Manevychi Jewish Cemetery

The cemetery in Manevychi was founded in the early 20th century. Locals recall a Jewish cemetery which was located at this site. It first appears on a Polish map from the 1930s. The cemetery was completely demolished by Soviet authorities, and the location of the tombstones is unknown. Today, no visible traces of the cemetery remain. The exact delineation of the cemetery borders is uncertain and requires more research.

About 30 Jewish families resided in Manevychi in the early 20th century. In 1915, many Jews left the village because of the expansion of military front lines, but returned in 1917. In 1921, the Jewish population had reached 462 (57% of the total population). During the interwar period, different institutions and clubs related to education, sport, youth, as well as Zionist ideas, were active. A Hebrew Tarbut school was operating until 1932. It reopened in 1937, and a kindergarten was founded. From the time of the Soviet annexation in 1939, teaching was carried out in Yiddish. A Jewish library and sports club, as well as the youth movements Beitar and HaShomer-HaZair were functioning in the town. The victory of the local Jewish football team HaShmonai led to a pogrom in July 1937. The town included three synagogues, one headed by Rabbi Josef Gordon, and the Hasidic streams of Berezne, Stolin-Karlin, and Stepan were present. By the time of the Wehrmacht’s occupation of the town, the Jewish population numbered more than 550, including the refugees who had migrated from Poland in the autumn of 1939. During the first Aktion on August 26, 1941, 327 Jews were shot. 1,000 were imprisoned in the ghetto, which was created on September 2, 1942. Before the liquidation of the ghetto three days later, 200 Jews escaped, some of them joining the partisan detachment Kruk under leadership of N. Konyshiuk. All other ghetto residents were murdered. In 1991, a monument was erected on the mass shooting site.