Telechany

The earliest reference to the Jewish settlement of Telechany dates to the early 18th Century. In 1776, Count Ogiński, a prosperous local landowner, initiated and financed the construction of a canal that united the Pripet and Shchara rivers. The burgeoning Jewish businesses greatly benefited from this construction project and from the trade boom that followed its completion in 1826. In 1897, Telechany was home to 1,508 Jews, who made up almost 59 percent of the total population. In 1921, when the town became part of independent Poland, its 463 Jews made up half of the population. In September 1939, when the Soviets took control of the area, Telechany was annexed to the Belorussian SSR. On the eve of the war, the local Jewish community numbered about 2,000. Telechany was occupied by the Germans on June 28, 1941. By that time, many local Jews had tried to flee into the Soviet interior; only several dozen of them managed to make good their escape, while the rest were forced to return to Telechany after running into difficulties along the way. The Jewish population was annihilated in early August 1941 in the Grecziszcze Ravine near the town. Telechany was liberated by the Red Army on July 10, 1944.