Skvira

Skver, Skvir, Skwere (Yiddish Transliteration), Skwira (Polish), Сквира – Skvira (Russian), Сквира – Skvyra (Ukrainian), סקווירא (Yiddish)

Skvyra is a town in the Kiev Oblast (province) of central Ukraine.  It is the administrative center of the Skvyrskyi Raion (district), and is currently a regional municipality.

First Jewish inhabitants

The ancient town of Skvyra was completely destroyed at the end of the 16th century. In 1736, Skvyra was mentioned as a village (selo) leased to a Jewish tenant. According to the census of 1765, there were 124 houses in Skvyra, 51 of which belonged to Jews. In 1775, 116 Jews lived in Skvyra, in 1784 this figure rose to 204, and in 1787, to 144.

In the early nineteenth century the court of the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty was in Skvyra. It was founded by Rabbi Yitzchak of Skvyra (1812-1885), one of the younger sons of Rabbi Motel Tversky (1770-1838). After his father’s death in 1838, he spent several years at the court of his elder brother in Chernobyl, and in early 1840 moved to Skvyra, where he founded a separate court. The Skvirsky court gathered thousands Hasidim for high holidays but Rabbi Yitzhak almost never left the town.

After the death of Rabbi Yitzhak his court was headed by his son Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel of Skvyra (1826-1886), then Abraham’s sun – Rabbi Moshe Dan of Skvyra (? – Kiev, 1920). The next Skvir Rabbi became his son Rabbi Yitzchak of Skvira (Skvira, 1886 – Tel Aviv, 1986). Other sons of Abraham Joshua Heschel held the Skvirskaja Hasidic courts in Ilintsy and Mahnovka.

Rabbi Isaac, the second son of Rabbi Ytzchak, had several sons, one of whom Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Shpikova (? – 1887) lived in Shpikove and Raschkow, the third son Rabbi David (? – 1920, Kiev) and his children lived in Kiev.

After Skvyra was included in the Pale of Settlement, the town’s Jewish community increased. Its Jewish population was 2,184 in 1847 and grew to 8,910 in 1897 — 49.5% of the general population. At the end of the 19th century Skvyra had seven synagogues, a parochial school, a hospital, a pharmacist and a district doctor. Many Jews were engaged in grain and timber export. In the end of 19 century there were 7 Jewish prayer houses.

In 1912 S. An-skiy visited Skvyra during his ethnographic expedition. According to his records, the Hasidic court of Skvyra had declined and lost his prior glory by the time of his visit.

By 1910 the town had a Talmud Torah, a Jewish private boys’ school and two private girls’ schools. In 1913 Yampolskiy Usher Genzelevich was the town’s rabbi.

Skvyra businessmen in 1913:

Civil War pogroms

There were two pogroms in the town in 1917 and a wave of six pogroms in 1919, some of which lasted for several weeks. Rapes were committed, houses were burnt down, and Jewish property was seized and destroyed or sold to local peasants, with 191 people killed and hundreds injured.

1st pogrom: On 23 October 1917 local peasants pillaged Jewish shops (no casualties).
2nd pogrom: In February 1919 it was organised by the troops of Simon Petlura, fighting for Ukrainian independence (15 victims).
3d pogrom: Organised by the Red Army and casualty-free but many Jews left destitute
4th pogrom: Organised by the Ukrainian People’s Army troops, led by Yu. Tyutyunnyk and Zheleznyak and went on for 10 days. 56 Jews were murdered, among them the members of self-defence unit.
5th and 6th pogroms: In September 1919 organised by the Petlura troops, 55 Jews murdered.
7th pogrom: Went on during October and November 1919, organised by local thugs, killing 5 Jews.
8th pogrom: Was organised by the troops of the White (Anti-Bolshevik) Army, led by Denikin, 60 Jews were killed and 300 injured, many women raped. All Jewish shops were looted by local peasants.

Following the pogroms, an epidemic broke out, killing up to 30 people daily, most Jews decided to flee to Kiev, Odessa and Belaya Tserkov.

