Ruzhyn
Encyclopedia
Ruzhyn is an urban-type settlement
in Zhytomyr Oblast
, Ukraine
. It has a population of under 5,000 people and its surroundings are known for areas of outstanding natural beauty.
. The nomadic Scythians controlled the area from approximately 500-300 BCE, replaced by the Sarmatians
, who were based on the western banks of the Dniester
. Later, a Hellenistic
Antiv culture built a defensive wall near Ruzhyn, and extended its territorial reach to all the area between the Dniester & Dnieper Rivers. Traces of this culture have been found with discoveries of coins, glassware, and ceramics, which date up to the fifth century CE. A 12th-13th century cross was found in Ruzhyn, attesting to the arrival of Christianity in the area. Sherbiv (as Ruzhyn was then known) was the home of a Mongol
Khan
, along with his 13 slaves.
Ruzhyn's history is that of Ukraine, as a whole:
Polish noblemen began to wield influence in the western Ukraine. In 1596, one – Count Kirik Ruzhynsky – changed the name of the town from Sherbiv to Ruzhyn. In 1608, Kirik's brother Adam aided Dmitri – a false pretender to the throne in Moscow – to raise an army which consisted of a thousand horsemen. To raise the funds, he leased some of his lands and mortgaged the town of Ruzhyn to Kristof Kevlitch. With the defeat of Dimitri's revolt by the Romanovs, the Ruzhynsky properties fell into disarray.
In the mid-17th century, a cathedral was built in nearby Belilovka – and Chmielnitski's Cossacks marched through Ruzhyn for the first time on December 1648. The land was subsequently partitioned and granted to Cossack officers. Forests were cleared for farming – and life became peaceful. By 1651, Ruzhyn was prospering. With a peace treaty signed between Russia
-Ukraine and Poland
in 1667, lands including Ruzhyn reverted to Polish control. Ruzhyn was controlled soon after by Count Vishnievetsky.
In 1736, the local manager of Pavolich and Ruzhyn had 35 Jewish citizens killed, and their properties, valued at 180,000 zlotys, were confiscated. The first burials in Ruzhyn's Jewish cemetery are thought to date to 1776.
Meanwhile, the Catholic cathedral was built in Ruzhyn, and in 1845 a 6-bed hospital was added to its holdings. The fabric industry, with the establishment of two factories, became a cornerstone of industry in the town. A leather factory, owned by August Wolf, started operations in 1862. Subsequently, brick factories, liquor distilleries, oil processing plants & steam-powered mills sprung up throughout Ruzhyn; as did a post office, another hospital, an Orthodox church and a synagogue
.
By 1906, Ruzhyn was a mixture of Ukrainians, Poles and Jews and surpassed 4,000 residents. Including the suburb of Balamutivka would have brought the total to over 6,000. Ukrainians were educated in state-run schools; Jews in heder
s and yeshiva
s; and Poles in clandestine Polish schools (in Balamutivka). The town, by 1908, had established a theatre, cinema, Catholic cathedral and its own electric power station.
With the onset of World War I
, the army mobilized many citizens – and provisions and horses were demanded for the war effort. Following a brief period of Ukrainian independence (1916-18), the Germans marched into Ruzhyn on February 27, 1918. They left one week after the Armistice, on November 18, 1918.
In a 1919 pogrom, Jews were robbed and beaten, and a large tribute was exacted from the community.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Joseph Stalin
's Bolshevik
government and troops called for provisions from Ukraine, the "bread-basket of the Europe". Under this "New Economic Policy", the peasantry's produce was harvested, through mandatory quotas, only to be shipped to the population centers of Moscow
, St. Petersburg etc. During the period known today as the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33, between 6-7 million Ukrainians were starved to death.
Many strikes against this policy shook Ruzhyn. A top-secret report by the NKVD
(precursor to the KGB) entitled "Counter-Revolutionary Activities in Ruzhyn District" reported that 70% of Ruzhyn and Balamutivka's 543 farmers had been grouped into a kolkhoz
(a collective) and that there was a marked increase of "banditism", as people stole & scrounged for anything to eat.
