Zboriv Jewish Cemetery

Cemetery Information

Country
Ukraine
Region
Ternopyl
District
Zboriv
Settlement
Zboriv
Site address
The cemetery site is located opposite the crossroads of Danyla Halyts’koho and Peremohy streets.
GPS coordinates
49.66298, 25.13381
Perimeter length
400 metres
Is the cemetery demolished
yes
Type and height of existing fence
No fence
Preservation condition
Demolished and overbuilt Jewish cemetery
General site condition
The cemetery site is overbuilt with garages.
Number of existing gravestones
No tombstones preserved
Date of oldest tombstone
Date of newest tombstone
Urgency of erecting a fence
Fence is not needed
Land ownership
Property of local community
Preserved construction on site
Drone surveys
No

Historical overview

The exact period of the cemetery’s establishment is unknown. First, it appears on Austro-Hungarian maps of the 1780s. It can be assumed that the cemetery emerged in the 18th century. The cemetery was marked on cadastral maps of 1830. It appears on the first and the second military surveys of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 1860s and 1880s.

It can be found on Polish maps of Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny (WIG) of 1939. The cemetery was mentioned and marked on a map in Yizkor’s book “Sefer Zikaron li-kehilat Zborov” that was issued in 1975. According to locals, the cemetery was demolished in the Soviet period.

Jews are known from the mid-17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century, 15 Jews of Zboriv were accused of the murder of a Christian beggar but later were justified. After this obviation, a Purim Katan was celebrated on Shvat 12. In 1765, 655 Jews resided in Zboriv. In the 18th-19th centuries, the Jews were engaged in trade and tailoring. Many illustrious rabbis served here. In the late 18th century, a student of Dov-Ber of Mezhirich, Moshe Shapiro, lived in Zboriv. The Hasidic court, founded by Meir Moskovich (1845-1915), set there in 1867-1914. The Jewish population reached 2,109 people (54,4% of the total population) in 1880. In the late 19th century, the Zionist organization HoveveI Zion worked in the town. In the early 20th century, five synagogues operated. During WWI, many Jews fled from the town or were deported to Tlumach. The Jewish population declined to 1,086 (29,1% of the total population) in 1921. In the inter-war period, the Zionist organizations resumed their activity. A Jewish bank was opened in 1925. On July 4, 1941, the Wehrmacht troops occupied Zboriv. More than 1,000 Jews were executed on the same day. On August 29, 1942, around 1,300 Jews were deported to the Belzec death camp. The Jews of Zboriv and the surrounding villages were imprisoned in a ghetto. 2,300 Jews were executed in April 1943. 25 Jews survived the war.

3D model