Ovruch

Jews probably first settled in Ovruch in the early 17th century although there is no direct reference to this. The Jews of Ovruch suffered from several pogroms during the Haidamak uprising in 1750 and during the Koliyivshchyna uprising in 1768. In 1897 there were 3,445 Jews living in Ovruch, where they comprised about 47 percent of the total population. In 1905 the Jews of Ovruch suffered a pogrom. In the early 1900s the town had a Talmud Torah school and a private vocational school for young men. Ovruch had a local Zionist movement, including a Poalei Zion group that was active in the town. On December 17, 1917 the Jews of Ovruch suffered a pogrom perpetuated, apparently, by White Army soldiers. More than 60 Jewish owned shops were looted. A Jewish self-defence unit existed in Ovruch for some time. During the civil war frequent pogroms and looting of Jewish property took place in Ovruch. The most violent pogrom was carried out by Petlyura's troops in late 1918-early 1919; 80 Jews were killed and 1,200 Jewish homes were looted. Later, another pogrom was carried out by Petlyura's troops and one by those of Denikin. In the 1930s there were 205 Jewish workers in the town, while other Jews worked on a local kolkhoz. There was a seven-year Yiddish school in Ovruch. On the eve of the war the Jewish population of Ovruch amounted to 3,862 people or 33 percent of the total population. When the town was occupied by German troops on August 22, 1941, some Jews succeeded in fleeing to eastern parts of the country. According to some sources, starting from September 23, 1941 the Jews who remained in the town - mostly old people, women, and children - were forced into a ghetto surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by local policemen. The Jews of Ovruch and nearby counties, such as Narodichi and Slovechno, were shot to death in August-September 1941. The Jews of Yelsk were also taken to the town to be shot, apparently later in 1941 and in 1942. Ovruch was liberated by the partisan unit of Alexander Saburov on November 17, 1943.