Varvarovka

Jews apparently started to settle in Varvarovka in the early 19th century. In 1897 781 Jews lived in the village, where they comprised 33.2 percent of the total population. Most of Varvarovka's Jews were small scale traders or artisans. There were two Jewish private schools in Varvarovka at the turn of the century, one for girls and one for boys. In 1905 a pogrom was staged in Varvarovka. During the interwar period the Jewish population of Varvarovka decreased drastically. In 1939 Vavarovka's 135 Jews comprised 2.4 percent of the total population. Varvarovka was occupied by German troops on August 14, 1941. Many of its Jews succeeded in fleeing before that. The remaining 42 Jews, together with 75 Jews from nearby villages and from Nikolayev, a total of 117 people, were murdered in September 1941 in the vicinity of the town. Two Jewish families were taken to the Rozvalina farmstead, near Varvarovka, and murdered there. In the second half of 1943 a forced labor camp was established in Varvarovka to which Jews were brought from areas occupied by Romania and from German-controlled areas of southern Ukraine. The inmates of this camp were forced to build a bridge over the Bug River. Many Jews in the camp died due to the grueling work and inhuman conditions. A number of the camp's inmates were executed by the Germans, who accused the victims of sabotaging work or caught them attempting to escape. Varvarovka was liberated by the Red Army on March 30, 1944.