Koshevataya

Jews began living in Koshevataya in the late 18th century. In 1897 1,265 Jews lived in the village, where they constituted 22.3 percent of the total population. The Jews of Koshevataya suffered greatly from the violence of the years of revolution and civil war in Russia. In pogroms carried out by various warring parties in 1918-1921 several dozen Jews were killed, many Jewish women were raped, and Jewish property was looted or destroyed. Under the Soviets the life of the Jews of Koshevataya underwent profound changes, especialy in terms of their occupations. Some Jews turned to agriculture. In 1928 the Jewish collective farm Pravda ("the Truth") was established in Koshevataya; it later merged with the Jewish-Ukrainian Lenin collective farm. On the eve of World War II very few Jews remained in Koshevataya. The Germans occupied the Koshevataya area in late July 1941. In September 1941 about 50 Jews still living in the town were shot by members of Einsatzkommando 5 of Einsatzgruppe C on the outskirts of the town. The Red Army liberated the Koshevataya area in early January 1944.