Vakhnivka Old Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Vinnytsia
District
Lypovets'
Settlement
Vakhnivka Old
Site address
Starting at Lipovets village, drive 100 metres from the sign for Vakhnovka, before turning right. The cemetery can be found behind the stadium.
GPS coordinates
49.31315, 28.85688
Perimeter length
332 мetres
Is the cemetery demolished
no
Type and height of existing fence
The cemetery is unfenced. However, a ditch can be seen running along the sides and back of the cemetery.
Preservation condition
Unfenced Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery is covered with seasonal vegetation, but the grass is generally mown. There is one mass grave.
Number of existing gravestones
Approximately 20 tombstones. The tombstones are broken and their dates are illegible.
Date of oldest tombstone
N/A
Date of newest tombstone
N/A
Urgency of erecting a fence
High
Land ownership
Municipality
Preserved construction on site
There is a memorial and an information plaque on the site.
Drone surveys
Yes

Historical overview

According to the Commission on the Preservation of Jewish Heritage, the cemetery was established in the first half of the 18th century.

The earliest evidence of Vakhnivka’s Jewish community was in the mid 18th century, when it already had a synagogue and a cemetery.
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, Vakhnivka’s Jewish community numbered 534. In 1897, the Jewish population constituted almost half of the town: 2404 of 5371. At the beginning of the 20th century there was an ancient synagogue, built in the mid 18th century, 5 prayer houses and a private Jewish school for girls. In 1912, a Jewish loan bank was established.
The Jewish population of Vakhnivka suffered greatly during World War I and the civil war in Russia. In May and July 1919, pogroms claimed a number of victims.
After 1922, Vakhnivka became a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR. In 1923, the Jewish community numbered 1994 and in 1926, the Jewish population was 2101. In 1932-33 the Holodomor claimed a great number of victims, Jews among them.
Prior to WW2, the Jewish community of Vakhnivka consisted of around 800 people. In July 1941, Vakhnivka was occupied by the German troops. On June 3rd 1942, over 400 Jews were killed in a single day. An additional mass grave with about 40 victims is located on the edge of Vakhnivka at a former Jewish cemetery.
In 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Vakhnivka became a part of the independent Ukraine.
All that remains of the old Jewish cemetery of Vakhnivka are a few dozen tombstones.

3D model