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Read MoreMiropol
Miropol, a village in the Romanovsky district of the Zhytomyr region, stands on the Sluch River. In 1957, the village of Kamenka, which stands on the left bank of the Sluch River, was annexed to Miropol, but the locals still continue to call this part of the village Kamenka. In the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, Miropol was the shtetl of Novograd-Volynsky uezd, Volyn province. From 1925 it was the centre of the Jewish village council of the Dzerzhinsky district of the Volyn region. Article was translated by Daniel Pesin. The first references to a Jewish presence in Miropol relate to the beginning of the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century there were 1,912 Jews, who comprised about 39 percent of the total population. Miropol in 2020: Jewish population of Miropol: 1847 — 865 Jews 1897 — 1912 (38%) 1926 — 1143 Jews 1931 — 1412 Jews 1989 – 11 Jews 2021 – 1 Jew In the middle of the 18th century, Rabbi Pinchas from Korets, a student of the Besht (translator’s note: the Besht, also known as Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer or the Baal Shem Tov, was the founder of Hasidism; Besht is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which means “One with the Good Name”) lived for some time in Miropol. The main occupations of the Jewish population of Miropol in the beginning of the 20th century were handcrafts and petty trade. In 1914, the Jews of Miropol owned 2 pharmacies, 2 kerosene warehouses, 6 timber warehouses, photography, and 30 shops (including 17 grocery stores and 10 manufactories). There was an operating Talmud Torah. In the lists of unreliable citizens for 1909, who were engaged in secret emigrant activities (the border with Austria was not far away), there was 1 resident of Miropol – Meer Shmulevich Bukshtein. Center of Miropol in the beginning of 20 century: On December 1, 1917 there was a pogrom in Miropol; in 1919, a pogrom in Miropol was perpetrated by detachments of the Directory. In the end of the 1920s a mikveh operated in Miropol; cheders were closed by the authorities. In 1925, people from Miropol founded in the Kherson region a Jewish agricultural colony called “Miropolsky grain grower” (it had 8 families and 52 people). By 1926 the number of Jewish residents had declined to 1,189. Until 1935 there was a Yiddish school there. Graduates of Miropol school in 1938. Jews marked by yellow box In...
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Read MoreChudnov
Chudnov is a city in the Zhytomyr region, located on the river Teterev. Before the Revolution of 1917, it was a shtetl of the Zhytomyr district of the Volyn province. Until the 20th century, there were 2 separate settlements – Novy (New) and Stary (Old) Chudnov, separated by the Teterev river. It was in Stary Chudnov that the majority of the Jewish population lived. Two settlements were merged into one in the 20th century. I visited Chudnov during an expedition in the summer of 2020. Places connected with Jewish history were shown to me by the local historian Yuri Gaidash. Author of this article and Yuri Gaidash Me (right) and my friend Sergo aka Kote during our visit to Chudnov in 2020 Article was translated by Daniel Pesin. I managed to find very little information about the history of the Jews of Chudnov in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The first reference to Jews living Chudnov dates to 1648, when they escaped from the town during the Chmelnitskiy uprising. In 1756 Chudnov residents attacked Jews who sought refuge in the town from the Haidamaks. In 1897 its 4,491 local comprised 80 percent of the total population of Chudnov. On May 1, 1903 200 local Jews participated in a strike organized by the Bund. Two years later, on May 1, 1905, 200 Bund members arranged a meeting but the local police spread the rumor that the Jews intended to blow up churches in revenge for the pogroms in Kishinev and Gomel, and threatened the Jews with another pogrom in the event that they held a demonstration. Members of Chudnov Jewish self defence who were killed in Troyanov in April, 1905: Another photo of 23–26 April 1905 massacre (photos provided by David Sandler): Azriel Fleisher Berko Zolotar Duvid Zilberman Iosif Fleisher Pinhos Gorein Yankel Brodskiy Yankel Sherman 3 person, who didn’t have photos: Yanov Mosuk, Aisik Bileikin, Moishe Shonter In 1910 there were a Talmud Torah school and three private vocational schools (two of them for girls) in Chudnov. During the Russian civil war the Jewish population suffered from a pogrom. The shtetl was built along the Teterev River engulfed in greenery and surrounded by forests and meadows. Jewish livelihood was derived from skilled workmanship such as hat making, tailoring, and shoe making. There was also a spirits brewery that provided employment. There were two synagogues, a pharmacy, and a school that was built right after the Soviet revolution. Before the...