After Civil War

I find this report on JDC Archiv website, it gave wide description of Skvira Jewish community state in beginning of 1920’s:

Under the Soviet Union the religious and communal life of the Jews of Skvyra was dissolved.

The town’s Jewish population fell to 4,681 by 1926 (about 33.6% of the population) and 2,243 by 1939, but even so it remained among the biggest Jewish communities of Ukraine at that time.

Holocaust

In World War II German forces occupied the town at July 13, 1941. In July 15, 1941 Jews were ordered to ware David star and used to forced labor. In 2 weeks after occupation were killed 10 communists, among them were Jews. Judenrat was created for contribution gathering and exact Jews count. After complete of this task all members of Judenrat were killed.

During August-September 1941 the Einsatzgruppen 5 headquarters was in Skvyra ( head is Standartenfuhrer SS Schultz).  At the morning September 20, 1941 ( from another sources September 21, 1941) Jews were gathered near school on Bogachevskogo Street and shot in 3 pits on Jewish Cemetery. At that day were killed approximately 850 Jews. Building was constructed on mass grave. Second “action” took place at October 17, 1941 – 170 Jews were killed near stable of Raipotrebsouz. Last mass killings took place at November 19, 1941 and December 20, 1941.

Ukrainian women Agata Melnichyk from village Berezyanka saved jewish girl Luba Volodarskaya (now living in Israel) who escaped from Skvira under unknown circumstances.

Skvira was liberated by Soviet Army at December 29, 1943. During Holocaust there were killed 1230 Jews.

According to the head of Skvyra’s Jewish community, there were mass shootings of Jews in the area of the market, the secondary school and in Bannaya Street.

In archiv of Illya Levitas (1931-2014) I found a story of  Michail Bykov (1920-2000) and his family. They were gathered in the yard of school №2 together will all local Jews but escaped with help of friend from Ukrainian police. Michail became a member of partisan detachment and survived in Holocaust as his mother and sister.

Skyvra’s remaining Jewish population was about 1,000 after the War and fell to about 500 by 1960. It has continued to decline, and in 2009 numbered 128.

Persons

Rabbi Itzhak of Skver, Menahem Nohum Tversky’s grandson (1812, Chernobyl – 1895, Skvyra), the founder of the Hasidic dynasty in Skvyra.

The Hasidic court of the Chernobyl dynasty was established in Skvyra at the beginning of the 1840s by Rabbi Itshak of Skver (1812-1885), one of the younger sons of Rabbi Motele Twersky (1770-1838). After Rabbi Itshak’s death, the court was headed by his son, Rabbi Avraam Yegoshua Geshel of Skver (1826-1886), and then by Rabbi Avraam’s son, Rabbi Moshe Dan of Skver (? – Kiev, 1920) and by his son, Rabbi Itshak of Skver (Skvyra, 1886 – Tel-Aviv, 1986). In the 1920s, after the pogroms, many Skver Hasids left Skvyra. The Skver Hasidic dynasty has continued to exist and grow in number in the United States, notably in the New Square (anglicisation of New Skvir) township in Rockland County, New York. After 1991, many Skver Hasids returned to Skvyra; in 2004 the synagogue and the tzaddik’s court were restored; there is now a hotel for Hasidic visitors in the tzaddik’s former residents.

Ahad ha-Am, writer and publicist (pen-name meaning “one of the people”; real name Asher Hirsh Gintsberg) (1856, Skvyra – 1927, Tel Aviv).

Yosef Shapiro, Yiddish writer, the author of “Skvirer hurbn” (“Skvyra catastrophe”, 1924), “Vergangenheit” (“The Past”, short stories about the Jewish pogroms in Ukraine, 1925), “Moschichische Personlichkeiten” (“Messianic Personalities”, 1931) (1902, Skvyra – 1978, Tel Aviv).

David Lvovich Margulis, Hero of the Soviet Union (Skvyra, 1914 – 1993, St. Petersburg).

