Pochayiv Jewish Cemetery

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. According to the dates on remnants of gravestones found on the synagogue ruins site, the cemetery already existed in the 19th century. It appears on Russian maps of the 1880s. According to locals, the cemetery was demolished in the 1960s.

Jews settled in Pochayiv in the 17th century. In 1768, about 100 Jews lived in there. Jews were mostly engaged in pilgrim trade. By this time, local Hevra Kadisha assisted Jewish converts to reconvert to Judaism and sent them to the Austrian Empire. In the mid-19th century, the Jews owned 15 shops in the town. A synagogue and a Beit-Midrash were in operation. The Karlin-Stolin Hasidism dynasty predominated in Pochayiv. Haim Roinick and his son Jacob-Yosef (1862–1910) served as rabbis at the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th century. A Jewish hospital was established in 1889. By 1897, the Jewish population stood at 1,377 (71,7% of the total population).In 1906 and 1907, pogroms were staged in the town. In the 1910s, a yeshiva was opened. In 1919, the Polish army organized a Jewish massacre. In the 1920s, a Tarbut Hebrew school functioned. In 1921, 1,083 Jews (46,7% of the total population) were residents of Pochayiv. On June 30, 1941, Pochayiv was occupied by the Wehrmacht. In January 1942, a ghetto was established. It was liquidated in September 1942, and 794 Jews were murdered. Nearly 500 Jews were shot at the Jewish cemetery. About 40 Jews survived the war. In 2005, a few Jewish families lived in Pochayiv.