Poninka, Ukraine

(Paninka, Poninky)

Poninka (Khmelnytsky District) is a small town in the Volhynia province of Ukraine. There are a handful of Jewish residents left but in the past, it had a vibrant Jewish community. This website is dedicated to the memory of all who were born and lived in Poninka, including those who left and those who were killed there in 1941 and 1942.

Please contact me at poninka@lcantor.org if your family comes from Poninka or you have information or photos to share.

Poninka is located at 50° 11N/27° 32E, west of Kiev and adjoining the larger community of Polonnoye.

This modern emblem for the town of Poninka was created in 1999. The scroll represents paper, the main industry in town, the wavy lines represent the nearby river, and 1787 the year Poninka was founded.

Outdoor market on the Main Square of Poninka

Poninka in the Encyclopedia of Jewish Life, ed. by Shmuel Spector (Editor), Geoffrey Wigoder (Editor), vol 2, p. 1014. New York University Press, 2001.

"Kamenets-Podolski district,Ukraine. The Jewish community grew with the opening of a paper factory in 1870. In 1897, the Jewish population was 206 (total 1,025). In the Soviet period, a Jewish elementary school (four grades) operated. In 1939, the Jewish population was 675. The Germans captured the town on 5 July 1941. In the fall of 1941, 485 Jews were murdered. During their occupation they murdered 4,000 Jews from Poninka and the neighboring settlements."

In fact, one of the first things that you still see when you visit Poninka is a large, sprawling factory, the home of the Poninka Cardboard and Paper Mill. It is currently part of ISA Corporation, a large company founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and produces school diaries, cardboard, paper for book/notebook covers, writing and printing paper and 8 types of notebooks.

Typical Houses in Poninka, 2001



Memorial to Soldiers who died, fighting in the Soviet Army during World War II

Mass Grave Memorial

This monument to the 1,270 Jews who were killed on June 25, 1942 sits just outside of Poninka.

Poninka was directly in the path of the fighting during World War II. According to an article in the New York Times, January 12, 1944, Soviet troops reentered Poninka and the surrounding communities in a sweep through Zhitomir Province, recapturing the area from the Germans. The Russians claimed that the Germans lost over 15,000 troops in this fighting.

Where can you learn more about Poninka and its environs?

JewishGen | JewishGen Family Finder | JewishGen Databases | Ukraine SIG

ShtetLinks Directory | Shtetlinks site for Volhynia | Shtetlinks site for Polonnoye

Photos taken by Linda Cantor, 2001

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