Genealogy

Geneologist Boris Finkelshtein (bob-fink@yandex.ru) researched many Archiv documents related to Skvira Jewish population in XIX-XX century. He provided next surnames and documents names:

• Skvira revision tale by 1850 (Archiv of Kiev oblast, file 280/2/1012) -257 surnames

Third guild merchants: Baraban Belogorodskaya  Weisberg  Wooleys  Gronshteyn Zaslavsky  Zozovsky  Kaplun  Kardash  Kotlyarskii  Krasniy  Kryvitsky  Labunskiy Logvinsky  Lodak  Natenzon  Olin  Pereltsvayg  Polyak  Roytbarg  Segal  Sirota  Strokov Trachtenberg  Faibishenko  Chariton  Khinchin  Cherniavsky  Shapira  Eidelman Yampolsky
Bourgeois:  Avrutsky  Akselrud  Alberkant  Balaban  Bezfamilny  Belilovsky  Belokopyt Benditovich  Berezovsky  Berlyand  Berner  Bespechansky  Blelfer  Bloch  Bobel Bogoslavskih  Borshchahivskiy  Bosin  Bril  Brodsky  Brudnik  Bryl  Brysylovsky  Bubar Bugai  Burdinsky  Burstein  Bykov  Bialik  Weinstein  Weisberg  Vaysburd  Vaks  Vaser Wachmann  Vilsky  Vinokur  Wolinsky  Galant  Galiotka  Gamarnik  Gimelshteyn Gitelmaher  Glatshteyn  Glaze  Goyhtul  Golden  Goldman  Gokhshtein  Grinbarg Greenberg  Groisman  Gruz  Gruzman  Gudzenko  Hutz  Gupner  Gurovich  Gusak  Gufan Dikhtyar  Domen  Domentovsky  Donskoy  Dubenskiy  Ermulnik  Erusalimsky Zhivotovsky Zhitman  Zhuravitsky  Zhuravlinsky  Zarudinetsky  Zeltsah  Zilevits  Zolotussky  Kagan Kamenyatsky  Kapler  Katz  Kaczynski  Kvyat  Keyzerman  Kigel  Kizhberg  Kirgel Kitaevskiy  Kleyzerman  Kleiman  Kozlowski  Kolman  Kolomeets  Kolominsky  Koltun Koretsky  Kosy  Kotlyar  Krantz  Krasniy  Kreynin  Krivitsky  Kubernik  Kupershtein Kuryanetsky  Kushnir  Labunskiy  Laynburd  Lev  Lewenstein  Lieberman  Lipinets  Litvak Luzhanska  Lukatskii  Lukashevsky  Lustenberg  Lutskiy  Lvovskiy  Lublinskiy  Lyubomsky Magdalinskiy  Mazur  Makarovskiy  Medvedovsky  Merbarg  Mizis  Mirgorodsky  Mlonchin Mysenznik  Nemerovsky  Novogradsky  Novofastovsky  Olin  Order  Orlik  Pack Petrikovskiy  Pinka  Pogorily  Pogrebysky  Polyak  Pasternak  Prokobovsky  Prus  Pteyh Ptuh  Pyatigorskiy  Rabinovich  Rayzburd  Rahman  Revich  Rovinskii  Royzenblyum Royzental  Royzentul  Romanovsky  Rohlis  Rudak  Rudnik  Ruzhynskiy  Rumennik Ruyaninsky  Salganik  Sapozhnik  Segal  Siry  Smuglyansky  Snitsarenko  Sobel  Sobol Stulsky  Suslik  Taborovsky  Taran  Tarashchansky  Tonkonogiy  Toporovsky  Torchinskiy Ulis  Fager  Faynburd  Fastovsky  Feldman  Figa  Finkovsky  Frenkel  Friedel  Fur  Hantsin Hasmenut  Hasminuy  Heylovsky  Khinchin  Khirman  Hirhel  Khmelnitsky  Khodorkovsky Hurman  Chervinskiy  Chernobylskiy  Chertok  Chorny  Chudnovsky  Shapira  Saffran Schwartz  Shvartsbarg  Shvartsburd  Schwartzman  Shvidky  Shiber  Shnaper  Shpektor Spiegel  Shraibman  Shtekelbarg  Shterin  Shtof  Shtulsky  Shtut  Shumsky  Eidelman Ekshtut  Elenkrant  Yufed  Yampolsky  Janiszewski

