Pishchana Jewish Cemetery
Cemetery Information
Historical overview
Following the dating of gravestones, the cemetery exists at least from 1864. It is marked on Russian maps from 1912-13 and 1927. After WWII, a memorial to the victims of Nazism was set up on the place of the mass grave on the cemetery. The modern territory of the cemetery is around half of what it was in the pre-war period.
Jews began settling in Pishchana during the early 19th century. In 1887, the Jewish community numbered 750 individuals (25% of the total population). It increased to 870 individuals in 1897. In 1889, a synagogue was operating, and Jews were active in crafts and trade. In 1914, a pharmacy, a bakery, two timber stores, two mills and nearly 50 shops and stores had Jewish owners. In 1923, the Jewish population slightly increased to 902. In 1939, there were 466 Jews (8% of the total population) residing in the town. German-Romanian troops occupied Pishchana in summer 1941, setting up a ghetto. The almost 500 Jews detained here were eventually transferred to the Bershad ghetto.