During this period, cannibalism was witnessed in various places throughout Ukraine, among them, the Ruzhyn District. By 1939, the Jewish community dropped to 1,108 people.
. It is most famous for the presence and establishment of the "royal court" of a very important and legendary Hasidic leader. Rabbi Israel Friedman (1796-1850) was the great-grandson of the Maggid of Mezritch, the chief disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism. Rabbi Friedman, commonly known – even today – as the Heiliger ("Holy") Ruzhyner, established Ruzhyn as a place of pilgrimage to other seeking deeper spiritual understanding. He was famous for his luxurious lifestyle – which he humbly espoused was an honor to the glory of the Torah.
Ruzhyn became one of the most important centers of Jewish learning
in the world. He sponsored the founding of one of the most important synagogue
s in Jerusalem – which was later named after him, the Tiferes Yisrael Synagogue. The impressive dome had been donated by Emperor Franz-Josef of Austria
, who visited the synagogue on his way to the dedication of the Suez Canal
.
In 1838, following accusations of having had informers murdered, the czar himself issued orders for the Rebbe's arrest. He spent 22 months in a Kiev dungeon, before spending six more months in a prison in Kamenitz. He was released, without ever being charged or tried, on Shushan Purim. Hearing that the czar had ordered his re-arrest, the Rebbe fled to Kishinev
(Moldova), then to Iasi
(Romania) Austria, and then re-settled in Sadagora
(Bukovina-Ukraine), where he founded a large synagogue and re-established his Hasidic court. He died ten years later, leaving six sons to continue his path. Each of them founded Hasidic dynasties in their own right.
By 1863, the town's population totaled 2,663, most of which were Jews. A winery was leased to one Yankel Shapiro in 1880 and managed by Shia Klatchny. The lease passed to Yankel's son, Abram, in 1896 who also leased a steam-powered grist mill. The sugar factory, in nearby Toporakh, was owned by Moshe Isayevich Gorovitz and run by his manager, Yosef Franzovich Lissel. A brewery was built, as was a 72-bed hospital, which catered almost exclusively to the Jewish community. The merchants of Ruzhyn were known for their highly-valued horses, where brought to Berdichev
on market days. In 1890, Ruzhyn was administered by Anton Ossipovich Zlotnitsky. In 1897, of a total population of 5,016 people, the Jewish community numbered 3,599.
In 1905, the first rumblings of what would become the Bolshevik Revolution were heard in Ruzhyn. Young Jewish workers in Ruzhyn, associated with the Bund, led by S. Ostrovsky distributed Socialist
publications and called for strikes. In October of that year, several strikers (S. Ostrovsky, Y. Mogilevsky, L. Pavalotsky, S. Trusevich and V. Urinova-Rabinovich) were arrested and sentenced to prison terms in a gulag
in the Archangel
Gubernia in Siberia
. With some wrangling, their parents arranged that they were to be allowed to go abroad for three years; under penalty of the gulag if they should return before the end of the term. However, with the czar wildly claiming that 90% of the revolutionaries were Jews, pogroms swept the Russian Empire
– notably in Ukraine and Bessarabia
(Moldova
). Pogrom
s, led by Cossacks – set for immediately after the Orthodox Easter - tore into the Jewish communities, killing and looting Jews in scattered towns & villages. In Ruzhyn, Cossacks entered the heder
, throwing the students out into the street.
, violating their own treaty with the Soviet Union
(the Molotov-Ribbentrop Agreement), invaded the USSR in 1941. On July 17 the German army seized Ruzhyn
, intending to preserve the kolkhoz system – merely diverting the collected produce from its intended destination in Moscow to its own warehouses. All craftsmen were expected to contribute to the Nazi
German Army. Not only were provisions demanded (milk, foodstuffs, meat and warm clothing), but also an annual head tax of 200 rubles was imposed on the town. Resistance would be severely punished.
The Germans and local Ukrainian policeman ("Polizei") killed the Jews of Ruzhyn in many brutal stages. In a forest nearby, are three mass graves (killings occurred on 9/10/41), marked today by fencing and a plaque. There is one mass grave (where killings occurred on 5/1/42) on the outskirts of the town. An obelisk-shaped monument and plaque marks this large mass grave. This monument and those in the forest were constructed by a group of Ruzhiners after the war. Supposedly, another exists – whose location is still a mystery – but may be close to the three mass graves, in the forest.