• Skvira revision tale by 1858 (Archiv of Kiev oblast, files 280/2/1490,1491) – 230 surnames

Abramovich  Akslirud  Alberpont  Amboym  Balaban  Bareschevsky Begelfer  Bezfamilny Benditovich  Berezovsky  Berlend  Berner Bespechansky  Bililovsky  Bloch  Boben Boguslavskiy  Borshchahovskiy  Bosin  Brodsky  Brudnik  Brusilovsky  Bryl  Bubar  Buzhai Burdyansky  Burstein  Bykov  Bialik  Vayzberg  Weinstein  Vaks  Vaser  Vatnik  Vachmann Veksler  Vilsky  Vinokyr  Woks  Wolinsky  Wolff  Galant  Gamarnik  Gimelshteyn Gitelmaher  Gladshtein  Glas  Goyhtut  Goldenvaser  Goldman  Goldrah  Golodka Goldenberg  Golfand  Goreskiy  Gokhshtein  Grinbarg  Groisman  Gruzman  Gudzenko Gysak  Dekhtyar  Dolin  Domskiy  Dubenskiy  Duvidovich  Erusalimsky  Zhivotovsky Zhitman  Zhuravitsky  Zak  Zeltseh  Zilovets  Zolotusky  Kagan  Kamyanetsky  Kapler Kaplun  Katz  Kvyat  Keyzerman  Kinzbarg  Kitaevskaya  Kichinsky  Kleiman  Kleinman Kobernik  Kozlowski  Kolomiets  Koltun  Colman  Kosiy  Kotlyar  Krant  Krantz Krasnoselskiy  Krasniy  Kreynin  Krivitsky  Kuryanets  Kuryanitsky  Kushnir  Labunskiy Lev  Lowenstein  Lieberman  Lipinets  Litvak  Loytburd  Lomish  Luzhanskiy  Lukatskii Lukashevsky  Lustenberg  Lutskiy  Lublinskiy  Lyubomsky  Magdalinskiy  Mazur Makarovskiy  Medvedovsky  Mesberg  Meshbarg  Mizis  Mirgorodsky  Mlonchin Mosezhnik  Nemerovsky  Novogradsky  Nofohvastovsky  Ovrutsky  Olen  Order  Orlik  Pack Petrinovsky  Pinka  Pinkovsky  Ploschinsky  Pogorelyi  Pogrebysky  Polyak  Pasternak  Prus Ptah  Ptukh  Pyatigorsk  Rabinovich  Rayzburd  Revich  Royzembman  Royzenblyum Royzentol  Royzentul  Romanovsky  Romantovsky  Rohlis  Rohman  Rudak  Rudnik Ruzhynskiy  Rumennik  Siderman  Siry  Smol  Smulchisky  Sobol  Solganik  Spector Spitsarenko  Stulsky  Sumskiy  Suslik  Taborovsky  Taran  Tarashchansky  Tonkonogiy Toporovsky  Torchinskiy  Ulis  Faer  Faibishenko  Faynburd  Fastovsky  Feldman  Figa Flick  Freydel  Frenkel  Friedman  Furmandsky  Chariton  Hasshinuy  Herman  Khinchin Khirman  Hirshan  Hitovsky  Khmelnitsky  Khodorkovsky  Horiton  Chervinskiy Chernobylskiy  Cherniy  Chisnik  Chortok  Chudnovsky  Shapira  Saffran  Schwartz Shvartsburd  Schwartzman  Shvidky  Sheyngayt  Shenglayd  Shiber  Shnaper  Shraibman Shteren  Shtivelmaher  Shtikselberg  Shtof  Shtut  Eidelman  Ekshpun  Elinkrach  Yufid Yampolsky  Janiszewski  Yarmulnik

