Berezna Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Chernihiv
District
Mena
Settlement
Berezna
Site address
106, Domnyts'ka Street. The site extends along the northern bank of the River Krasylivka.
GPS coordinates
51.553853, 31.792269
Perimeter length
570 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Demolished Jewish cemetery that has not been built over
General site condition
The majority of the cemetery has been demolished. The site extends along the northern bank of the River Krasylivka. The only preserved gravestone is located next to the private house in the northeastern section of the cemetery site.
Number of existing gravestones
1
Date of oldest tombstone
The only preserved gravestone is dated 1938
Date of newest tombstone
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Private
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Given it appears on maps of the region from the 1870s it can be assumed it was founded in the latter half of the 19th century. The only preserved tombstone dates to the first half of the 20th century. The cemetery was demolished in the 1950s.

In 1847, the Jewish community consisted of 292 men and 252 women. According to the census of 1897, the Jewish population numbered 1,357 (of a total of 9,922). In the end of 19th century, the local rabbis were David Arie Bakalieshchik and Shmuel Waltchek. According to the census of 1897, the Jewish population numbered 1,357 (13% of the town’s population). Shneur-Zalman Gorelik (1880-1974) was Berezna Rabbi from 1901 till 1926. After this he became a rabbi in Snovsk. Pogroms took place on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of October. No Jews were killed furing these, but 10 were wounded and 200 Jewish families were robbed. In 1919, there was pillaging by Petliura’s forces. In 1939, the town was home to 211 Jews. Prior to WWII there was a synagogue. On the first day of occupation Einsatzgruppe 7B killed 8 Jews. On November 5th, 1941, 10 further Jews were killed. Most of them were elderly. School teacher Serafima Halyavko was killed along with 3 children (aged between 3 and 8 years old). During the Holocaust in Berezna nearly 60 Jews were killed (accounting for 90% of all locals murdered). After WWII all of the murdered locals were reburied in a single mass grave on the Ortodox cemetery. As of 2018, the population of Berezna numbered 4,584 people, with no Jewish inhabitants. The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Given it appears on maps of the region from the 1870s it can be assumed it was founded in the latter half of the 19th century. The only preserved tombstone dates to the first half of the 20th century. The cemetery was demolished in the 1950s.

3D model