Cherevakha (Czerewucha) | Volyn

Cherevakha is located about 85 km of Lutsk. According to local residents, there were no Jews in Cherevakha. However, there was a Jewish community in the nearby village of Manevychi and Troyanivka. In 1921, 462 Jews lived in Manevychi, and 647 Jews lived in Troyanivka. The majority of Jews were merchants or artisans. Many lived from timber business. Between the two wars, the villages were under Polish rule, and in 1939, they were annexed by the Soviet Union as a result of Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. Between 1939 and 1941, Jewish refugees arrived to the villages and the Jewish population slightly increased.

The Germans units occupied the area on June 28^th, 1941. From the archives all the Jews from Troyanika were believed to be first confined in the Manevychi ghetto a few days before the execution and then taken to the first, to the place called “Horse graves” where they were executed along with the Manevychi Jews on September 5^th, 1942. However, during the field investigation Yahad has identified another execution site of the Troyaniv Jews, located in the forest, outside of Cherevakha in the direction of the Sofiyanivka village.  From the accounts of the eyewitness, we know that about 30 Jews were brought by truck and shot in the shell holes not far from the road. The Jews were forced to undress and lined up on the edge of the pit. They were then shot. We do not know the exact date of the execution, the only thing we know is that the shooting was conducted after the execution in Manevychi and that it happened in the month of September 1942 as well.  It is possible that there were more trucks full of Jews coming to this place once the witness left the site. So, the number of victims might be more important.

For more information about the execution of Jews in Manevychi, please, refer to the corresponding profile.