LETICHEV

LETICHEV: old cemetery, new cemetery and mass grave. Also see Podolia Guberniya http://www.roadfromletichev.com including individual burials. [February 2001]
LETICHEV I:     US Commission No. UA22170101
Alternate names: Latyeczow (Yiddish), Letichuv (Russian) and Letitchev (Ukraine). The town is located at 49º23 27º37, 375 km from Kiev, 45 km from Khmelnitskiy and 69 km from Vinnitsa. The cemetery is located at Lenina St. Present town population is 5,001-25,000 with fewer than 10 Jews.

• Town officials: Regional soviet, Sagaydak Grigoriy Andreevich village soviet, Polyuh Vladimir Grigorievich of Lenina Street. Archive, Grushevskogo Street 2.
  
• Regional: Oblispolkom, Guseynikov Evgeniy Yakovlevich of (03822) 65025.
  
• Khmelnitskiy Jewish Community, Zeleniy Mikhail, Kamenetskaya st.47, apt. 8 (03822) 63047. Others:

The earliest known Jewish community was 1765. 1939 Jewish population was 2434. Effecting Jewish Community was 03.30.1882 Pogrom, 1919 Petlyura's pogrom, 1941-42 Ghetto and 1942 Holocaust. Living in Jewish community were Reb Goldberg, Treasurer: Srul Boltman, Rabbi: Nusim Gershkov Burshteyn and Gabay: Yankel Voliovich Malvich. The Jewish cemetery was established in 1760 with last known Hasidic burial in 1930. No other towns or villages used this unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated urban hillside has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. No walls, fence, or gate surround site. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII was 1 hectares. No stones, structures, or known mass graves exist. Municipality owns the property now used for housing. Adjacent properties are residential. The cemetery boundaries are smaller now than 1939 because of housing development. Rarely do local residents visit. The cemetery was not vandalized in the last ten years. There is no maintenance now. Very serious threat: existing nearby development (housing development) and proposed nearby development (housing development). No other threats.
Shwartz Yuliya Nikolaevna of Kiev, Buchmy St., apt.8 [Phone (044) 5503228] visited site on 07/16/1995. Interviewed on 07/17/1995 were Ronina Anna Aleksandrovna of Kalinina, 7 apt.4 [Phone (03857) 91858], Tretyak Genya Naumovna of Panasyuka 9, apt. 12 [Phone (03857) 92433], and Dorfman Raisa Davidovna of Panasyuka, 9 [Phone (03857) 91214. Shwartz completed survey on 07/17/1995. Documentation: Central Eastern Europe, The Road from Letichev.
LETICHEV II:     US Commission No. UA22170102
The cemetery is located at 50 let Oktyabrya, road to Vinnitsa. See LETICHEV I for town information.

• Key Holder: Rozova Anna Ivanovna of 50 let Oktyabrya, 27. Caretaker: Rozova Anna Ivanovna of 50 let Oktyabrya, 27.
  

The last known Habbad Hasidic burial was in 1995. Snitovka (10 km away) used this unlandmarked cemetery. The isolated urban flat land has no sign or marker. Reached by turning directly off a public road, access is open to all. A broken masonry wall and a continuous fence with a non-locking gate surround site. The approximate size of cemetery before WWII and now is 1 hectares. 101 to 500 stones, most in original location, date from 1880 to 20th century. Location of any removed stones is unknown. The cemetery has special sections for men and women. Some tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces, other metallic elements, portraits on stones and/or metal fences around graves. The cemetery contains no known mass graves. Municipality owns the property used as Jewish cemetery only. Adjacent properties are residential. The cemetery boundaries are unchanged since 1939. Frequently, private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) and local residents visit. The cemetery was vandalized occasionally in the last ten years. Local/municipal authorities cleaned stones, cleared vegetation and fixed wall in 1991. The government pays the regular caretaker. Within the limits of the cemetery are no structures. Moderate threat: vandalism. Slight threat: uncontrolled access, weather erosion and pollution. Vegetation overgrowth is a seasonal problem preventing access. See above for survey information and documentation.
LETICHEV III:     US Commission No. UA22170501
The mass grave is located at v. Zaletichevka. See LETICHEV I for town information. The last known Jewish burial was in 1942. Novokonstantinov (12 km away), Letichev (10 km away), and Snitovki (12 km away) Jews were murdered at this unlandmarked mass grave. The isolated suburban hillside has signs or plaques in local language mentioning the Holocaust. Reached by crossing other public property, access is open to all. A continuous fence with no gate surrounds site. The approximate size of mass grave is now 0.01 hectares. 1 to 20 stones, all in original location with no stones were removed, date from 1969. Some tombstones have traces of painting on their surfaces. The site contains marked mass graves and no structures. Municipality owns property used for mass burial site. Adjacent properties are agricultural. Occasionally, private visitors (Jewish or non-Jewish) and local residents visit. The mass grave was vandalized occasionally in the last ten years. Local/municipal authorities fixed wall in 1969. Occasionally, authorities clear or clean. Serious threat: vandalism. Moderate threat: uncontrolled access and pollution. No threat: weather erosion, vegetation, and existing nearby development and proposed nearby development. See above for survey and documentation information.

 

[UPDATE] Photos by Charles Burns [March 2016]