The Germans organized local policemen, termed "Polizei" to carry out the killings of the Jews. One group, the "Oum" was led by Kostu Stepan Michalavich. The largest group of Polizei was led by Rodenko. While other members of these killing squads were hanged by the Soviets after the war, Rodenko was only arrested in the 1970s and died in prison, awaiting trial. The Red Army
began to push the Germans out of the Ruzhyn area on December 24, 1943.
As far as Jewish history is concerned, the sanctification of the mass graves of the Jewish community of Ruzhyn is the last chapter.
Urban-type settlement
Urban-type settlement ; , selyshche mis'koho typu ) is an official designation for a type of locality used in some of the countries of the former Soviet Union...
in Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast
Zhytomyr Oblast is an oblast of northern Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Zhytomyr.-History:The oblast was created as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on September 22, 1937....
, 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...
. It has a population of under 5,000 people and its surroundings are known for areas of outstanding natural beauty.
History
Archaeological discoveries of stone tools and carvings, dating to 5000 BCE were made in the Ruzhyn area. This was termed the Trypillian cultureCucuteni culture
The Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, also known as Cucuteni culture , Trypillian culture or Tripolye culture , is a late Neolithic archaeological culture which flourished between ca...
. The nomadic Scythians controlled the area from approximately 500-300 BCE, replaced by the Sarmatians
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
, who were based on the western banks of the Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
. Later, a Hellenistic
Hellenization
Hellenization is a term used to describe the spread of ancient Greek culture, and, to a lesser extent, language. It is mainly used to describe the spread of Hellenistic civilization during the Hellenistic period following the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon...
Antiv culture built a defensive wall near Ruzhyn, and extended its territorial reach to all the area between the Dniester & Dnieper Rivers. Traces of this culture have been found with discoveries of coins, glassware, and ceramics, which date up to the fifth century CE. A 12th-13th century cross was found in Ruzhyn, attesting to the arrival of Christianity in the area. Sherbiv (as Ruzhyn was then known) was the home of a Mongol
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
, along with his 13 slaves.
Ruzhyn's history is that of Ukraine, as a whole:
- founding of Kievan Rus in 885 by Count Oleg
- occupation by the Mongol Golden HordeGolden HordeThe Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
in the mid-13th century - occupation by LithuanianHistory of LithuaniaThe history of Lithuania dates back to at least 1009, the first recorded written use of the term. Lithuanians, a branch of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands, establishing the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the 13th century the short-lived Kingdom of Lithuania. The Grand Duchy...
nobles from 1398-1449 - the "Independence War" against Poland, led by Bogdan ChmielnitskiBohdan KhmelnytskyBohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
from 1648-57, in which tens of thousands of Jews were massacred
Polish noblemen began to wield influence in the western Ukraine. In 1596, one – Count Kirik Ruzhynsky – changed the name of the town from Sherbiv to Ruzhyn. In 1608, Kirik's brother Adam aided Dmitri – a false pretender to the throne in Moscow – to raise an army which consisted of a thousand horsemen. To raise the funds, he leased some of his lands and mortgaged the town of Ruzhyn to Kristof Kevlitch. With the defeat of Dimitri's revolt by the Romanovs, the Ruzhynsky properties fell into disarray.
In the mid-17th century, a cathedral was built in nearby Belilovka – and Chmielnitski's Cossacks marched through Ruzhyn for the first time on December 1648. The land was subsequently partitioned and granted to Cossack officers. Forests were cleared for farming – and life became peaceful. By 1651, Ruzhyn was prospering. With a peace treaty signed between Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
-Ukraine and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1667, lands including Ruzhyn reverted to Polish control. Ruzhyn was controlled soon after by Count Vishnievetsky.
In 1736, the local manager of Pavolich and Ruzhyn had 35 Jewish citizens killed, and their properties, valued at 180,000 zlotys, were confiscated. The first burials in Ruzhyn's Jewish cemetery are thought to date to 1776.
