Hvardiiske New Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Khmelnytskyy
District
Khmelnytskyi
Settlement
Hvardiis’ke New
Site address
To reach the cemetery, proceed in the direction of Khmelivka village. Turn left after the Christian cemetery and procced for 350 metres. Turn left onto the dirt road and proceed for 450 metres. The cemetery is located in the fields on the left of the road.
GPS coordinates
49.32884, 26.69363
Perimeter length
208 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 cemetery is severely overgrown.
Number of existing gravestones
No tombstones preserved
Date of oldest tombstone
Date of newest tombstone
Urgency of erecting a fence
Low
Land ownership
Other
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. But since it appears on German topographic map of 1917, a copy of a Russian map of the 1880s, it can be assumed that the cemetery emerged in the late 19th century. Later, it appears on maps of 1899 and 1939. It is unknown when the cemetery was demolished.

Jews first settled in the first half of the 18th century. In 1765, 469 Jews were residents. The Jews in Hvardiis’ke were engaged in petty trading, crafts and renting. Four synagogues and headers existed in 1889. From the late 19th century, Israel Kutiver (died in 1904), his son Mordechai Kutiver (born in 1874), David-Shlomo Novoseller (1877-1966) served as rabbis in Hvardiis’ke. The Jewish population numbered 1,885 (95% of the total population) in 1897. In 1911, a Zionist group was active. In 1913, five synagogues, mikvahs and heders functioned. On February 16, 1919, a pogrom organized by the Ukrainian People’s Republic authorities claimed the lives of 686 people (according to other sources, 485 people). In the 1920s, a Jewish pioneer squad, library, club and school were created. A Jewish rural council functioned. In 1923, the Jewish dropped to 1,003 (55,7% of the total population). In the 1930s, 350 Jews were members of the kolkhoz. 1,125 Jews (27,8% of the total) resided in 1939. On July 7, 1941, the German army captured Hvardiis’ke. In 1941–42, the majority of the Jewish population of the town was murdered. In February 1942, the remaining 300 Jews were deported to the Matskovtsy labour camp. A few Jews returned at the end of WWII. In the 1970s and 80s, all the Jews left for Israel.

3D model