Kisielin

Jews were residing in Kisielin in the 17th century. In 1897, under the Russian Empire, the Jewish population of 873 comprised a large majority of the total population. During World War I the number of Kisielin's Jewish residents declined significantly. After World War I Kisielin was incorporated into the independent Polish State. Between the two world wars the number of local Jews increased somewhat. Several Zionist youth organizations (such as HeHalutz) operated in the town. After September 17, 1939, with the arrival of the Red Army in the town following the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Kisielin became part of Soviet Ukraine. The Germans occupied the village at the end of June 1941. In the summer and fall of 1941, the German authorities introduced a series of anti-Jewish measures in Kisielin. Jews were initially required to wear armbands bearing the Star of David (which was later replaced by a yellow badge). They were required to perform forced labor, mainly in digging peat, and prohibited from leaving the town. The Jews also suffered from robbery and assault at the hands of the Ukrainian auxiliary police. On August 19, 1941 German security forces shot to death 48 Jews who were considered to be Soviet activists, outside the town near the ruined Catholic church. Apparently in November 1941, a local ghetto was set up, which was surrounded with barbed wire. In addition to incarcerating Kisielin's Jews in the ghetto, the occupation authorities also imprisoned there the remaining Jews from nearby villages, such as Ozdziutycze. On August 15 or 16, 1942 the Germans liquidated the ghetto, shooting its inmates outside the town. About 20 people who succeeded in escaping on the eve of the murder operation were eventually caught by the police and also shot to death. Kisielin was liberated by the Red Army in July 1944.