GENI projects about Ukraine:

• International Ukrainian Portal - major information.
• Geni naming conventions - Ukraine - specific factors of Ukrainian genealogy.
• People of Ukraine - umbrella project listing people of various affiliations.
• Ukrainian Coffee Corner - collaboration project.
• Ukraine - History Factors - umbrella project for the historical events.

Ukraine is a unitary state with three levels of administrative divisions: 27 regions (24 oblasts, two cities with special status, and one autonomous republic), 136 raions (districts), and 1469 hromadas. The following are Jewish Family projects listed under the modern Administrative Divisions of Ukraine. For historical regions that, at certain periods, were Ukrainian lands, please see the additional list below.

Jewish Communities in Cities - Towns - Shtetls

24 Oblasts in alphabetical order:

— 1. Cherkasy Oblast —

• Jewish Families of Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine

— 2. Chernihiv Oblast —

— 3. Chernivtsi Oblast —

— 4. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast —

— 5. Donetsk Oblast —

— 6. Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast - part was in historical Galicia —

• Jewish Families of Daleszowa, Ukraine
• Jewish Families from Nadworna (Nadvirna), Galicia, Ukraine
• Jewish Families from Dolyna, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine

— 7. Kharkiv Oblast —

— 8. Kherson Oblast —

— 9. Khmelnytskyi Oblast - northern part was in historical Volhynia—

• Jewish Families of Medzhhybizh, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine

— 10. Kyiv Oblast —

• Jewish Families of Kyiv / Kiev district, Ukraine

— 11. Kirovohrad Oblast —

— 12. Luhansk Oblast —

— 13. Lviv Oblast - northern part was in historical Volhynia, and the rest was in historical Galicia —

• Jewish Families from Lviv (Lemberg, Lvov), Ukraine
• Lvov Ghetto
• Jewish Families of Stanislavchik, Ukraine
• Jewish Families of Novi Strilyshcha, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine

— 14. Mykolaiv Oblast —

— 15. Odesa Oblast —

• Jewish Families of Odessa, Ukraine

— 16. Poltava Oblast —

— 17. Rivne Oblast - part of historical Volhynia —

• Jewish Families from Ostroh, Volhynia, Ukraine

— 18. Sumy Oblast —

— 19. Ternopil Oblast - northern part was in historical Volhynia, and the rest was in historical Galicia —

• Jewish Families of Budzanow / Budanov
• Jewish Families of Ternopil (Tarnopol), Ukraine
• Jewish Families from Terebovlia, Ukraine
• Jewish Families from Tovste, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine

— 20. Vinnytsia Oblast —

• Jewish Families of Bratslav, Ukraine
• Jewish Families from Nemirov, Ukraine
• Jewish Families of Tulchyn, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine

— 21. Volyn Oblast - part of historical Volhynia—

• Jewish Families of Ustyluh, Ukraine

— 22. Zakarpattia Oblast —

— 23. Zaporizhzhia Oblast —

— 24. Zhytomyr Oblast - southwest part was in historical Volhynia —

Cities with special status:

City of Kyiv

City of Sevastopol

Ukraine's history is deeply intertwined with its geographical position as a borderland, leading to the loss of several historical regions to neighboring countries over time. Ukraine's borders have shifted significantly due to wars, treaties, and political changes, reflecting its complex and often turbulent history.

— Autonomous Republic of Crimea —

Historically contested, Crimea was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954 during the Soviet era. It was annexed by Russia in 2014, a move not recognized internationally.

— Bukovina —

Once part of the Principality of Moldavia, it was annexed by Austria and later divided between Ukraine and Romania.

— Galicia —

(the Polish part. The The Ukrainian part is listed within the districts above)

Historically, it was part of the Kingdom of Ruthenia, and this region was later divided between Poland and Austria-Hungary. Today, parts of it lie in Poland.

— Southern Bessarabia —

Historically, under Ottoman control, this region was annexed by Russia in 1812 and later became part of Romania. Today, parts of it are in Ukraine and Moldova.

— Transcarpathia —

This region was part of Hungary, then Czechoslovakia, before becoming part of Ukraine after World War II.

History of the Jews in Ukraine

The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the modern territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Important Jewish religious and cultural movements, from Hasidism to Zionism, arose there. According to the World Jewish Congress, the Jewish community in Ukraine constitutes Europe's third-largest and the world's fifth-largest.

