Samhorodok Jewish Cemetery

According to the Commission on the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was founded in the 18th century. It can be found marked on a map of the region from the 1900s.

There are no direct historical references about the founding of Samhorodok, however the settlement is believed to have existed since the 12th century.
From 1569 the region belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Jews started to settle in Samhorodok in the late 18th or early 19th century. In 1793, after the Second partition of Poland, it came under the control of the Russian Empire, and became a part of the Kiev Governorate (Kievskaya Gubernia). In 1847, the Jewish community of Samhorodok numbered 224 members. In 1897, the Jewish population was 1234 of 3605, or around one third of the total.
The Jewish population of Samhorodok suffered greatly during World War I and the civil war in Russia. In March 1919, 4 Jewish families from the town were killed in a pogrom.
After 1922, Samhorodok became a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR. Many Jews, especially the younger ones, left Samhorodok for larger towns and cities in search of new educational and vocational opportunities. In 1926, Samhorodok’s 1243 Jews comprised 28.6% of the total population.
German forces occupied Samhorodok on July 22, 1941. Very few Jews managed to leave the town in time. Immediately after the start of the occupation all the remaining Samhorodok’s Jews were registered and forced to wear an armband with a Star of David; later the armbands were replaced by Stars of David sewn on the back and the front of clothing. The Jews were beaten, humiliated, and forced to perform hard labor, and Jewish property was plundered. A ghetto was established on 16 May 1942 and on June 4th and 492 Jews, including 245 children, were executed near the village of Gremnovka. A few dozen able-bodied Jews and Jewish skilled workers were spared and sent to Kozyatyn. Samhorodok was liberated by the Red Army on January 1st 1944.
In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Samhorodok became a part of the independent Ukraine.
The Jewish cemetery of Samhorodok is believed to be founded in the 18th century. Today around 100 headstones dating back to the 20th century are still visible.