Novo Vorontsovka

Jews started to settle in Novovorontsovka in the early 19th century. In 1897 its Jewish population numbered 1,685 people, comprising 32.5 percent of the total population. Most local Jews were merchants or artisans. The Jews of Novovorontsovka suffered greatly from the calamities of the revolutionary years and civil war in Russia. During the 1920s and 1930s a majority of the Jews left Novovorontsovka for larger localities in search of vocational and educational opportunities. Only 42 Jews remained in 1939, when they comprised 1.1 percent of the village's population. Novovorontsovka was occupied by the Germans on August 18, 1941. About 20 Jews succeeded in leaving before the arrival of the German forces. The remaining Jews were murdered near the village on September 24, 1941. Novovorontsovka was liberated by the Red Army on February 27, 1944.