Gulyay Pole

Jews apparently began to settle in Gulyay Pole in the mid-19th century. In May 1881 the local Jews suffered from a pogrom during which Jewish shops and houses were destroyed. Sometime during the first decade of the 20th century members of an anarchist group prevented a pogrom. During the Russian civil war Gulyay Pole became the center of the Makhno anarchist movement, in which some Jews had important positions. In 1939 the Jewish population of Gulyay Pole amounted to 556, which was 3.4 percent of the total population. The town was occupied on October 5, 1941. In January 1942 most of the Jews from the town and surrounding villages were murdered. Gulyay Pole was liberated by the Red Army on September 16, 1943.