Jewish Ludmir: The History and Tragedy of the Jewish Community of Volodymyr-Volynsky: A Regional History(Jews of Poland)

This volume is a brief history of the Jewish community of Volodymyr-Volynsky, going back to its first historical mentions. It explores Jewish settlement in the city, the kahal, and the role of the community in the Va'ad Arba Aratsot, and profiles several important historical figures, including Shelomoh of Karlin and Khane-Rokhl Werbermacher (the Maiden of Ludmir). It also considers the city's synagogues and Jewish cemetery, and explores the twentieth-century history of the community, especially during the Holocaust. Drawing on survivor eyewitness testimonies, the author pays tribute to the town's Righteous among the Nations and describes efforts to preserve the memory of its Jewish community, including the creation of the Piatydni memorial, and lists prominent Jews born in Volodymyr-Volynsky and natives of the city living abroad. This book will be of interest to historians of the Jewish communities and the Holocaust in Ukraine, as well as to the general reader

Table of Contents:
List of Illustrations How the English Edition Happened, by Harvey Budner Introduction, by Antony Polonsky Author’s Note Foreword The History of the Jews of Volodymyr-Volynsky Introduction First Mentions Privileges The Kahal The Organization of Jewish Settlement, Fourteenth–Sixteenth Centuries Economic Conditions of the Community, Fourteenth–Sixteenth Centuries Va‘ad Arba Aratsot Spiritual Leaders Shelomoh of Karlin (Karliner) Khane-Rokhl Werbermacher The Synagogue The Jewish Cemetery The Life of the Jewish Community in the Twentieth Century The Tragedy of the Jews of Volodymyr-Volynsky From the Killing Fields: The Reminiscences of Zippora Weinstock-Zaar The Reminiscences of Yaacov Harari (Berger) The Reminiscences of Debora Interieur The Memoirs of Ann Kazimirski Moshe Krigser Recalls The Reminiscences of Volodymyr Oksentiiovych Patuta Oflag “Nord 365” The Catastrophe That Befell the Jews of Volodymyr-Volynsky District Moshe Margalit Recalls Mykhail (Motl) Bass’s Account Righteous among the Nations Kateryna Petrivna Lipińska Maria Otsaliuk’s Account Franciszek and Hanna Strojvons Bronisława Ziental and Her Daughter Irena Yakira The Accounts of Liudmyla Stepanivna Yevtoshuk and Halyna Zinoviivna Nazaruk Oleksandr and Solomeia Diachuk Jewish Natives of the Volodymyr-Volynsky Area Abroad Memorial in the Village of Piatydni Safeguarding Memory Prominent Jews Born in Volodymyr-Volynsky Addenda Glossary of Terms Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Volodymyr Muzychenko was born in Sarny, Ukraine. He graduated from the Rivine Music College and the Rivne State Institute of Culture. Since 1988, he has lived in Volodymyr-Volynskiy where he teaches guitar at a children's music school and is the head of the town's small Jewish community. Muzychenko has researched the history of the Jewish community of Volodymyr-Volynsky extensively and takes care of the town's Jewish graves and sites of execution.

Review :
“Volodymyr Muzychenko . . . committed the last ten years of his life to gathering historical data on the Jews of his city and the region. His work is thus the first and fullest narrative to date about the Jews of Volodymyr-Volynsky. . . . The book is noteworthy for its balanced material and the author’s desire to avoid a purely lamentational type of exposition. Instead, he sought to show Jewish history as a variegated process marked by both tragic and distinguished pages.”