Novyy Buh Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish cemetery in Novyy Buh was existing in 1910. It is not marked on any available topographic maps. According to the local historian A. Kyslyy, the cemetery was barely ruined by Nazis during WWII. In the 1970s, it was demolished by Soviet authorities and the site was overbuilt. Several local residents remember the cemetery or have heard stories about it. One of them, Alexander Pavlovich (70 years old) told the ESJF expedition that in the 1980s, he was digging a pit on the former cemetery site, he found two Jewish gravestones.

It can be assumed that the Jewish community had emerged in Novyy Buh by the mid-19th century, as a synagogue had operated at that time. In 1897, the Jewish population numbered 1,962 (15% of the total population). In 1910, the population numbered 3,600 (19%). In 1910, the community included six synagogues, a Talmud Tora, and a Jewish cemetery. A private Jewish vocational school was functioning. In 1912, a Jewish loan-saving partnership operated. In 1913, Jews owned both of the town’s warehouses of pharmacy goods, two photo studios, the only cinema in town and more than 40 merchant stalls. On May 19, 1919, the Jewish community survived the pogrom, organised by N. A. Grigoriev. The Jewish population decreased to 934 in 1923. Material assistance to the community was provided by J.-I. Shneerson. During the 1920 and 1930s, many Jews left Novyy Buh. By 1939, the Jewish population numbered 269. On August 14, 1941, the Wehrmacht captured the town. The majority of the Jewish population had been evacuated or mobilised. In May 14, 1942, the Germans murdered the 28 remaining Jews. In 2005, there was a religious community and a Jewish population active in Novyy Buh.