The earliest record referring to Jews in Horochów (currently Horokhiv, Ukraine) dates back to 1536. In second half of the 16th century, a Jewish street existed in this noble-owned town. The community started to develop during the Russian Partition. In 1897, 2,571 Jews lived in Horochów, which had a population of 4,699 (54,7%). They made a living from trade in grain, cattle, and poultry, as well as from crafts. In religious terms, the community was dominated by Hasidic Jews hailing from competing courts in Ołyka (Olyka), Turzysk (Turiisk) and Stolin-Karlin.
World War I brought extensive destruction to the town, further exacerbated by a brief period of occupation of the town by Petliura's troops. The situation of the community improved under the Second Polish Republic, although it never regained its pre-war prosperity. The Zionist movement, present in Horochów since the beginning of the 20th century, was becoming more and more popular. The local Zionists ran a Hebrew school and a farm preparing settlers for departure to Palestine. In 1921, 2,377 Jews lived in the town, constituting 53.8% of the population.
The town was seized by Germans on 26 June 1941. The occupiers ordered the creation of a Judenrat. On 12 August 1941, ca. 300 Jews were murdered in the municipal park by an Einsatzkommando and Ukrainians. A ghetto was established in Horochów in September of that year. Its population comprised 5,000 people, including 2,000 deportees from other localities. On 8 September 1942, all Jews were driven out of town and shot at previously prepared pits by German SD units from Łuck (Lutsk).
Bibliography
- “Horochow,” [in:] The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, vol. 1, eds. Sh. Spector, G. Wigoder, New York 2001, pp. 527–528.
