Kamyanske (Former Dneprodzerzhynsk) Jewish Cemetery

The cemetery was located on the site of the current tram depot along Makyyvs’ka Street. It was demolished around 1960. According to the director of the museum, some of the tombstones were moved to the municipal cemetery  on Prykordonna Street (cemetery of “unit (“blochok”) no. 55”); we did not find Jewish burials in this cemetery.

Jews first settled in Kamyans’ke in the 1880s, with the development of the local steel industry. In 1896, there was an old synagogue (or Saviiskyi synagogue) operating. According to the census of 1897, the Jewish population numbered 852 people, out of the total population of 16,878.
In 1905, the rabbi was Abraham Berkovich Khalupovich and the Jewish community survived a pogrom in that same year. In 1910, there 1,165 Jews (3.3% of the town) living in Kamyans’ke. In 1913, a new synagogue was built, but it was closed in 1926. In 1916, there was a Jewish benefit association and child care society. During the Civil War, the Jewish community suffered from pogroms.
By 1926, there were 1,413 Jews (4.1%) living in the town. It is known that by 1931, there were 360 Jewish students (out of the total 4,000) in the local industrial school, and 230 students attended classes taught in Yiddish. By 1939, the Jewish population numbered 4,900 people (3.8%).
Kamyans’ke was occupied on August 22nd 1941, on that same day 206 Jews were murdered. By the end of the month, another few hundred Jews had been killed.
In 1970, the old synagogue building was ruined and the Jewish population numbered 3,083 residents (1.4%). The Jewish population did not change through the 1980s -1990s and by 1989, there were 2,074 Jewish residents. In 1995, a Hesed Maayan and Jewish Sunday School were opened.
The Jewish community revived in 1998 and by 2000, there were around 2,000 Jews living in the city.
In 2008, there was built a Beit Reuven synagogue (“770”), a copy of the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway.

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. Supposedly, it was founded in the mid-20th century. The cemetery was demolished around 1960. There are no gravestones left. According to the director of the museum, some of the gravestones were moved to cemetery #55, however none were found there.