Krasnostav

Jews began to live in Krasnostav in the 18th century. In 1897 there were 1,222 Jews, who comprised 55.7 percent of the total population. During an episode during the Russian civil war (1918-1920) 31 Jews were wounded. From the early 1920s a Yiddish school operated in the town. In 1926 the town had 1,204 Jews, who comprised 49.1 percent of the total population and a Jewish rural council operated there. In 1931 a kolkhoz named after Voroshilov was established; by 1934 100 Jewish families were working there. Jews also worked in government organized workshops and at the local brick factory. The Jewish population of the town declined in the late 1930s. Krasnostav was captured by the Germans between July 7 and 9, 1941. Few Jewish families managed to flee in time. In early August a German murder squad shot to death about 50 Jewish men in the forest outside the town. A group of Jewish young girls from Krasnostav who had been sent to work at the military canteen in the town of Berezdov were murdered near Slavuta on June 25 or 26, 1942 together with the remaining Jews of Berezdov. Around this time the occupation authorities extorted money and valuables from the Jewish population of the town. On August 28 or 29, 1941 735 Jews - mainly women, children, and old people - were shot to death in the forest outside the town, near Guta village. The surviving 175 Jewish artisans and skilled workers were temporarily spared. On March 4, 1942 they were moved to the ghetto of Berezdov, where they were forced to perform hard labor. Later they were taken to the ghetto of Slavuta and shot to death, apparently in September 1942. Krasnostav was liberated by the Red Army on January 13 or 14, 1944.