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Read MoreNosovka
Nosovka, a city (since 1960), is a district centre in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine. The population is 13,310 people, according to the 2020 census. The city stands on the Nosovochka River, which is a tributary of the Ostra. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a town of Nezhinsky district of the Chernihiv province. I could only find very little information about the Jews of Nosovka. Article was translated by Daniel Pesin. 542 Jews lived in Nosovka in 1910; in 1920 Jews made up 1.2% of the town’s population, in 1939, 116 Jews lived in Nosovka. In 1864, a synagogue was operating. In 1886 a Jew owned a pharmacy in Nosovka. In the 19th century the rabbi of Nosovka was Yitzchok Teleshevsky; from 1887 it was Chaim Sheyniuk (1863-?); from 1908 it was Shmuel Goldshmid (1881-?). It is quite obvious that there was a Jewish cemetery in the shtetl. But I could not find where it was located and when it was destroyed. In October 1905 there was a pogrom in Nosovka. Among the few documents and memoirs about the Jews of Nosovka, I managed to establish the following surnames of the Jews who lived in Nosovka in the 20th century: Lefand, Schneerson, Rabinovich, Men’, Stomberg, Aronov, Freydinov, Pritikin, Nimkovsky, Rodnyansky, Lipkin, Shteidman. In 1913, Jews owned two grocery shops and the only grocery-manufacturing shops. In the shtetl there was a big factory – which produced leather – which belonged to the three Fabrikant brothers. In 1919, a pogrom, arranged by parts of the Volunteer Army, took place in Nosovka. The exact number of deaths is unknown, but it was definitely greater than ten. Pesya-Malka Moisey-Shmerkovna Men’ (1910, Nosovka – 2001, Nezhin) remembered how an officer of Denikin lived at her home, and when the people of Denikin left Nosovka, he killed the father of the household, Moisey-Shmerko Nemkovsky (1874-1919). In the 1920s in Nosovka there was organised a Jewish kolkhoz (collective farm) called Sverdlov. In the 1930s it was joined with other, less successful, collective farms. In the 1920s, a Zionist organisation operated in Nosovka. Its members were arrested in 1926 and from the OGPU case we know their names: Alexander Isaevich Lefand, Iosif Shneydman, Ruvim Gershenovich, Zyama Gershenovich, Zyama Khaimovich Russ, Solomon Khaimovich Russ, Shaya Nimkovsky, Nyunya Shklyarova, Abram Moiseevich Men’, Isaac Lefand, Boris Moiseevich Nimkovsky, Samuil Zalmanovich Kinzgbursky, Khana Abramovna Beilina, Yosef Filippovsky. In the 1920s and 30s the majority of Jews moved...
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Read MoreRaygorodok
Raygorodok is a viallge in Berdichev district, Zhernigov region. In 19th -20th century, it was a shtetl of Berdichev uezd, Kiev gubernia. Raygorodok, Zhitomir region, should not be confused with the village of Raygorod in Vinnitsa region. Both the settlements were shtetls with big Jewish communities. Note: I have found almost no information on the Raigorod Jewish community. According to the 1897 census, 2058 residents lived in Raygorodok where 946 Jews constited 45% of the total population. My locationGet Directions In the southern outskirts of the village a market square and a synagogue used to make the center of the Jewish shtetl. Nowadays this territory remains almost undeveloped. It is right opposite the village council – a large vacant lot, which is crossed by the Berdichev-Vinnitsa highway. In 1926, 665 Jews lived in Raygorodok (28% of the total population) I did not find information about the Jewish community of Raygorod between WWI and WWII, but can assume that about 200 Jews lived in the village before German invasion. Holocaust On July 7, 1941, German troops invaded Raigorodok. From the first days of the occupation, the Jews were ordered to be forced to hard labor and wear a yellow star on the left side of the breast. On July 15, 1941, a ghetto was established in a few dilapidated houses. Local Ukrainian policemen systematically raped young Jewish women. On August, 15 Jews were executed. At 6 AM September 10, 1941, most of the ghetto inmates were forced to walk into Raygorod forest and killed. In the same place, an unknown number of Berdicthev Jews were also killed. Only a few specialists with families were left alive. According to some sources, 140 Jews were killed on that day. On July 25, 1942, 47 Yanushpol’s Jews were brought to Raygorod ghetto. On the next day they were executed in the Jewish cemetery together with local Jews. In 1942, a local Jew B.Gleizer happened to escape from the massacre site together with his daughter. In January 1944, the former shtetl was liberated by the Soviet Army. According to the files of the State Comission, about 110-125 local Jews were executed during the Holocaust. After the liberation, 3 mass graves were found – one in Raygorod forest (57 victims) and two the local Jewish cemetery (59 and 4 victims). After the WWII After the war, several Jewish families returned to the village, but I could not find their last names, since the Ukrainian locals...
