets-Podolskiy district. The town’s estimated population is 2664. Orynin was first written about in 1474. Since 1569 it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth In 1672-1699, it was under the power of the Ottoman Empire. Since 1793 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Since 1797 Orynin was a town of Kamenets-Podolskiy uyezd, Podolia gubernia. Information for this article was taken from a book written by Beril Segal and Naum Bernstein. The head of Kamienets-Podolskiy...
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Sokolets
Sokolets is a small village in Dunayivtsi district, Khmelnitskiy region. In 2001, 676 people lived in the village. In the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Sokolets had been a shtetl of Podolia voivodship (district) by 1793. In the early XX century, it was a shtetl of Podolia district, Ushitsa uezd. An abandoned part of the village is located in the bottom of the picturesque Ushitsa gorge. Beginning Jews started to settle in Sokolets in the XVIII century. After the...
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Korostyshev
Korosteszow (Polish), Korostysiv, Коростишів (Ukrainian), Коростышев – Korostyshev (Russian) Korostyshev, is a town and district center in Zhitomir region. It was founded in 1471 and was included into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Since 1569 it was a town in Zhitomir county, Kiev voivodeship (province) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In XIX – early XX centuries, it was a shtetl in Radomysl district, Kiev province. Beginning Jews have been living in...
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Ivankov
Ivankov is a city in Kiev region, center of Ivankov district. The city’s estimated population is 10,678 (as of 2012). Ivankov is located on the Teterev River, a tributary of the Dnieper. In XIX – beginning of XX century it was the shtetl of Radomyshl Uezd, Kiev Gubernia. Ivankov is approx. 80 km from Kiev and in 50 km from Chernobyl. Most data was taken from the publication of the head of Ivankov Jewish community Nelli Grigorovich “Born in shtetl”. In...
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Obraztsovaya
Obraztsovaya was a former Jewish Agricultural colony. It was located in territory which is now a part of Fastov, Kiev region, Ukraine. Information for this article was collected with the help of Fastov local historian Vladimir Dorosenko. It was founded in 1854 as a Jewish agricultural colony in Vasilkov district, Kiev province. In 1854, 15 Jewish families (263 people) lived in Obraztsovaya, in 1898 – seven Jewish families (35 people). The colony was built at the expense of Abraham...
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