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Read MoreVinohrad
Vynohrad – Vinohrad – Виноград (Ukrainian), Vinograd (Polish), ווינאָגראַד – Winorod (Yiddish) Vinohrad is a village in Lisyanka district of Cherkassy region. The village’s estimated population is 1294 (as of 2001). Information concerning Holocaust in Vinograd was given by local History teacher O.Koshman. Most of this article was taken from book Childhood in a Shtetl by Abraham P. Gannes. Beginning The Jewish community existed in Vynohrad since the XVIII century. The village received Magdeburg rights 1850. Vinograd means “a town of vineyards” but grapes were not grown in the area. Abraham Mindich, estimated that “the town was about one-half mile wide and a mile long with all the stores and shops located in the middle of the town. There was also space next to the stores where farmers brought their fruits and vegetables every Monday to sell to the Jewish population and to buy manufactured goods in the stores. All around the town empty land separated us from the gentile farmers (muzhiks), spread out for miles around us. One part of the empty space was reserved for Monday’s fair where the farmers brought their horses and cattle to sell and buy”. In 1847 the combined Boyarka-Vinograd Jewish population consisted of 497: 253 men and 244 women. In 1847 Boyarka and Vinograd were listed as one township. In 1897, the towns were listed separately. Vinograd’s total population was “4064 of which 1523 were Jews, based on statistics of 1882.” In 1903 Vinograd was opened for free Jewish settlement. Noteworthy is that in 1882, more than 35% of Vinograd’s total population were Jews. In 1903, the restrictions on the settlement of Jews were canceled after the abolition of the “Provisional Regulations”. In the late 19th century, two synagogues operated. The Jewish population suffered from the riots and lootings despite the existence of a Jewish self-defense of 25 people. In 1909 a Talmud-Torah was opened. Jews in the main were tradesman and merchants – as tailors, cobblers, carpenters, storekeepers, water carriers, wagoners, seamstresses, horse and cattle traders, wheat, egg, sugar and textiles merchants, shochtim (ritual slaughterers) and butchers, tanners, midwives, blacksmiths, teachers, lumber dealers, and flour mill owners. Jewish population of Winogad: 1847 – 497 Jews 1897 – 1523 (37,5%) 1923 – 766 Jews 1986 – 1 Jew 2016 – 0 Story of the great fire in Vinograd as remembered by Sholem Lukach: “It happened on a Friday in May 1900, fire struck our town. Ours was a small town, called Vinograd, in the province...
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Read MoreYagotyn
Yagotin is a town in Kiev region, the center of Kiev district. It is situated on the river Supoy. According to the census of 2015, its population is 20,232 people. Before the revolution Yagotin was a shtetl of Piriatin uyezd, Poltava province. In 1957, the village Lisniaki was incorperated into Yagotin. In the pre-revolutionary period a considerable number of Jews were living in this village. In 1910, there were 34 Jewish families; which was 85% of the whole population. That is why the statistics on the actual size of the Jewish population throughout the history of Yagotin has been quite inaccurate. Some information for this article was taken from the interview of native of Yagotin Miron Manilov (1921-?) from centropa.org. Beginning Yahotyn was founded in 1552. At the end of XVII – beginning of the XIX century, Yahotyn, which belonged to Kirill Razumovsky and his son, Aleksey Kirillovich, became a remarkable commercial and industrial centre (4 fairs annually, a trade in Crimean salt, sericulture and a hosiery factory). The Jewish community is thought to have been established during this period. In 1882, the village fell under the ‘Vremennyye Pravila’ (‘Transitional Provisions’, a regulation of the Committee of Ministers of 3 May 1882 restricting the right of Jews to live in rural areas). However, from 1903 onwards, the village was again open to Jews wishing to settle there. According to the census of 1897, Yahotyn’s Jewish community numbered 943. Jewish population of Yagotyn: 1897 – 943 (21%) 1921- 1774 Jews 1939 -365 Jews In 1910, there was a private Jewish school in Yahotyn. According to the business directory of the Russian Empire of 1903, the following people owned such shops in Yagotin: – grocer’s shops – Gersh Mordukhovich Gurevich, David-Gersh Yoselevich Manilov, Itsko Cherkasskiy. – shop of agricultural equipment – Chaim-Berko Veniaminovich Gronfayn – manufactory shops – Moisey Kaganskiy, Peysakh Yasnogorodskiy. Gerdov family owned a teahouse at the bus station. Now it is a canteen. Aron Fayv Bratslavskiy and Chaim Zelik Khanin were the photographers in 1914. Newspaper “Poltavshchina” from November 13, 1905 wrote: “Town Yagotin, Piriatinskiy uyezd. Bailiff Lavgovskiy imputed to the duties of the guardians to secure the Jews. He returned the things which were stolen in the pogrom. All honor to him.” Before the Revolution there was only one synagogue in the shtetl. In 1911, Kh. A. Sokolovskiy was a rabbi in Yagotin. Moyshe-Ber Manilov was his assistant (?-1936). During the Civil War, according to documents of...
