The Shtetl Volochisk
This is a view of the old town of Volochisk. It is taken from the hill
which leads up to the railway line crossing the river past an old border
post over a metal bridge to Podvolochisk. Behind this hill is a second
hill on top of which is the old Jewish cemetery. In the foreground are
some old houses which used to form the basis of the town. Half of the town
was once inhabited by Jews, but most of their houses were burnt down by
the Germans during the war. As you come along the path down the hill from
the cemetery you can still see conspicuous spaces where these homes once
stood, and you can still meet the old old woman who remembers how her Jewish
neighbours were dragged out of their places and their buildings burnt.
Of the three synagogues Volochisk once possessed, none appears to be left.
The head of the Jewish Community in Volochisk told me that the main shul
was converted by the communists after the war into a social club, but subsequently
knocked down. The spires of the Russian Orthodox Church are visible in
the background. To the left of the photograph are the pasture lands which
slope gently down to the river Zbrutch. To the right is the main road which
leads all the way to the railway station a couple of miles away, around
which is clustered the much larger modern town of Volochisk with its market-square
and Soviet-style tenements.
A Rural View of Volochisk
Photograph and Text copyright by Jeremy Grant
2000
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Last updated 10/25/2000
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