Staryy Ostropil New Jewish Cemetery

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Probably, it was marked on Russian map of the 1860s, so it can be assumed that the cemetery emerged in the mid 19th century. The oldest gravestone relates to the first half of the 20th century. According to locals, the cemetery operated until the mid-20th century.

The Jews of Staryy Ostropil’ suffered in the Khmelnytskyi massacres in 1648. A wooden synagogue, built in the 17th century, preserved till the early 20th. A Yiddish prankster and a badchen (comedian) of Tzaddik Boruch of Medzhybizh, Hershele Ostropoler was born here in 1757. In 1765, 122 Jews resided in Staryy Ostropil’. According to the census of 1897, there were 2,714 Jewish residents (36% of the total population). A Talmud-Torah and Jewish private vocational school were in operation in 1910. The Jewish population declined to 1,325 in 1926 and continued to decrease to 1,063 in 1939. A Jewish rural council and elementary school functioned under the Soviets. On July 10, 1941, the Wehrmacht occupied the town. In late June 1942, 581 Jews of Staryy Ostropil’ were executed in Starokostyantyniv together with the Jews from other districts. The remnants (73 people) were expelled to Lubar in Zhytomyr district, where they were murdered.