Meanwhile, the Catholic cathedral was built in Ruzhyn, and in 1845 a 6-bed hospital was added to its holdings. The fabric industry, with the establishment of two factories, became a cornerstone of industry in the town. A leather factory, owned by August Wolf, started operations in 1862. Subsequently, brick factories, liquor distilleries, oil processing plants & steam-powered mills sprung up throughout Ruzhyn; as did a post office, another hospital, an Orthodox church and a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
.
By 1906, Ruzhyn was a mixture of Ukrainians, Poles and Jews and surpassed 4,000 residents. Including the suburb of Balamutivka would have brought the total to over 6,000. Ukrainians were educated in state-run schools; Jews in heder
Cheder
A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...
s and yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s; and Poles in clandestine Polish schools (in Balamutivka). The town, by 1908, had established a theatre, cinema, Catholic cathedral and its own electric power station.
With the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the army mobilized many citizens – and provisions and horses were demanded for the war effort. Following a brief period of Ukrainian independence (1916-18), the Germans marched into Ruzhyn on February 27, 1918. They left one week after the Armistice, on November 18, 1918.
In a 1919 pogrom, Jews were robbed and beaten, and a large tribute was exacted from the community.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
government and troops called for provisions from Ukraine, the "bread-basket of the Europe". Under this "New Economic Policy", the peasantry's produce was harvested, through mandatory quotas, only to be shipped to the population centers of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, St. Petersburg etc. During the period known today as the Ukrainian Famine of 1932-33, between 6-7 million Ukrainians were starved to death.
Many strikes against this policy shook Ruzhyn. A top-secret report by the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
(precursor to the KGB) entitled "Counter-Revolutionary Activities in Ruzhyn District" reported that 70% of Ruzhyn and Balamutivka's 543 farmers had been grouped into a kolkhoz
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
(a collective) and that there was a marked increase of "banditism", as people stole & scrounged for anything to eat.
During this period, cannibalism was witnessed in various places throughout Ukraine, among them, the Ruzhyn District. By 1939, the Jewish community dropped to 1,108 people.
Jewish and Hassidic history
It was at this time, that Ruzhyn became one of the most important centers of Hasidic JudaismHasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
. It is most famous for the presence and establishment of the "royal court" of a very important and legendary Hasidic leader. Rabbi Israel Friedman (1796-1850) was the great-grandson of the Maggid of Mezritch, the chief disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism. Rabbi Friedman, commonly known – even today – as the Heiliger ("Holy") Ruzhyner, established Ruzhyn as a place of pilgrimage to other seeking deeper spiritual understanding. He was famous for his luxurious lifestyle – which he humbly espoused was an honor to the glory of the Torah.
Torah study
Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
in the world. He sponsored the founding of one of the most important synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s in Jerusalem – which was later named after him, the Tiferes Yisrael Synagogue. The impressive dome had been donated by Emperor Franz-Josef of Austria
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
, who visited the synagogue on his way to the dedication of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
.
In 1838, following accusations of having had informers murdered, the czar himself issued orders for the Rebbe's arrest. He spent 22 months in a Kiev dungeon, before spending six more months in a prison in Kamenitz. He was released, without ever being charged or tried, on Shushan Purim. Hearing that the czar had ordered his re-arrest, the Rebbe fled to Kishinev
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
(Moldova), then to Iasi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
(Romania) Austria, and then re-settled in Sadagora
Sadhora
Sadhora is now a microraion of Chernivtsi city, which is located 6km from the city center. Previously, it was an independent town.-History:During the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in Moldavia and Wallachia took measures to enhance the economic and...
(Bukovina-Ukraine), where he founded a large synagogue and re-established his Hasidic court. He died ten years later, leaving six sons to continue his path. Each of them founded Hasidic dynasties in their own right.
