Hertsa Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Chernivtsi
District
Hertsa
Settlement
Hertsa
Site address
The cemetery site is located behind the Christian cemetery at Tsentralna Street.
GPS coordinates
48.15584, 26.24458
Perimeter length
419 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery is severely overgrown. It requires clearing.
Number of existing gravestones
About 500
Date of oldest tombstone
1888
Date of newest tombstone
1993
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No

Historical overview

Information on the cemetery’s establishment is unknown, it was already existed in the 1880s and was used after WWII, the latest preserved gravestone relates to the 1990s.

Jews settled in the 18th century. In 1859, the Jewish population reached 1,554 people (56,4% of the total population). In 1764, a Talmud-Torah was opened. In the mid-19th century, three synagogues existed. In the early 19th century, the Jews of Hertsa were captured by the Tartars and the Cossacks, and later they were ransomed. Among the illustrious religious leaders of the town, a Kosover hasid Eliezer Wolf (1800-1852) can be mentioned. By 1899, the number of Jewish inhabitants stood at 1,939 (66,1% of the total population). A Jewish self-defence detachment prevented the pogrom of 1907. In 1910, a school for 164 Jewish boys and girls operated. During the Soviet annexation in 1940-41, the commercial activity was prohibited, and a few dozens of the wealthy families were exiled to Siberia. The Wehrmacht troops occupied Hertsa on July 5, 1941. During the occupation, around 1,600 Jews were deported to Edineti in Bessarabia.

3D model