Rozhysche (Rozhische, Rożyszcze) | Volyn

Rozhysche is located about 20 km of Lutsk. The first records of the Jewish community date back to the 18^th century. By 1897, the Jews were the majority as they represented 83% of the total population. During WWI the town was burned and almost everyone fled. However, after the town was rebuilt, some 2,686 Jews lived there by 1921. Between the two wars the village was under Polish rule. The majority of Jews was artisans or lived off small trade. There were a few factories owned by the Jews before they were nationalized by the Soviet regime. There were two synagogues and a Jewish cemetery. There were many schools, such as Talmud Torah, and a Yiddish-language CYSHO school. Several Zionist movements operated in the town until 1939, when Rozhysche was taken over by the Soviet Union as a result of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, and all religious and cultural institutions and movements were banned. According to the estimation, there were about 3,000 Jews on the eve of the war, including the Jewish refugees who arrived from the occupied Poland.

The Germans occupied the village on June 25^th, 1941. Immediately after the Germans’ arrival several anti-Jewish measures were implemented and the killings of Jews took place. 10 Jewish men were killed several days after as a punishment for a German killed and the Jewish houses and shops were looted by the locals. During several executions, conducted in July, hundreds of men, elder and some women, were supposedly killed outside the town. The Jewish police and Jewish Council were created. At the same time, all Jews were forced to wear the yellow distinguishing signs and to perform the forced labor. The next mass execution was conducted in October 1941, when 603 Jews, were murdered.  The ghetto was created in fall, supposedly after this execution, however some sources give another date, which is February 1942. Based on the witness’ accounts that the Jews stayed for about one year in the ghetto, Yahad believes that the ghetto was established in fall 1941. The ghetto numbered about 4,000 inmates from Rozhysche and nearing village. According to Martin Dean the ghetto was fenced in with barbed wire, however the local resident interviewed by Yahad who happened to pass through the ghetto several times did not remember seeing any fence. While being confined in the ghetto the Jews continued to paid ransoms, and being subjected to forced labor, for instance work at the linen factory, clean the streets, or road repair, as well as were victims to systematic lootings by the local Ukrainian police. On August 10^th, 1942, the members of Judenrat were shot. And 10 days later, on August 22^nd, 1942, the ghetto was liquidated. On this day, those Jews who were not able to go into hiding, were rounded-up on trucks and taken to the sandpit, 3km outside the town, where they were shot in groups. The sandpit was dug by the requisitioned local residents. The Jews had to disrobe completely, to lie down at the bottom of the pit in groups of 20 and then they were shot to death with machine-guns.  All executions were conducted by SD unit who arrived from Lutsk and they were assisted by German gendarmerie and local police. During the following weeks the Ukrainian police continued to search for the Jews in hiding. The majority of the escapees from the liquidation were shot afterwards at the Jewish cemetery.