Alternate names: Nizhyn [Ukr], Nezhin [Rus], Nyezhin [Yid], Niezhin [Rus], Nieżyn [Pol], Nischyn [Ger], Nizhin, Neshin. 51°03' N, 31°53' E, in N Ukraine, 73 miles NE of Kyyiv, 40 miles SE of Chernihiv (Chernigov). 1900 Jewish population: 7,631.
Nizhyn was a major Hasidic center and the site of the Ohel (tomb) of the Hasidic master, Rabbi Dovber Schneuri of Chabad-Lubavitch. Jews first settled in Nizhyn at the beginning of the 19th century after the partition of Poland." The town grew to become a center for the Habad Hasidim of Ukraine. By 1847, 1,299 Jews had registered as residents. In 1897, 24% of the population, or 7,361 residents, were Jewish. A wave of pogroms severely affected the Jewish population in 1881 and 1905. During their retreat from the Germans in the spring of 1918, the Red Army carried out additional pogroms. During World War II, the region was occupied by Germany, who exterminated all Jews in the area. Only those who escaped survived. In 1959, 1,400 Jews lived in Nizhyn, about 3% of the town's population. In 2005, Nizhyn population reached 80,000. Only about 300 Jewish families lived in the city." Wikipedia. [Mar 2015]
- JewishGen Ukraine SIG
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), p. 892: "Niezhin".