Brailiv New Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Vinnytsia
District
Zhmeryntskyi
Settlement
Brailiv
Site address
Starting at 4 Tsentralnaya Street (former Oktiabrskoy revolutsii), proceed 140 metres north before turning right and proceeding for a further 190 metres. The cemetery can be found to the right of the road.
GPS coordinates
49.11773, 28.17274
Perimeter length
159 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
There is no fence, but there are trees growing along the perimeter. The cemetery is well-maintained, but covered with seasonal vegetation. There is a mass grave dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust
Number of existing gravestones
20
Date of oldest tombstone
1942 (the earliest tombstone found by ESJF).
Date of newest tombstone
1985 (the latest tombstone found by ESJF).
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
State
Preserved construction on site
No
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

Given the oldest preserved tombstone is dated to 1942, it can be inferred the cemetery was founded no later than the mid-20th century.

There are indications that Brailov was founded in 1574. Jews are believed to have settled there in the 17th century. In 1765, the Jewish community numbered 190 households and 638 members. In 1793, after the Second partition of Poland, Brailov came under control of the Russian Empire, and became part of the Podolia Governorate (Podolskaya Gubernia). Jews of Brailov numbered 2071 in 1847, and 3721 in 1897, which was 43% of the total population. In 1852, all 78 artisans in the town were Jews, and in the 1880s, Jews owned industrial enterprises such as a sugar refinery, brewery, flour mills, and tanneries, employing many Jewish workers. In the early 20th century, the town had three synagogues, a talmud torah with 50 students, and two private Jewish schools: a school for boys, and one for girls. On the eve of WWI Jews owned all 19 grocery stores, all 16 textile shops, and the only pharmacy in the town. In 1918–19, during the civil war, 26 Jews were massacred and around 100 Jewish women were raped in pogroms. In 1922, Brailov became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR. In 1926, the Jewish population numbered 2393.
Brailov was occupied by the Germans on July 17, 1941, and immediately 15 Jews were shot. A ghetto was established and a heavy tax was imposed on the population. On February 13, 1942, 1500 Jews were assembled; the sick and those discovered in hiding were shot on the spot. Around 300 artisans were sent back to the ghetto, joined by 200 still in hiding, and the remaining 1200 Jews were executed. On April 18, 180 Jews, mostly children and elderly persons, were murdered. The last group of 503 was executed on August 25, 1942.
The New Jewish cemetery of Brailov is located at the North-Eastern outskirts of the town. There are only a few dozen gravestones remaining, which date back to the post-WW2 Soviet period, 1940s-1980s.

 

3D model