At times, it flourished, while at other times, it faced persecution and anti-Semitic discrimination. In the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1920), Yiddish became a state language, along with Ukrainian and Russian. At that time, the Jewish National Union was created, and the community was granted autonomous status. Yiddish was used on Ukrainian currency between 1917 and 1920. Before World War II, slightly less than one-third of Ukraine's urban population consisted of Jews.

In the westernmost region, Jews were mentioned for the first time in records in 1030. During the Khmelnytsky Uprising between 1648 and 1657, an army of Cossacks massacred and took large numbers of Jews, Roman Catholics, and Uniate Christians into captivity. One estimate (1996) reported that 15,000-30,000 Jews were killed or taken captive and that 300 Jewish communities were completely destroyed. More recent estimates (2014) report mortality of 3,000-6,000 people between the years 1648–1649.

During 1821, anti-Jewish riots in Odesa followed the death of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Constantinople, in which 14 Jews were recorded killed. Some sources claim this episode was the first pogrom. At the start of the 20th century, anti-Jewish pogroms continued, leading to large-scale emigration. In 1915, the imperial Russian government expelled thousands of Jews from the Empire's border areas.

During the Russian Revolution and ensuing Civil War, an estimated 31,071 Jews were killed in pogroms between 1918 and 1920. During the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921), pogroms continued. In Ukraine, the number of civilian Jews killed by the Ukrainian Army under Symon Petliura during the period was estimated at between 35,000 and 100,000.

Pogroms erupted in January 1919 in the northwest province of Volhynia and spread to many other regions, and continued until 1921. The actions of the Soviet government by 1927 led to a growing antisemitism.

Total civilian losses in Ukraine during World War II and the German occupation are estimated at seven million. More than one million Soviet Jews, including 225,000 in Belarus, were killed by the Einsatzgruppen and their many Ukrainian supporters. Most of them were killed in Ukraine because most pre-WWII Soviet Jews lived in the Pale of Settlement, of which Ukraine was the biggest part. The major massacres against Jews occurred mainly in the first phase of the occupation, although they continued until the return of the Red Army. In 1959, Ukraine had 840,000 Jews, a decrease of almost 70% from 1941 totals (within Ukraine's current borders). Ukraine's Jewish population continued to decline significantly during the Cold War. In 1989, Ukraine's Jewish population was only slightly more than half of its population in 1959. During and after the collapse of communism in the 1990s, the majority of Jews in 1989 left the country and moved abroad (mainly to Israel). Antisemitism, including violent attacks on Jews, is still a problem in Ukraine.

The Jewish Community

Medieval Ukrainian lands were a loosely knit group of principalities. By the late 1300s, most Ukrainian lands were controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or the Mongolian-Tatar Golden Horde. In 1569, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania became the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Poland controlled Western Ukrainian lands, while Eastern Ukrainian lands were controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

In 1772, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, at which time several Ukrainian areas became part of Galicia, a province of Austria. By 1795, Austria controlled western Ukraine, and Russia controlled eastern Ukraine. During the 1930s, all of western Ukraine was governed by either Poland and/or Czechoslovakia.

By the end of WWI, Ukrainian territory was divided into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania. In 1939, the Jewish population of Ukraine was 1.5 million (1,532,776) or 3% of the total population of Ukraine. One-half to two-thirds of the total Jewish population of Ukraine were evacuated, killed, or exiled to Siberia. Ukraine lost more population per capita than any other country in the world in WW II. After WWII, the borders of the Ukrainian SSR expanded west, including those Ukrainian areas of Galicia. At the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Ukraine became an independent state.

The Ukrainian government has ordered an immediate and absolute moratorium on all construction or privatization of sites that have been identified as Jewish cemeteries, either now or in the past. A Joint Cultural Heritage Commission to develop and agree on a comprehensive solution to preserve and protect Jewish cemeteries. Over 1000 individual sites have been described, which is estimated to be about one-half of the recoverable sites.

