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My father’s parents came from Pavoloch town [120 km from Kiev], Kiev province during the czarist time, which became Zhitomir region after the revolution of 1917 [Russian Revolution of 1917] [1]. Pavoloch was a Jewish town, one of many around Zhitomir. Jews were allowed residence within the Jewish Pale of Settlement [2] in czarist Russia, of which Zhitomir region was a part. The Jewish population in Zhitomir region reached 50% of the total population. Pavoloch was founded in 1603. The village was divided into two parts: Jews resided in its central part called the Pavoloch town. The total population was 10 thousand and Jews constituted about 5 thousand of the total number. [Editor’s note: Jews numbered 2,113 in 1847, and in 1897 the number rose to 3,391 (42% of the total population) in Pavoloch. During the Civil War the townlet declined and most of its inhabitants left. Jewish residents numbered 1,837 in this time.] There was also Ukrainian and Polish population in the town residing in the suburbs – this part of the town was called Kutok (‘corner’ in Ukrainian). The village stood on the small Rostianitsa River with a water mill on the curve of river making a kind of a quiet corner area. After the revolution there was a kolkhoz [3] and a Jewish kolkhoz [Jewish collective farms] [4] established in the town. The Jewish kolkhoz was called ‘Forois” (‘forward’ in Yiddish).
All residents got along well, made friends and visited each other. There were no national conflicts in Pavoloch in the late 19th - early 20th century. There was an old wooden Orthodox Christian church in the town. It was over 400 years old. There was also a Catholic church in the village and two synagogues in the Jewish town. The bigger synagogue was called the Pavolochskaya synagogue (‘Synagogue of Pavoloch’). After the revolution in 1920s the Soviet power started ruthless struggle against religion [5], but the synagogues in Pavoloch operated till the Great Patriotic War [6]. The smaller synagogue was ruined. The Pavolochskaya Synagogue houses a lore history museum nowadays. There was a Jewish general education school in Pavoloch before and after the revolution near the market in the center. There was also a cheder that had no official status after the revolution, when Jewish children had classes with a melamed at his home.
Jews were engaged in crafts in the town: there were tailors, barbers, shoemakers, tanners, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, etc. There was a fair in the central square of the town once a week where farmers from the Kutok brought their food products for sale. Also, there was a market where local villagers sold whatever their Jewish customers wanted to buy: they only sold living poultry that Jewish housewives took to the shochet working at the market. On Friday they sold fish for Sabbath. Milkmaids delivered dairy products to Jewish homes. The market was particularly colorful in summer: red apples, yellow pears, plums and berries. The families living in the central part of the town could only afford little gardens with 2-3 fruit trees and some flowers growing in them. There were mainly wooden plastered and whitewashed houses in the town. They were warm in winter and cool in summer. There were tin sheets or thatched roofs depending on the well-being of owners.
All residents got along well, made friends and visited each other. There were no national conflicts in Pavoloch in the late 19th - early 20th century. There was an old wooden Orthodox Christian church in the town. It was over 400 years old. There was also a Catholic church in the village and two synagogues in the Jewish town. The bigger synagogue was called the Pavolochskaya synagogue (‘Synagogue of Pavoloch’). After the revolution in 1920s the Soviet power started ruthless struggle against religion [5], but the synagogues in Pavoloch operated till the Great Patriotic War [6]. The smaller synagogue was ruined. The Pavolochskaya Synagogue houses a lore history museum nowadays. There was a Jewish general education school in Pavoloch before and after the revolution near the market in the center. There was also a cheder that had no official status after the revolution, when Jewish children had classes with a melamed at his home.
Jews were engaged in crafts in the town: there were tailors, barbers, shoemakers, tanners, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, etc. There was a fair in the central square of the town once a week where farmers from the Kutok brought their food products for sale. Also, there was a market where local villagers sold whatever their Jewish customers wanted to buy: they only sold living poultry that Jewish housewives took to the shochet working at the market. On Friday they sold fish for Sabbath. Milkmaids delivered dairy products to Jewish homes. The market was particularly colorful in summer: red apples, yellow pears, plums and berries. The families living in the central part of the town could only afford little gardens with 2-3 fruit trees and some flowers growing in them. There were mainly wooden plastered and whitewashed houses in the town. They were warm in winter and cool in summer. There were tin sheets or thatched roofs depending on the well-being of owners.
Period
Location
Pavoloch
Ukraine
Interview
Evadiy Rubalskiy