Parafjanowo

In 1907, the first section of the new Polotsk-Siedlce railway line was opened for traffic. This line passed close to the small village of Parafianów, which gave its name to the new railway station that had been built there. In a short time, the eponymous settlement that had sprung up southeast of the railway station grew into a hub of industry and a center of the timber trade. It quickly surpassed the village of Parafianów in population. The economically successful new town attracted Jews: In 1921, when Parafianów became part of the newly independent Second Polish Republic, it was home to 84 Jews, and that number had risen to 230 by 1931. Logs and wooden boards from Parafianów were sold throughout Poland, and even as far as Germany. In 1929, the Polish government transformed the timber trade into a state monopoly. This development dealt a blow to the Jewish economy of the town. Nevertheless, the Jewish community of Parafianów continued to grow – thus, a small Hebrew-language school of the Tarbut network was opened there in the early 1930s.

In September 1939, World War II began, and Parafianów was annexed to the USSR. The Soviet authorities nationalized the sawmills and the other businesses, and closed down the Tarbut school. However, quite a few Jews managed to find employment in the new Soviet administrative apparatus. Aharon Lewitan became chairman of the local Soviet (council). Some young people left Parafianów to study in larger towns.

In June 1941, the Soviet-German War broke out, and the Germans had occupied Parafianów by the end of that month. Aharon Lewitan, who had been unable to flee, was betrayed by the locals, and the Germans shot him and displayed his dead body in the market square. Forced labor was introduced for all Jews over the age of 12, and various anti-Jewish orders and "ransom payments" in money and in kind (valuables, boots, leather, and fur) followed. A Jewish council was set up. In late 1941, a ghetto was established in Parafianów.

On May 29, 1942, the Nazis liquidated the ghetto, and all of its 500-600 inmates were shot at the town's garbage dump. Some Jews managed to escape from the ghetto, and even from the murder site, and survived.

Parafianów was liberated by the Red Army on July 2, 1944.