Raygorodok

The earliest reference to the presence of Jews in Raygorodok dates to the early 18th century. In 1895, there were fifty-seven Jews working in the Jewish agricultural settlement of Raygorodok. In 1870, the local Jewish community had a synagogue and a prayer house. By 1897, the village was home to 946 Jews, who made up forty-six percent of the total population. In the early 20th century, and especially during WWI and its aftermath, the Jewish population of Raygorodok shrank; in 1926, there were 665 Jews in the village (approximately 28.5 percent of the total). Raygorodok was occupied by German troops on July 5, 1941. Apparently, a number of local Jews had been able to flee into the Soviet interior prior to that. In August 1941, the German authorities carried out a registration of the Jewish population of Raygorodok. According to the registration list, there were 129 Jews living in the village. Postwar Soviet sources indicate that some Jews were also brought to the village from Yanushpol and other settlements. The local Jews were shot in two murder operations, which took place in Raygorodok in September 1941 and in the summer of 1942. In addition to that, nine Jews were murdered in 1943, but their exact murder site remains unknown. Raygorodok was liberated by the Red Army on July 6, 1944.