Buczacz, Poland

General

Buczacz was town in the Tarnopol district of Poland, which today is part of the Ukraine. Jews were present in the town from 1500. By 1890, the Jewish population reached about 7,000 (more than 60% of the total population). At the out break of World War I, many Jews fled westward and never returned. After the German invasion in 1939, the town came under the control of the Soviet Union. The Germans entered the town on July 7, 1941, and soon established a Judenrat. By the end of 1942, over 4,500 Jews had been either murdered or deported to the Belzec death camp. At this time, a ghetto was established which was soon filled with refugees from nearby towns. In early April, 1943, more than 2,000 Jews were shot to death at killing pits near Fedor Hill. Shortly thereafter, skilled workers were removed from the ghetto and sent to the Podheitzka labor camp. In April and May, 1943, an additional 3,000 Jews were murdered. On May, 1943, the Jews remaining in the ghetto were deported. In June, 1943, all remaining Jews, including the skilled workers, were shot to death at the Jewish cemetery.

Postcard

Below are thumbnails of the front and back of a postcard sent by Mina Brechev, a resident of the Buczacz ghetto, to her daughter, Rosa Lass, living in Basel, Switzerland. The postcard was sent in 1943 (exact date unclear) and bears the cachet of the "Judenrat Buczacz". This woman was deported from Potok Zloty to Buczacz (see Potok Zloty). Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Postcard" in the left frame to return.

References

http://www.ibiblio.org/yiddish/Places/Buczacz/bucz-p4.htm

http://yad-vashem.org.il/about_holocaust/studies/vol33/abs_Yehuda_Bauer.html

Spector, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (2001), P. 212-13

Ghetto

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