Opochka

The beginning of the Jewish presence in Opochka apparently dates to the mid-19th century. In 1879, the town was home to fifty-three Jewish families, who were permitted to establish a prayer house there. At the time, the local Jewish community numbered 521 members, who made up nine percent of the total population. By 1939, the number of Jews in Opochka had declined to 289, or 2.5 percent of the total population. Opochka was occupied by the Germans on July 8, 1941. During the first days of the occupation, four Jews were shot at the local Jewish cemetery. The Jews of Opochka were subsequently moved into a ghetto, which was set up in a former barrack. From November 1941 to March 1942, small groups of inmates were taken out of the ghetto and shot. On March 8, 1942, the remaining Jews of Opochka were led out of town toward the village of Varygino and shot. In the fall of 1943, the Germans burned the bodies of all the Jewish victims. Opochka was liberated by the Red Army on July 14, 1943.