Pidkamin Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Lviv
District
Brody
Settlement
Pidkamin'
Site address
The cemetery is located opposite the house at 42, Tarnovs'koho Street.
GPS coordinates
49.94579, 25.31201
Perimeter length
373 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Demolished Jewish cemetery that has not been built over
General site condition
The cemetery site is used for private gardening and cattle grazing.
Number of existing gravestones
ESJF expedition discovered the only one fragment of the gravestone with the inscription and brought it to the cemetery. There are few fragments of gravestones laying at the cemetery site.
Date of oldest tombstone
Date of newest tombstone
Urgency of erecting a fence
Low
Land ownership
Private
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. First, it appears on Polish maps of 1939. According to locals, the cemetery was demolished during the Soviet era.

Jews were present in Pidkamin’ in the 17th century. The Jewish community was initially subordinated to the Lviv Kehila. In the second half of the 18th century, it received independence. In 1765, the Jewish population numbered 922. The head of rabbinical court Haim Landau (1707–1797) was born in Pidkamin’. The Jewish population was 1,522 (47.6% of the total population) in 1880, and increased to 1,591 (46.5% of the total population) in 1890. In 1900, 1,448 Jews resided (42.2% of the total population) in the village. The Jewish community reached a peak of the growth of a population of more than 2,000 people in 1910. By that time, four synagogues operated. During WWI, many houses in the village were destroyed. By 1921, the Jewish population declined to 822 (27.5% of the total population). Jews were evacuated to the Austrian or Hungarian evacuation camps in 1916-1920 and emigrated to the USA or Canada in 1920. On July 3, 1941, the Wehrmacht troops occupied Pidkamin’. During the pogrom, staged by the locals immediately after the occupation, four synagogues were burned. During the occupation, Jews were forced to pave roads with the gravestone from the Jewish cemetery. In January 1942, 927 Jews remained in the village. In August and September 1942, more than 600 Jews were murdered. On December 3, 1942, over 200 people were deported to the Brody ghetto.