Alternate names: Belopol'ye and Белополье [Rus], Bilopillya and Білопілля [Ukr], Białopol [Pol]. 49°51' N, 28°52' E, 46 miles NNE of Vinnytsya, 29 miles SSE of Zhytomyr, 13 miles E of Berdychiv. Jewish population: 1,141 (in 1897), 1,255 (in 1926). city and the administrative center of the Bilopillia Raion in Sumy Oblast of northeastern Ukraine. It is located at around 51°8′54″N 34°18′3″E, close to Kursk Oblast of Russia. The population is 18,384 (2001).
- JewishGen Ukraine SIG
- Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (1880-1902), I, pp. 192-193: "Białopol".
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 104: "Belopolye".
Kazatin County, Vinnitsa District, Ukraine
A Jewish presence was first recorded in Belopolye in the early 18th century. In 1897 1,141 Jews lived in Belopolye, comprising 43.6 percent of the total population.
The Jewish population of Belopolye suffered greatly during World War I and the ensuing civil war in Russia. In 1919 a pogrom in Belopolye, apparently staged by Symon Petliura's Ukrainian Army, claimed a number of victims. Under the Soviets the social and occupational structure of Belopolye's Jews started to change, with many of them moved shifting from engaging in commerce to crafts and government employment. In the mid-1920s a Jewish rural council was established in Belopolye. In the 1920s and 1930s there was a Yiddish school in Belopolye. In 1926 Belopolye had 1,255 Jews, who comprised 39.1 percent of the total population. Source [Feb 2015]
MASS GRAVES:
The Germans occupied Belopolye in the second half of July 1941. Most Belopolye Jews apparently succeeded in leaving before the arrival of the German forces. Soon after the start of the occupation local Ukrainians staged a pogrom in Belopolye, killing at least one Jew. Jewish property was confiscated by the Germans and the Jews began being sent to perform hard labor. In May 1942 about 70 Jews of Belopolye were murdered by German and Ukrainian auxiliary policemen. At the end of 1942 24 Jews who had remained in Belopolye were sent to forced labor, apparently on the construction of Road No. 4 connecting Lvov and Taganrog.
Belopolye was liberated by the Red Army in late December 1943.Source [Feb 2015]
- Murder Sites: Polish Cemetery
- Commemoration: Commemoration of Jewish Victims
CEMETERY: ?