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Read MoreVoznesensk
Вознесенск(Russian), Вознесенськ(Ukrainian) Voznesensk is a town and a district center in Nikolayev region. The city’s estimated population is 35.843 (as of 2015). In the XIX – early XX century it was a shtetl of Elisavetgrad Yezd of Kherson Gubernia. My locationGet Directions When the foundation stone was laid on May 10, 1795, the population was composed of a mix of Ukrainians, Russians, and Moldovans. From the late XVIII century when Poland was partitioned and merged with the Russian Empire, Jews began to arrive, quickly contributing to the growth of the town. From the nineteenth until early twentieth century, it was a shtetl in Yelizavetgrad uyezd, Kherson gubernia. From 1828 until late in the nineteenth century, the town held the status of a military settlement, thus limiting the number of Jewish residents. Nevertheless, according to the 1897 census, by the late nineteenth century, Voznesensk Jews controlled nearly 85% of trade and 46% of artisan businesses. Jewish population of Voznesensk: 1864 — 1249 Jews 1897 — 5932 (37%) 1910 — 7663 (39%) 1920 — 6177 Jews 1926 — 5116 (23%), 1939 — 2843 Jews 1996 – 180 Jews 2018 – 50 Jews The first synagogue was completed In 1863, headed by congregation rabbis Khaim Gertsenshteyn (1864-1869), Iyeguda Teplitsky (1869-1895), and Yakov Meir Yako (1895-?). By 1909, the synagogue was supplemented by 6 prayer houses, private Jewish training schools for both boys and girls, as well as a Talmud Torah. In 1911, there were 85 students in the Talmud Torah, while 345 students attended the 14 kheders. More than 6,000 Jewish inhabitants of the town owned small tanneries, mills, and chaise workshops. Moreover, they were renowned specialists in leather currying, as well as cobbler and wheelwright businesses. Prosperous traders engaged in bread trading were among the shareholders of Voznesensk society of bread-traders’ and ship owners’ communities. Adolf Kibrik, father of the XX century People’s Artist of USSR Yevgeniy Kibrik, was a major agent in the bread trade and he owned of a fleet of barges. Zaychik, another wealthy trader, owned several houses in the center of the town – around the Pochtovaya market at Nikolayevskaya and Pushkinskaya streets – a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. In 1912, a Jewish savings and credit society was formed, and a railway line connecting Odessa and Bakhmach ran through the town, significantly contributing to growth of Voznesensk’s economic life. In 1916, a Jewish artists’ community was organized under the leadership of Zaslavsky and Basmanov. Before the Russian Revolution...
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Read MoreLiubashevka
Любашівка(Ukrainian), Любашевка(Russian) Liubashevka is an urban-type settlement, a district centre in the Odessa region of Ukraine. In the 19th to early-20th centuries, it was a village in the Ananyev Uyezd of the Kherson gubernia. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much information about Liubashevka Jews’ life before WWII. In 2018, we visited the former shtetl during our summer expedition and didn’t find Jews there. Most information for this article was provided by a local teacher Valeriy Bondarenko (see video below). My locationGet Directions Unfortunately, I didn’t find much information about Jew of Liubashevka before WWII. The settlement was founded in the late 18th century. It is known that 180 Jews (26%) of the total population) lived there in 1868. Since 1895, the Liubashevka rabbi was Shmuel-Zeev Shekhter (1875–?). In 1914, the only drugstore in the town belonged to a Jew. During In the Civil War period of 1917 – 1920 many rival armies passed through the town. In 1919 a Volunteer White Army unit wreaked a pogrom and havoc, some Jews escaping to the neighboring village Ivanovka. In 1939, 671 Jews lived in Liubashevka itself, while 1,021 Jews lived in the whole district. On June 22, 1941 Nazi Germany and its allies attacked the Soviet Union. Moisey Shmulevich Pustylnik (1910 – 1945, killed in action) was in charge of the evacuation of Jews from Liubashevka however 50-60 Jewish families failed to escape. In July 1941, the town was occupied by the Germans. A ghetto was established In September 1941. The following Nazi actions took place to terrorize the local Jewish population: · more than 350 local Jews were shot in Liubashevka · approximately 100 people in the village of Gvozdavka · approximately 100 people in the village of Yasenovo In the vicinity of Gvozdavka, 20 km away from Liubashevka, the Nazis organized a concentration camp in November 1941. Jews from Bessarabia, Odessa and Zhitomir regions were driven there, along with Jews. About 5,000 inmates died there: 2,772 Jews were executed and 2,000 died of starvation and diseases. Below is a short list (from a Russian archive) of a few Jews murdered in Gvozdavka: The Extraordinary State Commission carried out excavations in the area of Gvozdavka village. These excavations revealed 2,208 decomposed bodies buried in a 40 metre long anti-tank ditch The mass murder took place in the winter of 1941 –1942. Up to our time, people would discover unknown and unmarked mass graves of Holocaust victims in Gvozdavka area. Information of a Holocaust’s research carried out by...
