Luchynets Jewish Cemetery

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. According to the Commission for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was established at some point between the 17th and 18th centuries. It can be found marked on a map of Western Russia from the 1990s and a Red Army map of the region from 1941.

The town of Luchynets was established no later than the 16th century, when the region belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In 1793, after the Second partition of Poland, it came under control of the Russian Empire, and became a part of the Podolia Governorate (Podolskaya Gubernia). In 1765, the Jewish population numbered 432, in 1897, 1050 of 3869 (27%). In 1825 the synagogue burned out, however another had been built by 1867, with a second being built by 1882 and a third by 1914. At the turn of the 19th century, Jews were engaged mostly in crafting and commerce. In 1914, the only wood store, a pharmaceutical store, all 26 small shops, including all 12 grocery stores, were all owned by Jewish people. At the same time, extreme poverty caused many Jews to emigrate. In 1919, a pogrom in Luchynets claimed a number of victims.
After 1922, Luchynets became a part of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR. In 1926, the Jewish population was 745.
In July 1941, Luchynets was occupied by the Germans and Romanians, and included in the Transnistria Governorate. A ghetto was established where 2700 Jews expelled from Bessarabia and Bukovina were sent. 1700 of them perished together with hundreds of local Jews. On September 1st 1943, only 1000 Jews still survived in Luchynets.
In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Luchynets became a part of the independent Ukraine. A few Jewish families lived there in the early 21st century.
The Jewish cemetery of Luchynets is situated on the Western outskirts of the town, between Luchynets and Luchynchyk. It contains a few hundred headstones, which date back to the 20th century, and is still in use today.