• Skvira census by 1897 (Archiv of Kiev oblast, files 384/10/all) – more than 1100 surnames

File 2: Berlyand Bernstein Bubar Bystritskii Vaks Vaser Goldfain Gulkin Dah Dubinsky Kagan Kesner Kimbarg Koltyansky Komorowski Kotlyar Lev Lembergsky Leszczynski Mirshtat Moroz Nerubay Oberfeld Pliskovsky Polyak Rapoport Royzentul Rubalsky Starik Tartakovsky Fainburg Frenkel Henven Tsalenko Chervinskiy Cernik Chernyansky Shapira Spiegel Spiegelman

 

Synagogue

Synagogue was rennovated due to help of Skvira Hasidim from USA in 2000’s.

Information about cemeteries was taken from Lo-Tishkah Cemetery project web site.

Old Jewish cemetery

The cemetery was founded at the time of the establishment of the community. It was demolished during World War II; after the war, local people used the gravestones for construction. As the brickyard adjacent to the site was expanded, the remaining gravestones were removed and taken to the area by the river bank.

The cemetery site is located next to the River Skvyra, on a hill. The ohel is located at the foot of the hill, next to a water pipeline belonging to the neighbouring brickyard which owns the cemetery land. The site is also adjacent to private dwellings.

Location: North-west area of the city, close to 32 Dzerzhinskogo street. There is an ohel at the site.

The cemetery site is undemarcated and (apart from the ohel) unmarked. It is not possible to ascertain its boundaries. It is not known whether the burial index for this cemetery is still in existence.

The cemetery site is located on the territory of the local brick factory. It is unmarked and undemarcated and there are no remaining gravestones at the site. Two gravestones can be found close to the site by the bank of the river and are at risk from vegetation and water damage and weather erosion.

Three burial places were restored in the ohel; there are no epitaphs on them. According to local residents, the central burial place is that of Rabbi Itshak Tversky of Skvyra (1812-1885), the founder of the Skver dynasty; the burial places of his sons (presumably Rabbi Avraam Yehoshua Geshel and Rabbi Israel) are situated on either side. In addition, two gravestones can be found on the river bank.

They were previously used by local people and were bought back by the Chairman of the Skvyra Jewish community Yefim Davidovich Shvartsburd.

Inscription on the oldest gravestone:

פ איש נ
חשוב מ נחמיה
בר אפרים נפ ז
אלול תרנה תנ
צבה האמערע[ז]

(Trans. Here lies an important man, Mister Nehemiya, the son of Efraim. Died on 7 Elul 5655. May his soul be tied in the knot of life. Gomere [z]).

New Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery was established in late 19th/early 20th century

The cemetery is adjacent to residential property, gardens and a football field. It is very close to Skvyra Old Jewish Cemetery and Skvyra Mass Grave (see IDs 10144 and 11813 respectively).

The cemetery is surrounded by a concrete wall, with a large iron gate at the entrance. The gate features a Star of David and two menorahs. The cemetery area is approximately 165m x 105m.
The cemetery is identifed, securely demarcated and generally well-maintained. However, there are some problems with weather erosion and excessive vegetation in the older section.
Date Of The Oldest Known Gravestone: 1880 – Khaya Feyga

The cemetery’s gravestones are well-maintained; none are broken or damaged. Inscriptions are in Russian, Hebrew and Yiddish. Gravestones are tablet-shaped and made from granite, sandstone and marble. A number have portraits.

Cemetery history: It is thought that the oldest section of the cemetery belongs to the pre-war period (1920s – 1930s). The tombstones in this section were destroyed during the war and later looted by local people. This land, on which no gravestones remain, is still part of the cemetery. A new section (near the entrance) was opened in 1945. Two old tombstones dating from 1880 and 1913 have been preserved in the old section (perhaps brought from the old cemetery).

Holocaust Mass graves

Holocaust mass grave in Svira Jewish cemetery:

Second Holocaust mass grave:

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