VYSOKOYE or Vysokaye (Byelorussian: Высокае, Polish: Wysokie, Wysokie Litewskie, Russian: Высокое) is the westernmost town of Belarus, in Kamenets District, Brest Region; 52°22'N, 23°22'E. In Grand Duchy of Lithuania till 1569, in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth till 1795, in Brest uezd, Grodno gubernia of Russian Empire till 1915 and in Poland between the two world wars 1919-1939. Jews were living in Vysokoye from the late 16th century. A Jewish community was organized in the early 17th century, which by the decision of the Jewish Council of Lithuania came under the jurisdiction of the Brest community. The synagogue, built of stone in 1607 was enlarged in 1828. In 1650 a meeting of the Lithuanian Council took place in Vysokoye. A bet midrash was established in 1757. A new building was completed to house the bet midrash in 1837 and a new cemetery was opened in 1898. A talmud torah was founded in 1853. The Jewish population numbered 1,475 in 1847 and 2,876 (85% of the total) in 1897. In the 19th century Jews engaged in the trade of agricultural products, tailoring, tanning, carpentry, and transportation. Between the two world wars there was a Hebrew Tarbut school. The Jewish community, which numbered 1,902 (91%) in 1921, was annihilated in World War II. Most of the Jews were detained in the ghetto in 1941 and were transported in a goods train to the death camp in Treblinka (Poland) in 1942. Source: Encyclopaedia Judaica © 2008 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.
Update: A Holocaust memorial was put in 2010 to commemorate the Jews of Vysokoye who were killed by Nazis. There are no tombstones in either of the Jewish cemeteries, one of which is in the town center, the other near the Agrarian College. Source: Oleg Medvedevsky [February 2012]
Holocaust memorial in front of the ruins of the Old Synagogue of Vysokoye, that I took in August 2010. Source: Oleg Medvedevsky [February 2012]
KehilaLink. [Mar 2013]