Młynów

Jews began to settle in Młynów in the late 18th century. In 1897, under the rule of the Russian Empire, they numbered 672, comprising 60 percent of town's total population. After World War I Młynów was incorporated into the independent Polish state. Between the two world wars, most Jews in Młynów made a living by trading at monthly fairs or as grain wholesalers. A Zionist Hebrew language Tarbut school and a kindergarten functioned there intermittently. There was considerable Zionist activity was prominent in the town and different parties and their youth movements (HeHalutz Hatzair, Hashomer Hatzair and Beitar) were active in the town. In September 1939, with the arrival of the Red Army in the city, following the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Młynów became part of Soviet Ukraine. It is estimated that besides the local Jews, several hundred Jewish refugees from the German-occupied parts of Poland settled in the town. Consequently, there were approximately 1,500 Jews in Młynów on the eve of the Soviet-German war. Młynów was occupied by the Germans on June 24, 1941. Soon afterwards, Jews were ordered to wear a white armband with a blue Star of David (replaced in the fall by a yellow patch worn on the chest and on the back). Jews were also assigned to compulsory labor. On July 5, 18 Jewish men from Młynów and the nearby town of Murawica were shot to death at the Młynów airfield. A week later, on July 12, 10 Jewish youths were shot to death as alleged Soviet activists. The town's rabbi, Yehuda Gordin, was among the first victims in the summer of 1941. In August and September of 1941, at the behest of the Germans, the mayor of Młynów collected gold, silver and other valuable items form the Jews. In the fall of the same year a Jewish council (Judenrat) headed by a man named Hashas, and a Jewish police force were set up in the town. During the same time, about 50 Jewish men from Młynów who had been recruited for construction work in the city of Równe were murdered after they had completed their work. At the end of 1941 the Judenrat announced that people with work certificates would be not taken into the planned ghetto. Therefore, Jews did everything they could to obtain these work certificates. There were different categories of certificates. Those considered best were the "iron certificates" issued to artisans and doctors employed personally by the Germans. On May 22, 1942, a ghetto was established in Młynów. At this time the Jews from Murawica were also incarcerated in the Młynów ghetto. The ghetto was surrounded by barbed wire and had two gates guarded by Ukrainian police. Due to the overcrowding the sanitary conditions considerably worsened. Groups of workers who held 'iron certificates" and whose skills were in high demand were housed outside the ghetto. Shortly after the ghetto was established, several youths, headed by Avraham Ben-Tsioin Holtsker, tried to organize resistance. The group acquired rifles and prepared gasoline to burn down the ghetto in order to create confusion and possibly escape during the liquidation of the ghetto. However, for some reason, their plans were not carried out. On September 22, 1942 980 inmates of the ghetto were shot to death, by a Security Police and SD unit from Równe, outside the town, near the town of Murawica. Apparently on October 8, the ghetto was liquidated when the last 520 Jews, who had been caught in hiding, apparently along with some specialists, were shot to death inside the ghetto. On December 29, 1942 25 Jews who had been caught in hiding were shot to death in the Smordwa Forest. In January 1943 members of the Shichman family that was hiding in the village of Kuza were caught and shot to death on the spot. On April 15, 1943, another group of 13 Jews who had been hiding in the Smordwa Forest was shot to death in Smordwa village. Młynów was liberated by the Red Army on February 6, 1944.