Lokachi Old Jewish Cemetery

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is undefined. Presumably, it emerged between the 16th and the 17th centuries. The graveyard was located between today’s Stepova Street and Myru Street. It was most likely demolished after WWII, as residents remember it existing in their lifetime. The final destruction of the cemetery can be traced to the 1980s and 1990s. A fire station and private houses were built on the site.

The first mention of Jews in Lokachi dates back to 1569. In 1765, the Jewish population numbered 907. The illustrious Dov Baer, known as the Maggid from Mezhirech, was born in Lokachi in 1704. The religious life of the local community was quite diverse, and Olyka, Trisk, and Ruzhin Hasidism were present. In 1885, the community had built five synagogues. By 1897, there were 1730 Jews (75% of the total population) living in Lokachi. During WWI, many Jewish migrants came to the town. They suffered from cholera epidemics and a pogrom in 1914. During the interwar years, Jewish cultural and social life was strongly developed, due to a Jewish library set up by I.-l. Perets, a youth club and the activities of various Zionist youth organizations, among others Ha-Shomer ha-Zair and Ha-Halutz. In the 1920s, a Tarbut school and the Jewish Orphans Committee were operating in the town. During this period, the community included four synagogues. The Wehrmacht occupied Lokachi on June 23, 1941, creating a ghetto in October. On September 13, 1942, 1,350 Jews were shot during the ghetto’s liquidation. In 1989, a monument was installed on the execution site.