Sevastopol

The modern Sevastopol Jewish community, that consisted of a few families from Galicia, was established in the late 18th century. The Jews were mainly merchants or artisans. In 1829 Russian Emperor Nikolai I banned Jewish residence in Sevastopol; the Jews were expelled from the city in 1834. During the Crimean War (1845-1855), hundreds of Jewish soldiers and sailors participated in the defense of the city, which became a base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet; many of them were killed. As a reward, in 1859 certain groups of Jews (mainly merchants) were allowed to return. In 1864 the Jewish community erected a monument to the Jewish defenders of Sevastopol. In the 1880s and 1890s the Jews were mainly involved in grain trading. In 1910 the Jewish population of Sevastopol numbered 3,655. During World War I and the ensuing civil war the city's Jewish population increased, mainly due to Jewish refugees from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic countries. In 1926 6,038 Jews (including 831 Krymchaks) were living in the city. In 1939 the Jewish population was 5,988, comprising 5.5 percent out of the total city population. A number of Jews died between October 1941 and July 1942 during the German siege of Sevastopol. About 3,000 Jews succeeded in fleeing the city before the beginning of the siege, while some joined the partisans. After fierce fighting the German forces captured the city on July 1, 1942. Between July 1 and 15 the Germans shot to death, outside the city, Jewish prisoners of war from Sevastopol and another 1,029 refugees and Jewish prisoners of war (both from the Tole POW camp and the Bakhchisaray POW camp). According to one testimony, during the first days of the German occupation some Jews committed suicide by jumping into the Black Sea. On July 6 the Jews were ordered to wear white Stars of David. A few days later Sonderkommando 11a appointed a council of Jewish community representatives to carry out the registration of Sevastopol Jews. After the Jews were registered, they were forced to perform various kinds of hard labor. On July 12, 1942 the remaining Jews of Sevastopol - men, women, children, and the elderly, were brought by policemen to the Dinamo Stadium. They were told to take with them provisions for three days on the pretext that they were going to be resettled. Some of them were taken to a nearby prison. On July 12-13, 1942 approximately 1,200 of those Jews collected at the stadium were shot to death outside the city. Another group was murdered by gas vans near the city prison. The remaining Jews were shot to death on the outskirts of the city. The local Russian auxiliary police took part in finding the Jews and handing them over to the German authorities. During the German occupation of the city a total of approximately 4,000 Jews from Sevastopol and Jewish prisoners of war from the Sevastopol area were murdered. Sevastopol was liberated by the Red Army on May 9, 1944.