Smotrich

By the beginning of 18th century there was a Jewish community in Smotrich. A large synagogue, noted for its beauty, was built there in the 18th century. In 1897 Smotrich had 1,725 Jews, comprising 44.2 percent of the total population. On July 8, 1919 the Cossacks carried out a pogrom against the Jews of Smotrich. Under the Soviets a Jewish kolkhoz "Royte Fon" ("red banner" in Yiddish) was established. Jewish artisans and craftsmen worked in cooperatives. In 1939 the 1,075 Jews of Smotrich comprised 18.5 perecent of the total population. The Germans arrived in Smotrich on July 9, 1942. The Jews were ordered to wear yellow badges on their chests and backs and to perform forced labor. Apparently during the first days of the German occupation, about 40 Jews were murdered in the center of Smotrich. According to one testimony, in July or August 1941 about 20 Jews were shot to death at the Smotrich River. According to the same testimony, on September 1, 1941, some Jews, mainly women, children, and elderly people, were shot to death outside the town. The approximately 700 remaining Jewish residents of Smotrich and its surroundings were taken to the Kamenets-Podolsk ghetto. Most of them were murdered during its liquidation in the late fall of 1942. Smotrich was liberated by the Red Army on March 27, 1944.