By 1863, the town's population totaled 2,663, most of which were Jews. A winery was leased to one Yankel Shapiro in 1880 and managed by Shia Klatchny. The lease passed to Yankel's son, Abram, in 1896 who also leased a steam-powered grist mill. The sugar factory, in nearby Toporakh, was owned by Moshe Isayevich Gorovitz and run by his manager, Yosef Franzovich Lissel. A brewery was built, as was a 72-bed hospital, which catered almost exclusively to the Jewish community. The merchants of Ruzhyn were known for their highly-valued horses, where brought to Berdichev
Berdychiv
Berdychiv is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Berdychiv Raion , the city itself is of direct oblast subordinance, and is located south of the oblast capital, Zhytomyr, at around .The current estimated population is around...
on market days. In 1890, Ruzhyn was administered by Anton Ossipovich Zlotnitsky. In 1897, of a total population of 5,016 people, the Jewish community numbered 3,599.
In 1905, the first rumblings of what would become the Bolshevik Revolution were heard in Ruzhyn. Young Jewish workers in Ruzhyn, associated with the Bund, led by S. Ostrovsky distributed Socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
publications and called for strikes. In October of that year, several strikers (S. Ostrovsky, Y. Mogilevsky, L. Pavalotsky, S. Trusevich and V. Urinova-Rabinovich) were arrested and sentenced to prison terms in a gulag
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
in the Archangel
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk , formerly known as Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the north of European Russia. The city spreads for over along the banks of the river...
Gubernia in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. With some wrangling, their parents arranged that they were to be allowed to go abroad for three years; under penalty of the gulag if they should return before the end of the term. However, with the czar wildly claiming that 90% of the revolutionaries were Jews, pogroms swept the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
– notably in Ukraine and Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
(Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
). 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, led by Cossacks – set for immediately after the Orthodox Easter - tore into the Jewish communities, killing and looting Jews in scattered towns & villages. In Ruzhyn, Cossacks entered the heder
Cheder
A Cheder is a traditional elementary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language.-History:...
, throwing the students out into the street.
WWII and the Holocaust
The GermansGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, violating their own treaty with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
(the Molotov-Ribbentrop Agreement), invaded the USSR in 1941. On July 17 the German army seized Ruzhyn
Reichskommissariat Ukraine
Reichskommissariat Ukraine , literally "Reich Commissariat of Ukraine", was the civilian occupation regime of much of German-occupied Ukraine during World War II. Between September 1941 and March 1944, the Reichskommissariat was administered by Reichskommissar Erich Koch as a colony...
, intending to preserve the kolkhoz system – merely diverting the collected produce from its intended destination in Moscow to its own warehouses. All craftsmen were expected to contribute to the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
German Army. Not only were provisions demanded (milk, foodstuffs, meat and warm clothing), but also an annual head tax of 200 rubles was imposed on the town. Resistance would be severely punished.
The Germans and local Ukrainian policeman ("Polizei") killed the Jews of Ruzhyn in many brutal stages. In a forest nearby, are three mass graves (killings occurred on 9/10/41), marked today by fencing and a plaque. There is one mass grave (where killings occurred on 5/1/42) on the outskirts of the town. An obelisk-shaped monument and plaque marks this large mass grave. This monument and those in the forest were constructed by a group of Ruzhiners after the war. Supposedly, another exists – whose location is still a mystery – but may be close to the three mass graves, in the forest.
The Germans organized local policemen, termed "Polizei" to carry out the killings of the Jews. One group, the "Oum" was led by Kostu Stepan Michalavich. The largest group of Polizei was led by Rodenko. While other members of these killing squads were hanged by the Soviets after the war, Rodenko was only arrested in the 1970s and died in prison, awaiting trial. The Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
began to push the Germans out of the Ruzhyn area on December 24, 1943.
As far as Jewish history is concerned, the sanctification of the mass graves of the Jewish community of Ruzhyn is the last chapter.
Notable residents
- Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, the Rizhiner Rebbe, sponsor of the Tiferes Yisrael Synagogue in Jerusalem.
- Berl RepeturBerl RepeturBerl Repetur was a Zionist activist, Israeli politician and one of the signatories of the Israeli declaration of independence.-Biography:Born in Ruzhyn in the Russian Empire , Repetur was educated in a heder, and was a member of the Dror and HeHalutz youth movements...
, signatory of the Israeli Declaration of Independence.