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Lokhvitsa was a district town in Poltava province. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 1 it became a district town in Poltava region. The Jewish population constituted 2,400 out of a total of 5,000 people living in the town. The townspeople were Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. There was a long building housing Jewish stores in the center of town. Merchants purchased or rented facilities for their shops. There was a market where villagers sold their products near this building. There was also a church in the main square. There was a two-storied hotel with ten rooms near the market square. The town stood on the Lokhvitsa River. Our family lived on the right bank of the river. There was a big church on the hill near our house. There were two synagogues in Lokhvitsa: one on the right bank of the river and the other on the left. They were two-storied synagogues with balconies for women. There was a cheder and a Jewish school in the town before the Soviet regime. The cheder and the school closed in the 1930s.
Jews lived in the central part of the town for the most part. Their neighbors were Ukrainians. There was no anti-Semitism, however. Jews and Ukrainians got along very well. Jews were tailors, shoemakers and barbers. There was a leather shop in Lokhvitsa. Most of its employees were Jews. There were other Jewish shops that made soda water and ice cream. Jews sold manufactured goods, garments and other products. There were some wealthy Jewish families, but just a few. Most of the Jewish families lived from hand to mouth. Jews didn't do any farming. Land in the center of the town was expensive and there were just small plots of land near their houses. There was a big Jewish community in Lokhvitsa before the Revolution. The community supported old miserable Jews and needy families. They delivered matzah to them at Pesach, provided meals on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. In 1932 a sugar factory opened in Lokhvitsa. There was a Ukrainian higher secondary school and several lower secondary schools in Lokhvitsa. There was also a pedagogical college.
Jews lived in the central part of the town for the most part. Their neighbors were Ukrainians. There was no anti-Semitism, however. Jews and Ukrainians got along very well. Jews were tailors, shoemakers and barbers. There was a leather shop in Lokhvitsa. Most of its employees were Jews. There were other Jewish shops that made soda water and ice cream. Jews sold manufactured goods, garments and other products. There were some wealthy Jewish families, but just a few. Most of the Jewish families lived from hand to mouth. Jews didn't do any farming. Land in the center of the town was expensive and there were just small plots of land near their houses. There was a big Jewish community in Lokhvitsa before the Revolution. The community supported old miserable Jews and needy families. They delivered matzah to them at Pesach, provided meals on Sabbath and Jewish holidays. In 1932 a sugar factory opened in Lokhvitsa. There was a Ukrainian higher secondary school and several lower secondary schools in Lokhvitsa. There was also a pedagogical college.
Period
Location
Lokhvitsa
Ukraine
Interview
semyon nezhynski