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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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Obukhov
Obuchów (Polish), Обухів – Obukhiv (Ukrainian), Обухов – Obukhov (Russian) Obukhov is a town in Kiev region. Its population is 33,322 people in 2016. Before the revolution, it was a shtetl in Kiev uyezd of Kiev Gubernia. I couldn’t find any serious data concerning the history of Obukhov Jews. The materials from articles of local historian was used for this article. It is not known when Jews first settled in Obukhov. In the late XIX – early XX century there was a whole Jewish block in the old part of Obukhov. Today it is known as “Center”. Here Jews owned 72 establishments. The Jews traded in nearby shtetls such as Germanovka, Tripolie, and Cherniakhov. The Jewish merchants of the second and first guild lived in Obukhov. They owned stalls and shops. In 1913, Obukhov was a center of Obukhov volost with the population of 8,272 people. More than one thousand Jews lived in the shtetl, so there were two synagogues, one Jewish merchant council, and a Jewish savings bank. Jewish population of Obukhov: 1861 – 432 Jews 1897 – 1140 (13%) 2017 ~ 50 Jews The Jews in Obukhov owned drugstores, distilleries, bakeries, hardware stalls, 23 groceries, and 14 manufacturiers. One synagogue was situated on the spot of the modern cinema. The other one...
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Vinohrad
Vynohrad – Vinohrad – Виноград (Ukrainian), Vinograd (Polish), ווינאָגראַד – Winorod (Yiddish) Vinohrad is a village in Lisyanka district of Cherkassy region. The village’s estimated population is 1294 (as of 2001). Information concerning Holocaust in Vinograd was given by local History teacher O.Koshman. Most of this article was taken from book Childhood in a Shtetl by Abraham P. Gannes. Beginning The Jewish community existed in Vynohrad since the XVIII century. The village received Magdeburg rights 1850. Vinograd means “a town of vineyards” but grapes were not grown in the area. Abraham Mindich, estimated that “the town was about one-half mile wide and a mile long with all the stores and shops located in the middle of the town. There was also space next to the stores where farmers brought their fruits and vegetables every Monday to sell to the Jewish population and to buy manufactured goods in the stores. All around the town empty land separated us from the gentile farmers (muzhiks), spread out for miles around us. One part of the empty space was reserved for Monday’s fair where the farmers brought their horses and cattle to sell and buy”. In 1847 the combined Boyarka-Vinograd Jewish population consisted of 497: 253 men and 244 women. In 1847 Boyarka and Vinograd were listed as one township....
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Yagotyn
Yagotin is a town in Kiev region, the center of Kiev district. It is situated on the river Supoy. According to the census of 2015, its population is 20,232 people. Before the revolution Yagotin was a shtetl of Piriatin uyezd, Poltava province. In 1957, the village Lisniaki was incorperated into Yagotin. In the pre-revolutionary period a considerable number of Jews were living in this village. In 1910, there were 34 Jewish families; which was 85% of the whole population....
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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...
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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...
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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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