Alternate names: Beryslav and Берислав [Ukr], Berislav [Rus Берислав , Yid בעריסלאַוו ], Berysław [Pol], Beryslaw [Ger], Berisslaw. 46°50' N, 33°25' E, on the Dniepr River, 41 miles ENE of Kherson. [Not to be confused with the larger town of Boryslav (Borysław), SW of Lviv, in Galicia]. city in Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine with district significance: administrative center for the Beryslav Raion (district) and district's local administration buildings. Population is 13,457 (2011).
"Jews started to settle in Berislav at the end of the 18th or the beginning of the 19th century. In 1897 2,642 Jews (the majority of whom were merchants or artistans) lived in Berislav, comprising 22 percent of the total population. In 1882 there was a pogrom in Berislav: Jewish houses were attacked, Jewish market-stands destroyed, and Jews were abused. The Jewish population of Berislav suffered severely from a wave of pogroms during the civil war in Russia. In the late 1920s several Jewish kolkhozes were established in the vicinity of Berislav by Jewish migrants from other parts of Ukraine. There were Jewish schools on the Kaganovich kolkhoz and on the Frayer Arbeter (Free Laborer) kolkhoz, but both schools were closed in the 1930s. In the 1920s and 1930s there was also a Yiddish school in Berislav itself. In 1939 only 230 Jews lived in Berislav, comprising 3 percent of the total population. After the start of the German-Soviet war many Jewish refugees arrived in the town. Berislav was occupied by German forces on August 23, 1941. On September 22 about 400 Jews then living in Berislav were murdered near the town by the members of Einsatzgruppe D. Another 35 Jews from Berislav were shot in early October 1941. Berislav was liberated by the Red Army on March 11, 1944." Yad Vashem [Feb 2015]
- JewishGen Ukraine SIG
- Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), I, p. 155: "Berysław".
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 117: "Berislav".
CEMETERY:
BERISLAV I: US Commission No. UA21030101
Alternate names: Berislaw (Ukraine) and Litovsky-Vitovtova (others), Beryslav (Russian) and Turkey-Nyzylkermen (other). Berislav is located in Khersonskaya at 46º50 33º26, 208 km from Odessa, 95km from Nikolayew and 75 or 55 km from Kherson, and 208km from Odessa.. Cemetery: between St. R. Lyuksemburg and Kirova, North. Present town population is 5,001-25,000 with 11-100 Jews.
- Town: Town Soviet of Berislav of Major-Kavun Evgeniy Pavlovich [ph: (05546) 21154]
- Regional: Regional Executive Committee of Berislav, Dovgan Konstantin Vasil'yevich [ph: (05546) 22005]. Regional Executive Committee, Chupryna Vladimir G. [ph: (05522) 25290]. Regional Department of Culture of Chistyakova Zoya Emel'yanovna [ph: (05546) 21636].
- Others: Jewish Community of Kherson. Steyma B.Z. [ph: (05522) 64129].
The earliest known Jewish community was 19th century. 1939 Jewish population (census) was 395 or 295. Effecting community were 1918, 1920 pogroms, and 1930 elimination of Jewish organizations. The last known Hasidic Jewish burial was 1949. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The urban flat land, part of a municipal cemetery, has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence, or gate surrounds the site. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII was 0.80 and is now 0.60 hectares. Location of removed stones is unknown. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality owns the property used for industrial or commercial use. Adjacent properties are commercial or industrial. The cemetery boundaries are smaller now than 1939 because of commercial or industrial development. Rarely, local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II. There is no maintenance now. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Very serious threat: uncontrolled access, vandalism, existing and proposed nearby development. Slight threat: weather erosion, pollution and vegetation.
Oks Vladimir Moiseevich of 270065, Odessa, Varnenskaya St., 17D, apt. 52 [ph: (0482) 665950] visited site on 12/5/94 and interviewed Tyshchenko A.N. of Berislav on 12/5/94. He completed survey on 12/05/1994. Other documentation was inaccessible.
MASS GRAVE:
BERISLAV II: US Commission No. UA21030501
See Berislav I for town information. The mass grave is located at west.
The earliest known Jewish community was mid-19th century. The unlandmarked Jewish mass grave was dug in 1941 for Berislav Jews only. The isolated suburban site has no sign or marker. Access is open to all. No wall, gate, or fence surrounds the mass grave. The approximate size is now 0.01 hectares. No stones were removed. The site contains unmarked mass graves. The municipality owns the property only used for mass burial site. Adjacent properties are commercial or industrial. Rarely, local residents visit. The mass grave was vandalized during World War II and occasionally in the last 10 years. There is no maintenance now. Within the limits of the mass grave are no structures. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem preventing access. Very serious threat: weather erosion, pollution, existing and proposed nearby development. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access, vegetation and vandalism. Other documentation was inaccessible.
Oks Vladimir Moiseevich of 270065, Odessa, Varnenskaya St.17d, apt. 52 [ph: (0482) 665950] visited site on /12/1994 and interviewed Tischenko A.M. of Berislav on /12/1994. He completed survey on 18/02/1995.
- Murder Sites: Slaughterhouse
- Commemoration: Commemoration of Jewish Victims