Berezne
Encyclopedia
Berezne is a city in Rivne Oblast
, Ukraine
, located on the Sluch River north of Rivne
. It is the administrative centre of the Berezne Raion
.
.
. Chmelnitsky initiated bloody pogrom
s against thousands of Jews in Ukraine. Unfortunately the Jews of Berezne did not escape this particularly vicious manifestation of nationalism which took many innocent lives.
Over the centuries of foreign occupation this nationalist sentiment of the Ukrainians simmered under the surface and reawakened during the Second World War. They saw the war not only as an opportunity to rid themselves of Soviet rule, but also to create a pure Ukrainian state by ridding themselves of people whom they felt did not belong there, such as Jews and Poles. In 1941 the German Wermacht army entered the town as part of the Barbarossa operation.
Immediately all the houses of the Jews were burnt and the Jews were left with no possessions but their own clothes.
The Jews of Berezne, who then numbered approximately 3000, were forced to live in three small buildings surrounded by walls. This contained area became known as the local ghetto
.
In the following year the Ukrainians, together with the Germans, used Jews for slave labor, and hardly any food was supplied for them.
The Jews were forced to work at hard jobs in the forest without compensation, and were frequently beaten. (Some of these Jews escaped into the woods to survive, and related accounts of the slave labor and beatings.)
In August 1942 the SS special Einzatzgruppen unit entered the town.
Immediately the Jews received even more severe beatings. Three days later all Jews that could be found were taken from the ghetto into the woods, where they were forced to dig a huge hole. These Jews were later shot and buried at this location.
Many of the Jews that escaped into the woods next to Berezne were turned in to the Germans by local Ukrainians, who gleefully aided the SS in the process of genocide now known as "ethnic cleansing".
Only a few hundred of the Jews of Berezne survived. Most of these either hid next to Mazorish (Polish) villages that gave them food in return for firewood used for heating, or left the area along with the Communists, before the Nazis entered. For many years there stood a monument memorializing the over 3000 men, women, and children who were slaughtered by the Nazis and local Ukrainian collaborators, at the site of their mass grave. Corresponding to common Soviet practice, the Soviet authorities refused to mention on the monument that the 3680 murdered victims were Jews, instead describing them as "citizens of the Soviet Union". Three years ago the monument was broken to pieces by local Ukrainian townspeople. It is believed that the town no longer has any Jews.
Rivne Oblast
Rivne Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The area of the region is 20,100 km²; its population is 1.2 million...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, located on the Sluch River north of Rivne
Rivne
Rivne or Rovno is a historic city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Rivne Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Rivne Raion within the oblast...
. It is the administrative centre of the Berezne Raion
Berezne Raion
Berezne Raion is a raion in Rivne Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Berezne. It has a population of 63 987.-External links:*...
.
History
Berezne was established in 1445 within the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthPolish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
.
Jews of Berezne
The majority of the population in the area has always been Ukrainian. However, it is notable that substantial minority populations of Poles and Jews have lived there as well. Rule over the area changed hands between the Poles and the Russians over the centuries, culminating with Ukrainian independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Starting in the mid- 17th century resentment of the Ukrainian population grew over the presence of what they considered foreigners in their midst; and demagogues, starting with Bogdan Chmelnitsky, used this to fan the flames of nationalismNationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
. Chmelnitsky initiated bloody pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s against thousands of Jews in Ukraine. Unfortunately the Jews of Berezne did not escape this particularly vicious manifestation of nationalism which took many innocent lives.
Over the centuries of foreign occupation this nationalist sentiment of the Ukrainians simmered under the surface and reawakened during the Second World War. They saw the war not only as an opportunity to rid themselves of Soviet rule, but also to create a pure Ukrainian state by ridding themselves of people whom they felt did not belong there, such as Jews and Poles. In 1941 the German Wermacht army entered the town as part of the Barbarossa operation.
Immediately all the houses of the Jews were burnt and the Jews were left with no possessions but their own clothes.
The Jews of Berezne, who then numbered approximately 3000, were forced to live in three small buildings surrounded by walls. This contained area became known as the local ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
.
In the following year the Ukrainians, together with the Germans, used Jews for slave labor, and hardly any food was supplied for them.
The Jews were forced to work at hard jobs in the forest without compensation, and were frequently beaten. (Some of these Jews escaped into the woods to survive, and related accounts of the slave labor and beatings.)
In August 1942 the SS special Einzatzgruppen unit entered the town.
Immediately the Jews received even more severe beatings. Three days later all Jews that could be found were taken from the ghetto into the woods, where they were forced to dig a huge hole. These Jews were later shot and buried at this location.
Many of the Jews that escaped into the woods next to Berezne were turned in to the Germans by local Ukrainians, who gleefully aided the SS in the process of genocide now known as "ethnic cleansing".
Only a few hundred of the Jews of Berezne survived. Most of these either hid next to Mazorish (Polish) villages that gave them food in return for firewood used for heating, or left the area along with the Communists, before the Nazis entered. For many years there stood a monument memorializing the over 3000 men, women, and children who were slaughtered by the Nazis and local Ukrainian collaborators, at the site of their mass grave. Corresponding to common Soviet practice, the Soviet authorities refused to mention on the monument that the 3680 murdered victims were Jews, instead describing them as "citizens of the Soviet Union". Three years ago the monument was broken to pieces by local Ukrainian townspeople. It is believed that the town no longer has any Jews.