Stavishche

Jews lived in Stavishche at least from the 18th century. The Jews of Stavishche suffered greatly from attacks by the Haidamaks and many Jews abandoned the town. Only after Stavishche became part of the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire in the late 18th century did the number of Jews in the town start to grow significantly, reaching 3,917 or 48 percent of the town's total population in 1897. On the eve of World War I Jews played a dominant role in the economic life of Stavishche, owning most of the shops and leasing two out of the three local mills. The Jews of Stavishche were severely affected by the violence accompanying the years of revolution and civil war in Russia. Scores of the town's Jews fell victim to the pogroms staged in 1917-1920 by various warring parties. Many Jews were injured, Jewish women were raped, and Jewish property was looted or destroyed. Many Jews abandoned Stavishche at that time in search of safer places, with only some of them returning when the situation stabilized. In the Soviet period there was a Yiddish school in Stavishche. Many Jews left Stavishche in the 1920s and 1930s for larger towns and cities in search of educational and vocational opportunities. In 1939 319 Jews were living in Stavishche, where they constituted 6.1 percent of the total population. Some of the Jewish residents apparently succeeded in leaving Stavishche before it was occupied by German troops on July 17, 1941. The majority of the Jews who remained were shot to death in the summer or fall of 1941, near the town. Stavishche was liberated by the Red Army on January 2, 1944.