Several memorials in Vinnytsya, which is located on the banks of the Southern Bug river, are dedicated to the Jews murdered by German Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing squads) in 1941/1942.
Vinnytsya, undated, Old view of the town with its former main Synagogue, myshtetl.org
Vinnytsya, 2017, Memorial to the murdered Jewish children, Stiftung Denkmal
Vinnytsya, located on the banks of the Souther Bug river, was established in the 15th century. The first Jews came to Vinnytsya in the 16th century. In 1897 there were 11,690 Jews living in Vinnytsya, amounting to over 35 per cent of the town's total population. At the beginning of the 20th century, several Jews were murdered in anti-Jewish pogroms.
Around 33,000 Jews lived in Vinnytsya before the Second World War. The German Wehrmacht occupied the city on July 19, 1941. Around 17,000 Jews had previously been able to flee from Vinnytsya. Units of Einsatzgruppe C (mobile killing squad) marched into the city together with the Wehrmacht. Shortly afterwards, the occupiers established a ghetto for the Jewish population of Vinnytsya. In September 1941, the first mass shootings took place in Vinnytsya: Police battalion 304 shot 2,200 Jews on September 5, 1941, and police battalions 45 and 314 shot at least 18,000 Jews on September 19 and 20. At the end of 1941, the area was declared to be »judenfrei« (»free of Jews«). However, countless numbers of Jewish craftsmen from Vinnytsya had to conduct forced labour building the Führerhauptquartier »Wehrwolf« in close vicinity of the city. Many of them were shot by the SS. Those who survived the selections were deported to labour camps.
Around 33,000 Jews lived in Vinnytsya before the Second World War. The German Wehrmacht occupied the city on July 19, 1941. Around 17,000 Jews had previously been able to flee from Vinnytsya. Units of Einsatzgruppe C (mobile killing squad) marched into the city together with the Wehrmacht. Shortly afterwards, the occupiers established a ghetto for the Jewish population of Vinnytsya. In September 1941, the first mass shootings took place in Vinnytsya: Police battalion 304 shot 2,200 Jews on September 5, 1941, and police battalions 45 and 314 shot at least 18,000 Jews on September 19 and 20. At the end of 1941, the area was declared to be »judenfrei« (»free of Jews«). However, countless numbers of Jewish craftsmen from Vinnytsya had to conduct forced labour building the Führerhauptquartier »Wehrwolf« in close vicinity of the city. Many of them were shot by the SS. Those who survived the selections were deported to labour camps.
Vinnytsya, undated, Old view of the town with its former main Synagogue, myshtetl.org
Vinnytsya, 2017, Memorial to the murdered Jewish children, Stiftung Denkmal
The exact number of victims from Vinnytsya cannot be established; the times of the murder operations and responsible units cannot be determined in all cases. According to estimates, at least 20,000 Jews were murdered in Vinnytsya, according to the Israeli memorial Yad Vashem it could have been as many as 26,000.
Probably Vinnytsya, around 1942, Murder of a Ukrainian Jew, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej
Vinnytsya, 2017, Memorial complex, Stiftung Denkmal
After the end of the Second World War, surviving relatives of murdered Vinnytsya Jews raised a first memorial in the memory of the victims in the Maximov-Street. It has been altered since and today there is a Star of David on its top and a Ukrainian inscription that reads: »In the memory of the thousands of Jews who were tortured to death by the Fascists beginning September 19, 1941.
The memorial is now part of a larger memorial complex consisting of several memorials and mass graves. Two of the memorials are dedicated to children who were murdered. The older one carries the Ukrainian inscription: »During the war years the fascist executioners destroyed the hope of the Jewish people – the children – 1941–1945«. The newer memorial is made of marble, split in the middle and has a void in the form of a Star of David. The left side bears a Hebrew and a Ukrainian inscription. During the last years, yet another memorial was erected on the premises, a black stone with a Star of David and Russian and Ukrainian texts. It is dedicated to Jews from towns and villages surrounding Vinnytsya. There are annual memorial services here to honour the victims.
On the premises of the municipal brickyard a museum was established in 2008 by the organisation »Sochnut Ukraina«. One of its rooms deals with the destruction of the Vinnytsya Jews.
At the beginning of the 20th century there were still 17 synagogues working in Vinnytsya, of which only two are left today: the »Lifchitsa« synagogue, built in 1897 and another one in Chervonohrestivska-Street.
The memorial is now part of a larger memorial complex consisting of several memorials and mass graves. Two of the memorials are dedicated to children who were murdered. The older one carries the Ukrainian inscription: »During the war years the fascist executioners destroyed the hope of the Jewish people – the children – 1941–1945«. The newer memorial is made of marble, split in the middle and has a void in the form of a Star of David. The left side bears a Hebrew and a Ukrainian inscription. During the last years, yet another memorial was erected on the premises, a black stone with a Star of David and Russian and Ukrainian texts. It is dedicated to Jews from towns and villages surrounding Vinnytsya. There are annual memorial services here to honour the victims.
On the premises of the municipal brickyard a museum was established in 2008 by the organisation »Sochnut Ukraina«. One of its rooms deals with the destruction of the Vinnytsya Jews.
At the beginning of the 20th century there were still 17 synagogues working in Vinnytsya, of which only two are left today: the »Lifchitsa« synagogue, built in 1897 and another one in Chervonohrestivska-Street.
Vinnytsya, 2017, Memorial to the murdered Jews, Stiftung Denkmal
Vinnytsya, 2015, The Lifchitsa-Synagogue, Yevgenniy Shnayder
Vinnytsya, 2003, Chairman of the Jewish community, Ilya Grobman, at the memorial to the murdered Jews, Ilya Grobman
Shchitky near Vinnytsya, 2002, Dedication of the Memorial to the murdered Jews, Ilya Grobman
- Name
- Pamjatniki ubitym ewrejam Winnyzji
- Web
- https://ujew.com.ua/search-objects-by-tags?tag=vinnicza
- Open
- The memorials are accessible at all times