Jewish Cemeteries in Ukraine Report, Winter 1997-98

Ukraine's turbulent past saw sovereignty pass between Poland, Russia, and other nations. Still, it has a rich history: one Crimean tribe converting to Judaism in the eighth century, the first shtetls built by Jews working for Polish aristocrats (18th century), and the rise of Hasidism. The Germans murdered 1.4 million of the two million Jews. Communism then suppressed the religious life of those who survived. Despite this, Ukraine is now home to one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe (100,000-300,000). Some 1500 Jewish heritage sites published by the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad (2005)

Notes:

• JewishGen's ShtetlSeeker references border changes of a given town with more information at JewishGen ShtetLinks for Ukrainian towns.
• Ukraine SIG facilitates research of former Russian Empire Guberniyas now in Ukraine; Podolia, Volhynia, Kiev, Poltava, Chernigov, Kharkov, Kherson, Taurida, and Yekaterinoslav.
• Wikipedia article: "History of the Jews of Ukraine" and The Virtual Jewish History Library- Ukraine
• US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, 1101 Fifteenth Street, Suite 1040, Washington, DC 20005. Telephone 202-254-3824. Executive Director: Joel Barries. The US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad supplied most of Ukraine's information. The data is alphabetical by the name of the town.
• Contact Samuel Gruber; sdgruber@syr.edu.
• Historical Research Center for Western Ukrainian communities in all countries: "ZIKARON"
• Belgium: Contact Daniel Dratwa for books in the Jewish Museum of Belgium collection.
• Israel: Tragger, Mathilde. Printed Books on Jewish cemeteries in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem: an annotated bibliography. Jerusalem: The Israel Genealogical Society, 1997.
• David Chapin, Plano, Texas.

Books about Jews of Ukrane:

Yizkor Books:

• Chelm, M. Bakalczuk-Felin, 1954, in Yiddish.
• Dnepropetrovsk-Yekaterinoslav, Harkavy and Goldburt, 1973, in Hebrew.
• Pinkas Hakehillot Poland, Volumes I-VII.
• Frank, Ben G. A Travel Guide to Jewish Russia & Ukraine. Paperback (October 1999) Pelican Pub Co; ISBN: 1565543556
• Gitelman, Zvi. Chapter The Jews of Ukraine and Moldova" published in Miriam Weiner's Jewish Roots in Ukraine
• and Moldova (see below) online.
• Goberman, D. Jewish Tombstones in Ukraine and Moldova. Image Press, 1993. ISBN 5-86044-019-7) shows many interesting styles.
• Greenberg, M. Graves of Tsadikim Justs in Russia. Jerusalem, 1989. 97 pages, illustrated, Hebrew and English. S2 89A4924. Notes: Rabbis tombstone restoration, no index, arranged by non-alphabetical town names.
• Gruber, Ruth Ellen. Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe, Washington: National Geographic, 2007
• Ostrovskaya, Rita (Photographer), Southard, John S. and Eskildsen, Ute (Editor). Jews in the Ukraine: 1989-1994: Shtetls. Distributed Art Publishers; ISBN: 3893228527
• Weiner, Miriam. Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories (The Jewish Genealogy Series). Routes to Roots Foundation/YIVO InstituteYIVO Institute; ISBN: 0965650812. see Routes to Roots Foundation, Inc.

Books about Crimea:

• Chwolson, D. Corpus inscriptionum hebraicarum (All the Hebrew Inscriptions). Hildesheim, 1974 (1st print: St. Petersburg, 1882). 527 pages, Latin title and German text. SB74B2774. Notes: 194 tombstones, 9th-15th centuries, based on Firkowiz's book scripture analysis.
• Chwolson, D. Achtzehn hebraische Grabschiften aus der Krim (Eighteen Hebrew grave inscriptions in Crimea).. St. Petersburg, 1985 in "Memories de L'Academie Imperial de St. Petersburg", 7Šme, series, volume IX, no. 7, III XVIII, 528 pages, illustrated. [translation] of the author's Russian book s29V5256]. German text and Hebrew inscriptions. PV255, series 7, book 9, no.7. Notes: 18 tombstones, 6-960, scripture analysis based on Firkowiz's book.
• Firkowiz, A. Y. Avnei zikaron behatsi ha'i krim, besela hayehudim bemangup, besulkat ubekapa (Jewish memorial stones in Crimea and in [the Caucasian towns of Mangup, Sulkat and Kapa [Theodesia). Vilnius, 1872. 256 pages, illustrated, Hebrew. 29V4818. Notes: 564 tombstones, 3-1842.
• Harkavy, A.L. Alte juedusche Denmaeler aus der krim (The old Jewish monuments in Crimea),. St. Petersburg, 1876, X, 288 pages. German and Hebrew inscriptions. PV255, VII, 24/1. Notes: 261 inscriptions, 604-916?, scripture analysis based on Firkowiz's book.