Volochisk

Jews settled in Volochisk in the 18th century. The Jews of the town were attacked during the riots of May 5, 1881. In 1897 the Jewish population of 3,295 comprised 49 percent of the total population. During World War I, as a result of the antisemitic policy of the Russian military command, the Jews were expelled from the town. When they returned, they found their homes and shops looted. Under the Soviets, in the 1920s and 1930s, the town had a Jewish council and a Yiddish school. A Jewish kolkhoz named after Hirsh Lekkert operated nearby. In 1939 the local Jews numbered only 521, amounting to about 15 percent of the total population. The Germans occupied Volochisk on July 5, 1941. In the summer of 1941 a ghetto fenced off with barbed wire was set up in the town and the Jews were ordered to wear yellow badges on their chests and backs. Apparently in September 1942, the Jews from Volochisk, along with some Jews from Kupel and other towns in the area, were murdered outside the town. Volochisk was liberated by the Red Army in March 1944.