Dzhurin

Most information was taken from this book.

Djurin (Polish, Yiddish & Hebrew), Джурин (Ukrainian), Джурин – Dzhurin (Russian)

Dzhurin (old names Churylov, Churintsy, Dzhurilov) – village in Shargorod region, Vinnytsia oblast, before 1923 it was a shtetl of Yampol yezd, Podolsk province. The population is 3734 people (in 2001).

Beginning

Churylov settlement was first mentioned in documents in the XV century. Same settlement mentioned in royal charter of 1547. Apparently in those days it was protected by a fortified castle. In the XVIII century Dzhurin  belonged to Potocki magnates. In 1767 Dzhurin get urban rights and privileges to conduct monthly fair.

In 1765 there were 35 Jewish houses, where lived 84 people, all were assigned to the community of Murafa. According to the 1775 census in in the town were Jews: 65 men, 69 women, 14 boys, 10 girls and 2 servants. Dzhurin Rabbi at that time was Leib Faybishovich.

In 1852, there were 26 jews-artisans selling their products for 350 rubles in a year. In 1853there were one synagogue and “prayer school” (1004 parishioners), rabbi was Meir Gleyts. In 1863 province superiors tried to close one of them, they tried to fulfill the law that limiting the number of synagogues and (no more than one “Jewish prayer schools” for each 30 Jewish homes, and no more than one synagogue for each 80 homes).

In 1871 in shtetl were 292 houses, 1221 people belonged to the trading class (mostly Jews), and 1454 to a rural class. In 1889 Jewish there lived 1,320 jews, were 2 synagogues and 3 in the beginning of XX century. Most Jews were craftsmen and many Jews worked on the sugar plant (constructed in the 1880s.) and brick plant (constructed at the beginning of XX century.) Jews owned all (over 30) shops, pharmacies and warehouses, inns (Dzhyrin is located on the road Mogilev – Bratslav). Jewish doctor was in charge of the hospital at the sugar plant.

During the Civil War Jews have repeatedly suffered from pogroms. For example, in July 1919, members of the Directory army taken several Jewish hostages and demanded a huge ransom for them. As a result of follow pogrom were killed about 40 people. In November 1919 Denikin Cavalry organized next pogrom:  18 Jews were killed, many people were wounded, 60 women were raped, 3 houses were burned down with people and another 50 houses were partially burned. Dzhurin was one of the few places where the Ukrainian population  ¬ tries to help Jews during the Denikin Army pogrom.

After Civil War

Under the Soviet regime in 1923 Dzhurin became a district center (up to 1930). In 1924 there was the organized Jewish collective farm “Union of Jewish grain growers”, which included 50 – 60 families. In the mid-twenties in Dzhurin was created Jewish village council. Since 1935 the farm began to enter Ukrainian families too.

In the early 1920’s in Dzhurin was opened Jewish primary four-year school, it was located close to the seven-year-Ukrainian school, on the contrary of Post-office. In school were three or four teachers, director was Lev Averbuch, a graduate of the Odessa Jewish Teachers’ Institute.

In Soviet times, the building of Great synagogue authorities have taken for a granary, a minyan gathered in the “small” synagogue which was located in the center of town. Duties of rabbi and shochet were performed by Gershl Koralnik.

Before WWII in Dzhurin lived 1027 Jews (19% of total population).

Holocaust

In the first days of the war Dzhurin was bombed and were wounded and killed about ten people, was damaged “small” synagogue. Peasants robbed warehouse and shops.

The German military unit entered in Dzhurin at July 22, 1941. Jews were instructed to mark their homes by six-pointed star and wear special binding on the sleeve. In celebration of Rosh Hashanah (perhaps in was a Yom Kippur) occupants with Ukrainian police broke into the “small” synagogue and beat prayers.

After establishment of the Romanian regime in Dzhurin was created a Jewish ghetto. It was created in the Jewish homes which were standing on a hill. In Dzhurin ghetto were deported about 3,500 Jews from Bukovina, Romania (from Rădăuţi),  Hotyn and neighboring shtetls of Bessarabia. Among the settlers was Rabbi Baruh Gager from “Vizhnitsa” Tzaddikim Dynasty and his Chassidim. According to the order of local Rabbi Herschel Koralnik local Jews settled deported people to their homes and about 1000 people were settled in the building of Great Synagogue, barns and warehouses.

About 120 families of Bukovina Jews were able to settle outside ghetto due to bribes for occupation superiors.

The board of the ghetto was organized in the spring of 1942, community leaders became Jews from Rădăuţi. Council was appointed M. Rozenrauh ( he left a bad memories about his actions), deputy was M. Katz and he was the real leader of the ghetto. Ghetto need to pay very high taxes and for this were used most moneys from  trade and commerce, as well as all moneys received from Romania. There was created Jew police of 20 people, court, hospital, pharmacy, dining room for the poor and an orphanage for 50 orphans was founded by Rabbi Gager. Hospital was led by qualified doctors (Romanian Jews) and they significantly reduced deaths from typhus epidemic in ghetto (up to 400 Jews died).

With the help of bribes ghetto leadership could to overturn many of harassment and even further deportations. Nevertheless Jews used to work in the town and on the road construction.

Between May and September 1943 four former students who work in the ghetto hospital  issued handwritten newspaper “Kurier” in Romanian and German. Ghetto council ordered to close publication after it became known to occupation authorities.

German officer Villi Arem saved few dozens of Jews from different camps and ghettos from nazi-occipied part of Vinnitsa region and led them to Dzhurin ghetto. Article with details you can find here.

In 1943 Dzhurin ghetto were 4000 Jews (around 1000 were local Jews). During the war in Dzhurin ghetto died about 500 people – smallest number of victims among the ghettos in Transnistria. Red Army liberated Dzhurin at March 19, 1944.

After WWII

After the end of WWII Romanian Jews left Dzhurin and there left few hundred of local  ews. In 1946 Dzhurin became a district center for a while again.

By the end of 1980’s in the village lived a little more than 10 Jewish families. In 1990’s most Jews emigrate to Israel and other countries. In 1998 there were lived only 8 Jews (all were pensioners).

Head of a Jewish Community is Victor Kutafyev.

Some detail information you can find here.

Architecture

In the area of ​​the old market square and main village street of the village still exist fragments of traditional shtetl’s build up.

The Old Market Square is located in the northern part of village on the steep descent into the river valley. Several houses with shops built in the late XIX – early XX century still standing there. They allow to imagine former appearance.

At the place of wasteland to the west of the central square were located closely built-up Jewish neighborhoods. Among the modern buildings in the late 1980s there was standing a building of the Great Synagogue (erected apparently in the middle of the XIX century). The stone basement allow to estimate its size ( 12 meters to 20 meters).

Jewish cemetery

The Jewish cemetery is located at the east of the village, just outside its boundary. At the cemetery discovered gravestone of  XVIII century. The remaining tombstones date from XIX to the 80’s of the XX century. On the cemetery located mass grave of Denikin’s pogrom victims (28 persons).

Monument was installed in Jewish cemetery in 2021:

In Spring 2013 three local idiots vandalized Jewish Cemetery and destroyed 66 gravestones.

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Some photos were taken from http://photohunt.org.ua/

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