GLUKHOV

GLUKHOV I:     US Commission No. UA18070501
The 1941 mass grave is at the entrance to town in the forest. The town is located at 51º41 33º55, 146 km from Sumy and 69 km from Konotop. Present town population is 25,001-100,000 with 101-1,000 Jews.

• Town officials: Town Soviet of Chairman of Executive Committee-Derkach Nikolay Andreevich [Phone: (05444) 26244].
  
• Regional officials: Regional State Department - Chairman Chumachenko [Phone: (05444) 25085].: State Department - Chairman Epifanov.
  
• Jewish Community of Sumskaya Oblast
  
• Others: Savitsky Dmitry Grigorievich, Chief of the Department of Executive Committee [Phone: (05444) 22349] and Griban Valery Fedorovich of Mayor architect of town [Phone: (05444) 22134].

     The earliest known Jewish community was 18th century. 1939 Hasidic or Progressive/Reform Jewish population was 2551. Effected Jewish Community: 1881, 1905 pogroms, and Civil War. Living here was Lazar Tsveyfel. Between fields and woods, the unlandmarked flat land, part of a municipal cemetery, has signs or plaques in Ukrainian, English, and Hebrew mentioning Jews, the Holocaust and ?. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No wall, fence or gate surround site. The approximate size of mass grave is now 0.50 hectares. 1 to 20 common tombstones, all in original location and none removed, date from the 20th century. The mass grave has special section for other. Municipality owns the site now used for mixed burials, mainly non-Jewish. Adjacent properties are the forest. The mass grave boundaries is larger now than 1939. Organized individual tours and private Jewish or non-Jewish visitors visit occasionally. This mass grave never was vandalized. Local/municipal authorities and Jewish individuals abroad re-erected stones and cleared vegetation from 1974 to 1996. Now, authorities clear or clean occasionally. Within the limits of the mass grave are no structures. Moderate threat: pollution. Slight threat: uncontrolled access, vegetation (Water drainage at the mass grave is a seasonal problem.) and vandalism. No threat: weather erosion, existing nearby development and proposed nearby development.
     Khodorkovsky Yuri Isaakovich visited site on 16/10/96. He completed survey on 20/10/96. Savitsky Dmitry Grigorievich [Phone: (05444) 22349] was interviewed.
GLUKHOV II:     US Commission No. UA18070101
     See Glukhov I for town and history information. The cemetery is located at southern outskirts of the town. The last known Hasidic and Progressive/Reform Jewish burial was 1996. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated flat suburban land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A continuous fence with no gate surrounds the site. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII was 2.50 and is now 2.40 hectares. 501 to 5000 stones, most in their original location, date from 1823. Location of any removed stones is unknown. The cemetery has special post-war section. Some tombstones have iron decorations or lettering, other metallic elements, portraits on stones, and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. The municipality owns the property used for Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are commercial or industrial and residential. The cemetery boundaries are smaller now than 1939 because of housing development. Jewish or non-Jewish private visitors and local residents visit occasionally. The cemetery was vandalized during World War II and not in the last 10 years. Local/municipal authorities and Jewish individuals within country cleared vegetation in 1990. Now, authorities clear or clean occasionally. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access. Slight threat: weather erosion and vandalism. No threat: pollution, vegetation, existing nearby development and proposed nearby development.
     Khodorkovsky Yuri Isaakovich visited site on 16/10/96 and completed survey on 20/10/96. Interviewed were as above.
     UPDATE: Old Jewish Cemetery: {10365} I have photos of every tombstone in the old Jewish cemetery. (The numbers with the names refer to her picture numbers.) The cemetery is intact with a small new section. Today, there are very few Jewish families in the area. The old part of the cemetery is not overgrown, as the goats tend it. The old military installation is located right behind the cemetery. In 1992, it was discovered that 800 of the town residents were shot to death there during WWII. The remains of these people were dug up from a pit and reburied at the memorial in Borak. Many of these people were Jewish. In fact, they even dug up pieces of yarmulkes. I have much info on it along with a video showing the excavation and the reburial ceremony. Source: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.