Shirokoye

Jews probably beganb to settle in Shirokoye toward the end of the 19th century. Most of them were agricultural workers or artisans. Many Jews left Shirokoye during the 1920s and 1930s. In 1939 325 Jews remained in Shirokoye, comprising 3.6 percent of the total population. Most of Shirokoye’s Jews succeeded in leaving before German forces occupied the town on August 16, 1941. The few Jews who had stayed were murdered in September 1941, apparently by members of the 318th Order Police Battalion. Jews from the town of Shirokoye and the county who had succeeded in evading German roundups but were caught later were murdered in December 1942 near the town of Ingulets. Shirokoye was liberated by the Red Army on February 29, 1944.