Yuzvin

Jews lived in Yuzvin from the 18th century. In 1897 Yuzvin's 445 Jews constituted 23.2 percent of the town’s total population. Most of Yuzvin's Jews were small-scale merchants or craftsmen. On the eve of World War I Jews owned all the shops in the town. The ban on private economic activity imposed by the Soviets forced the local Jews to adapt themselves to the new reality and to abandon their traditional occupations. Many young Jews left Yuzvin in search of educational and vocational opportunities in larger towns and cities. In 1926 Yuzvin's 395 Jews comprised 10.1 percent of the town’s total population. Apparently many of Yuzvin's Jews succeeding in leaving the town before it was occupied by German troops in mid-July 1941. In early March 1942 about 100 Jews from Yuzvin were murdered in the vicinity of the town. Yuzvin was liberated by the Red Army in March 1944.