First Jews appeared in Sądowa Wisznia (Sudova Vyshnia; Ukr. Судова Вишня) in the mid-16th century. They were initially involved in running inns and taverns. In 1880, the town had 1,100 Jewish inhabitants, constituting ca. 28% of the total population. At the end of the 19th century, their number increased to ca. 1,300 – 30% of the population. In 1921, however, the Jewish community shrank down to 1,039 people (24.7%), which was due to both warfare and intensified migration. The Zionist movement became actively involved in the local life in 1902. However, the local population remained largely influenced by conservative circles.

The Jewish community of the town was destroyed by Germans during World War II. In 1942, three extermination operations were carried out in Sądowa Wisznia. The first such “action” took place on 15 April 1942, when ca. 450 Jews were driven to the Janowska camp in Lviv. Most people deported in the second operation were also taken to the Janowska camp, while others were sent to the Belzec extermination camp. At the beginning of December 1942, the last Jews remaining in the town were resettled (together with the inhabitants of Hussaków [Husakiv], Janów [Yaniv], Krakowiec [Krakovets], Krukienice [Krukenychi] and Mościski [Mostyska]) to the ghetto in Jaworów (Yavoriv), which had been created on 10 November 1942. It was located in the southern part of the town and was fenced with barbed wire. After the deportation operation, the number of prisoners increased to ca. 6,000.

The prisoners of the ghetto were forced to endure abominable, unsanitary living conditions, which soon resulted in a typhus epidemic which claimed the lives of as many as 1,500 people. On 16 April 1943, the ghetto in Jaworów was liquidated – over 3,500 Jews were murdered on the spot, ca. 2,500 soon afterwards, while the others were killed over the following couple of days. Only ca. 200 prisoners were left alive. At the end of April 1943, they were resettled to the labour camp at Janowska Street in Lviv.

Bibliography

  • “Sądowa Wisznia,” [in:] Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, vol. 10, eds. F. Sulimierski, W. Walewski, B. Chlebowski, Warsaw, p. 361.
  • The Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945, vol. II A, ed. Goeffrey P. Megargee, p. 785.
  • The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, vol. 2, eds. S. Spector, G. Wigoder, New York 2001, p. 1118.
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