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Read MoreCherniakhov
Черняхов(Russian), Черняхів(Ukrainian) Cherniakhov is a small town, a district center of the Cherniakhov district, Zhitomir region. In the early XX century it was a shtetl of Radomyshl uyezd (district), Kiev province. Most information about the post-war Jewish life of Cherniakhov was provided by the unofficial head of the Jewish community in Cherniakhov Raisa Makovoz during our visit in the summer of 2017. Idl Ayzman’s (1922, Cherniakhov – 2017, Petah Tikva) fascinating diaries (here and here) shed light on the Jews of Cherniakhov in the 1920s – 1930s. Virtually no information could be found on the Jewish life of Cherniakhov in the XIX – early XX centuries. My locationGet Directions Beginning The Cherniakhov settlement was first mentioned in 1545. According to the 1897 state census, the Cherniakhov Jewish community included 1,774 members. It was just under a half of the whole population of the shtetl. Ten pogroms occurred in Cherniakhov during the 1917 revolution. As a result, the shtetl was comprehensively looted with no record of the victims. In 1919, the authorities of the Ukrainian Republic refused local Jews to join the enlisted army. In the 1920s, the synagogue was closed and was turned into a club. In 1922, a Jewish school and kindergarten were built. The building houses a printing workshop nowadays. The Gruzinsky and Shats families used to be the drovers in the shtetl. Despite the fact that their horses were taken to the Jewish collective farm, they bought new ones and lived much better than other Jews. In the 1920s, the local Jews Ershl, Landman, Shloyme Polevoy, Meir (surname unknown) were considered to be poor in the shtetl. In 1937 – 1939, a local doctor of Jewish ancestry Bliashev organised a hospital in Cherniakhovsk. For that the local authorities awarded him with a personal car, which he donated to the hospital. It was the first emergency vehicle in the shtetl. During the World War II, he was called up to the army and organized a hospital, where 30 out of 37 doctors were Jewish. After the war he did not return to Cherniakhovsk. Jewish kindergarten in Cherniakhovsk, 1920’s. Photo provided by Raisa Makovoz. Jewish population of Cherniakhov: 1897 – 1774(~50%) 1939- 1,482 (20%) 1950 ~ 250 Jews 1990 ~ 30 Jews 2017 – 5 Jews Idl Ayzman mentions the following pre-war inhabitants of Cherniakhov: Etl Dubenko, the village council deputy; Shlema Levkovsky, Elia Vesler, tailor Itsik Igdal. Most of them were murdered in the Holocaust. Moisey Shpoliansky led the choir and...
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Read MoreBerezovka
Beresowka (Yiddish), Березівка – Berezivka (Ukrainian), Березовка – Berëzovka (Russian) Berezovka is a city and administrative center of the Berezovka Raion in Odessa region. In 2016, the population is estimated to be 13,421. During our visit in the summer 2018, we could get almost no information about Jews from Berezovka. There wasn’t a Jewish community in the town at that moment. Jews didn’t live there anymore. My locationGet Directions On April 26–27, 1881, the Jews were attacked in a pogrom, and, out of the 161 buildings owned by Jews, only the synagogue and pharmacy were undamaged. Description of 1905 pogrom: «The population of Berezivka was extremely anxious at the rumor of the total extermination of Jews. One of the scruffles between the tradeswomen at the market turned into a fight. The crowd immediately rushed to the Jewish stalls, destroying everything on their way. There were calls to “kill the Jews who killed our Tsar”. Many buildings were set on fire. Only when a hundred Cossacks arrived, did they manage to get the situation under control. As a result of the pogrom, 159 houses, 17 stalls, and 11 cellars were devastated. The damage amounted to 450,000rubles». The local Jewish Community was affected by the pogroms in 1918 and 1920. During the Soviet period Jews were employed in artisan cooperatives and Jewish kolkhozes. A Yiddish elementary school, a Yiddish evening school, a club, and a library were in operation In 1939, 1,424 Jewslived in Berezovka (16.5% of the population), and 800 Jews lived in district villages. Jewish records with stamp and sign of Berezovka rabbi: Holocaust Berezovka was taken by the Germans on August 10, 1941. Later a ghetto was formed there. On August 14, 1941, Sonderkommand 10a shot 41 Jews in Berezovka. The remaining 211 prisoners of the ghetto were killed in the fall of 1941. Jewish population of Berezovka: 1897 – 3458 (56%) 1926 – 3223 (42%) 1939- 1,424 (16%) 2018 – 0 At that time Berezovka became a center of Berezovka uyezd in Transnistria under Romanian control. Ten ghettos were formed in the uyezd. From January to February 1942, trains with Jews from Odessa arrived at the railway station in Berezovka. From that station, they were driven to the Southern Bug and killed on the way. In total, 5,511 Jews were killed in Berezovka and nearby villages. Some of them, including children, were burnt alive. Jews who froze in cold wagons during the transportation from Odessa to Berezovka...
