Shumsk

Kremenets district, Ternopil region

Sources:
- European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative
- Jewish encyclopedia of Brockhaus & Efron

Photo:
- Boris Khaimovich, The Center for Jewish Art. Shumsk (Szumsk)
- Hryhoriy Arshynov, European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative. Shumsk New Jewish Cemetery

Ternopil region - list of settlements and location of objects

Shumsk, 2023


Jewish houses in Shumsk, 1999

At the beginning of the 20th century, Shumsk (ukr. Шумськ) - township of Volyn province, Russian Empire.

The first Jews settled in Shumsk in the first half of the 18th century.
In 1745, local Jews built a beit-midrash, bath, and stores for lease.

The Great Synagogue of Shumsk was constructed in 1781.

The Jews of Shumsk were mostly engaged in the grain trade and tailoring.

In 1897, the Jewish population stood at 1,101
In 1897 - 1,962 Jews (86,8% of the total population).

Five synagogues existed in the town at the end of the 19th century.
The majority of the local Jews were the followers of the Olyka and Trisk Hasidism.

The Hebrew school of the Beitar network was opened after the Revolution of 1917.

The number of Jewish residents of Shumsk declined to 1,717 (73,2% of the total population) by 1921.
The Zionist organizations such as “Ha-Halutz”, “Beitar” and “Revisionitim” were active in the interwar period.

On July 10, 1941, the Wehrmacht troops occupied the town, and Ukrainians started a pogrom.
In March 1942, a ghetto was established.
On August 18, 1942, 1,792 Jews were executed.
In September 1942, the last Jews in the ghetto were murdered. Only 15 Jews of Shumsk survived the war.


New Jewisn cemetery in Shumsk, 2019		Holocaust memorial