Alternate names: Belz/Белз [Rus, Ukr, בעלזYid], Bełz [Pol], Bels [Ger], Bełsk, Beltz, Belzec. 50°23' N, 24°01' E, 38 miles N of L'viv (Lvov), 27 miles E of Tomaszów Lubelski, 14 miles WSW of Sokal. This is not Bălţi, Moldova (Beltsy, Bessarabia), also Belz in Yiddish. Yizkor: Belz; sefer zikaron, (Tel Aviv, 1974). Pinkas HaKehilot, Poland, Vol. 2 (1980), p. 117-120: "Belz". This small town in the Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine near the border with Poland is located between the Solokiya river (Bug river, called Western Bug) and the Rzeczyca stream. The 2004 estimated population was 2408. [August 2009]
synagogue photo. The kahal (קהלה kehilla) in Belz was established in about the 14th century. In 1665, Jews in Belz were granted equal rights and obligations of citizens. The town was home to a Hasidic dynasty of Belz in the early 19th century. At the beginning of WWI, Belz 6100 inhabitants included 3600 Jews, 1600 Ukrainians, and 900 Poles. The collapse of Austro-Hungary in November 1918 saw Belz included in the Western Ukrainian People's Republic and then under Polish control in 1919 in the Poland-Ukrainian People's Republic agreement in 1920. From 1919 to 1939 Belz belonged to Lwów Voivodeship, Second Polish Republic. The Hasidic Court returned in 1925. Germany occupied from 1939 to 1944. Most of the Jews of Belz had fked. By May 1942, over 1,540 Jewish refugees remained in Belz. On June 2, 1942, 1,000 Jews were deported to Hrubieszów and from there to the Sobibór. 504 (slave laborers) were brought to Hrubieszów in September. After WWII, Belz reverted to Poland (Lublin Voivodeship) until 1951 when it passed to the Soviet Union (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). Since 1991 it has been part of independent Ukraine. Jewish history and photos. The remains of old synagogue were found in the schoolyard, covered in 1942. [August 2009]
CEMETERY: The cemetery is fenced. Residents steal pieces for non-ferrous metals. About ten tomb stones remain. Other gravestones were stolen to build pigsties for fifty years. photos. photos.