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Voznesensk
Вознесенск(Russian), Вознесенськ(Ukrainian) Voznesensk is a town and a district center in Nikolayev region. The city’s estimated population is 35.843 (as of 2015). In the XIX – early XX century it was a shtetl of Elisavetgrad Yezd of Kherson Gubernia. My locationGet Directions When the foundation stone was laid on May 10, 1795, the population was composed of a mix of Ukrainians, Russians, and Moldovans. From the late XVIII century when Poland was partitioned and merged with the Russian Empire,...
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Liubashevka
Любашівка(Ukrainian), Любашевка(Russian) Liubashevka is an urban-type settlement, a district centre in the Odessa region of Ukraine. In the 19th to early-20th centuries, it was a village in the Ananyev Uyezd of the Kherson gubernia. Unfortunately, I didn’t find much information about Liubashevka Jews’ life before WWII. In 2018, we visited the former shtetl during our summer expedition and didn’t find Jews there. Most information for this article was provided by a local teacher Valeriy Bondarenko (see video below). My locationGet Directions Unfortunately, I...
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Cherniakhov
Черняхов(Russian), Черняхів(Ukrainian) Cherniakhov is a small town, a district center of the Cherniakhov district, Zhitomir region. In the early XX century it was a shtetl of Radomyshl uyezd (district), Kiev province. Most information about the post-war Jewish life of Cherniakhov was provided by the unofficial head of the Jewish community in Cherniakhov Raisa Makovoz during our visit in the summer of 2017. Idl Ayzman’s (1922, Cherniakhov – 2017, Petah Tikva) fascinating diaries (here and here) shed light on the Jews of Cherniakhov...
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Berezovka
Beresowka (Yiddish), Березівка – Berezivka (Ukrainian), Березовка – Berëzovka (Russian) Berezovka is a city and administrative center of the Berezovka Raion in Odessa region. In 2016, the population is estimated to be 13,421. During our visit in the summer 2018, we could get almost no information about Jews from Berezovka. There wasn’t a Jewish community in the town at that moment. Jews didn’t live there anymore. My locationGet Directions On April 26–27, 1881, the Jews were attacked in a...
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Khaschevatoye
Хащувате(Ukrainina), Хащеватое(Russian) Khaschevatoye is a village in Gayvoron district, Kirovograd region. Its population is 2,260 people. The village is on the Southern Bug River. It used to be a town of Gaysin uyezd, Podolia gubernia from the late 18th through the early 20th century. From 1923 through 1932, Khaschevatoye was a district center of the Odessa region. Information about Jews from Khaschevatoye was obtained from several different sources, including books by Solgutovsky and Khaim Melamud, and from various websites...
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Savran
Kanetspol – XVIII, Sawrań (Polish), Саврань – Savran (Russian) Savran has been an urban-type village since 1957, a district center of the Odessa region. It has existed since the late XIV century. In the XVI – XVIII centuries, it was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793 it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In the XIX – early XX centuries, it was a shtetl of the Balta uyezd, Podolia gubernia. Since 1926 Savran has been a center...
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Ladyzhinka
Ладижинка (Ukrainian) Ladyzhinka is a village in Uman district, Cherkassy region. Since 1726 it was a part of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1793, it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. In the XIX – early XX centuries, it was a shtetl in Uman uyezd, Kiev gubernia. Beginning Jews lived in Ladyzhinka from the XVIII century. In 1795, the Jewish community consisted of 400 people. My locationGet Directions In the second half of the XIX century, the village grew...
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