Kamenka-Bugskaya

KAMENKA-BUGSKAYA (Pol. Kamionka Strumiłowa), city in Tarnopol district, Ukraine. The earliest information on Jewish settlement dates from 1456. An agreement reached between the burghers and the Jews, granting the latter rights of residence and free trade, was confirmed by King Sigismund III Vasa in 1589. Jews traded in grain, cattle, fish, and lumber. At the end of the 17^th century the bishop of Lvov permitted the community to erect a wooden synagogue. The walls of this fine building were covered with paintings (done in 1730) mainly depicting animal figures. In 1662 there were 16 Jewish and 90 Christian houses in the town. At the beginning of the 18^th century Ḥayyim b. Isaac *Reiẓes served as rabbi of the community, which was under the jurisdiction of the regional kahal of the province of "Russia." In 1719 and 1736 the Jews paid poll taxes of 786 and 400 zlotys respectively. Of the 522 Jews in the city in 1765, 79 were innkeepers. The community numbered 2,922 (48% of the total population) in 1880, 3,164 (43.3%) in 1900, and 2,685 (41%) in 1921. The drop in their number resulted from devastation by a large fire during WWI. From 1924 until 1939 there was a supplementary Hebrew school with about 200 pupils. In 1931 the Jewish population numbered 3,283; before September 1939 it had reached 4,000.

[Encyclopaedia Judaica (Germany)]

Holocaust Period

The Jewish community changed greatly during the Soviet period of 1939–41, when community institutions were dissolved and any independent political activity was forbidden. The traditional Jewish economy was also hurt. Jews tried to integrate into the new activities by organizing themselves into craftsmen's cooperatives and entering the municipal and civil service. On June 28, 1941, the city was occupied by the Germans, and the next day they murdered 200 Jews. On July 2, the Ukrainians, instigated by the Germans, carried out a pogrom, killing a few hundred Jews. On November 10, 1941, another 500 Jews were killed near the city. In the summer of 1942 a census was taken of the Jewish population; workers were given special permits, while of the others some 1,500 persons were deported to *Belzec death camp (Sept. 15, 1942). On Sept. 21, 1942, 600 persons were put to death in Zabuze (area beyond the River Bug), where Jews from *Busk, Cholojow, and Radziechow (Radekhou) were also murdered. On Oct. 28, 1942, another group was deported to Belzec, thereby completing the murder of most of the community. In November 1941 a forced-labor camp was set up in which Jews from the entire neighborhood were concentrated. On July 10, 1943, more than 5,000 Jews were murdered there.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.